Ernö Dohnányi is the least celebrated of the seminal triumvirate of twentieth-century Hungarian composers; Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók have become household names, yet Dohnányi's posthumous fame hangs upon an unrepresentative handful of compositions. This recording brings together three of his finest chamber works; the two masterful yet hugely contrasting Piano Quintets, and his remarkable essay in that most underutilized of instrumental genres, the string trio.

The Serenade in C for string trio falls within the direct lineage of models in the genre by Mozart and Beethoven, yet proves a decisive watershed for Dohnányi himself, fully articulating his nationally infused mature style for the first time. The Piano Quintets reflect an enduring and deep-rooted regard for both Brahms and Schumann, and even Mendelssohn.