Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
Quatuor à cordes en mi mineur
Quintette à cordes en mi majeur, op. 1

Joachim Griesheimer, violoncelle
Mannheimer Streichquartett

Andreas Krecher, violon
Claudia Hohorst, violon
Niklas Schwarz, alto
Armin Fromm, violoncelle

Ethel Smyth did not wait for somebody to give her »permission« to compose; obstinacy, refusal to speak, and a hunger strike were her weapons in the struggle to earn the right to study composition with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig. Along with a number of piano compositions released on cpo, operas, and orchestral works, she made significant contributions to chamber music, including the String Quartet in E minor (1884) and the String Quintet op. 1 written some two decades later – both of which are now being released for the first time on CD in performances by the Mannheim String Quartet.