The series of Classicus Quartet, arriving in its fifth year, offers a unique cross-section of quartets from music history in the BMC Concert Hall. Having performed various works arranged by tonality, now for the last season of Das Wohltemperierte Streichquartett (The well-tempered string quartet), the quartet combines works of contemporary composers and those undeservedly omitted from the original plan.

The Classicus Quartet's February programme strays from the string quartet's territory. The concert opens with arrangements by the composer and violist Péter Tornyai: this time, the string quartet's prism sheds new light on the chiseled, elegant and intimate music of Couperin, known for his harpsichord pieces, and Rameau, famous for his operas. At the center is the melodious and delightful string quartet of another French master, Ravel. The piece, with its classical four-movement structure, was written towards the end of the composer's studies, but it already reveals Ravel's dazzling sense of timbre and orchestration in all its glory. In the second half of the concert, the Classicus Quartet extends to a quintet to play Schubert's sublime chamber music swan song. Although the composer chose the same key in which Mozart and Beethoven each wrote a string quintet, unlike them Schubert added an extra cello to the quartet instead of a viola.