Completed on 1 January 1885, the Piano Quartet is, alongside the Cello Sonata op. 6 and the Violin Sonata op. 18, one of the most substantial chamber music works by the young Strauss. The four-movement, large-scale work is unmistakably influenced by his preoccupation with Brahms?s piano quartets. It initially experienced several very successful performances and was even awarded a prize in early 1886 by the Berlin Tonkünstlerverein, but later largely fell into oblivion, even though it had been available in print since July 1886. The Henle Urtext edition now makes possible the rediscovery of a work that unites youthful verve with sovereign technical mastery.
