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Bruckner s String Quintet was written at the request of Joseph Hellmesberger, the Director of the Vienna Conservatoire. On completion in July 1879 Hellmesberger regarded the Scherzo as being too technically challenging so Bruckner composed the Intermezzo which we also hear this evening, as a replacement movement. The emotional core of the Quintet, however, is the Adagio with its expansive, contemplative mood. Bruckner s contrapuntal techniques owe much to his study of Bach s music and the concert opens with selections from Art of Fugue. Mozart s first string quartet written when he was 14 completes the programme.