Chamber music - A form of instrumental classical music written for a small group of instruments, played by a small ensemble that would fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Just about every major composer has been attracted by the challenge of writing this most intimate form of music and the catalogue of outstanding work in the genre is enormous. 

Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert arguably produced some of their finest music for the chamber and the players - often amateurs - making up the duos, trios, quartets and quintets of the day had an insatiable appetite for new works by the leading composers.