Work: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV1080, Contrapunctus IV

The gut strings and period bows of the Chiaroscuro Quartet cast dramatic light and shade movements on from Bach's The Art of Fugue and quartets by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn.

Arrangements aplenty as the Australian Chamber Orchestra take on Bach's Art of Fugue and Beethoven's Op.130, with Richard Tognetti the accomplished soloists in Mozart's Violin Concerto no. 5.

The more you read about music, the more you notice the word “authenticity” cropping up annoyingly frequently. The great raging musical arguments of the late 20th century still burn; performers, listeners, even composers find themselves having to take up quasi-moralistic stances on gut strings, vibrato, and whether trills should begin on the upper or lower note.