Peter Hänsel's String Quintet No.4 in F Major, Op.28, which dates from 1815, can be recommended for its fine structure, its beauty of tone and appealing melodies. It will make a good impression in concert. The first movement, Allegro non troppo, begins with a pretty and somewhat pastoral theme, also impressive is the second subject given to the violas. A fine Poco Adagio e cantabile follows and its episode in the minor is both impressive and noteworthy. A Beethovian Menuetto allegro comes next. The finale, Allegro, has for its first subject a light, whimsical theme followed by a nicely contrasting second subject of a choral nature." the famous music critic and scholar Hugo Riemann writing in his Guide to Chamber Music Works (Musiklexikon von den Kammermusikwerken).
Peter Hänsel (1770-1831) (sometimes spelled Haensel), was born in the town Leppe in what was then Prussian Silesia. He was trained as a violinist and worked in Warsaw and St. Petersburg before obtaining employment in Vienna where he studied composition with Haydn during the 1790’s. Other than two years he spent in Paris during 1802-1803, his entire life was spent in Vienna, working as a violinist and composer. He devoted himself almost exclusively to the genre of chamber music, writing nearly 60 string quartets, 6 string trios, 5 string quintets and works for several other small ensembles. His style remained firmly rooted in the classical era and is closely related to that of his teacher Haydn but he also introduced French and Polish elements into his works, the result of his sojourning in those lands.
