For many decades one of the leading figures in Dutch musical life, Julius Röntgen came from a distinguished musical family and counted Brahms, Grieg, Grainger...

For many decades one of the leading figures in Dutch musical life, Julius Röntgen came from a distinguished musical family and counted Brahms, Grieg, Grainger and Nielsen among his friends. + In his later years he composed an important series of works in many genres, among them a sequence of String Trios written for Röntgen to play with his talented sons. + The last four, composed between 1925 and 1930, are works of considerable warmth, verve and inventiveness, not least No. 15 in C sharp minor whose fourth movement, Finale automobilistico, was inspired by a Fiat 509A Torpedo car and a family incident-filled holiday in Germany, France, Switzerland and northern Italy.