Tomorrow Elgar's Falstaff depicts life at the Boar's Head in Eastcheap, the tranquility in Justice Shallow's Gloucestershire orchard, battle scenes, Prince Hal's coronation and the knight's death, played in a chamber music version.

The composer's nostalgic, often sublime Piano Quintet is heard at the same concert as the Watkins, while other great piano quintets heard are Schumann's on Thursday evening and Dvorák's Op 81 next Saturday as the final work in the festival.

Clarinet quintets by Weber on Monday lunchtime and Mozart next Saturday evening get renderings from Matthew Hunt and the Elias Quartet. With pianist Tim Horton, these are six most regularly-encountered Ensemble 360 musicians over the 16 concerts in nine days.

Tim, Matt, plus Sara and Marie Bitlloch from the Elias, give us Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time next Friday night and Schubert masterpieces take in his Octet tonight and immortal String Quintet on Tuesday night.

The latter concert also includes Schubert's haunting piano duo Fantasie in F minor played by Ben Frith and Peter Hill, who also partners Ronald Birks in the composer's third Violin Sonatina.

Ronnie is one of three former Lindsay members appearing among Ensemble 360 guests.

Robin Ireland drops in on Monday night to play Shostakovich's Viola Sonata and join the Elias for Tchaikovsky's String Sextet, or Souvenir de Florence, in which the second cello (also in the Schubert quintet) is the Endellion Quartet's David Waterman.

Peter Cropper plays Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata with Tim Horton next Saturday lunchtime.

Two further Dvorák works, Op 106 string quartet and Op 77 string quintet, are separated by one by his son-in-law Josef Suk, his St Wenceslas Meditation, when the Navarra Quartet makes its Sheffield debut on Wednesday night.

Described by the late, great Mstislav Rostropovich, no less, as a "most wonderful group of musicians", the Dutch/ Anglo foursome was formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2004 under the tutelage of Christopher Rowland (who got the Elias started), who has also died recently.

In a short time which has seen them following in the early footsteps of the Elias, they have received numerous awards and prizes and have far-flung global concerts lined up, as well as Music in the Round's Around the Country tour in 2008-09.

Dvorák's last quartet, although Op 105 was not complete when he wrote it in a four-week, energetic burst of inspiration in late 1895, Op 106 is an airy work with a touchingly moving adagio and, in places, a furiant-flavoured final movement.

The Op 77 string quintet penned 20 years earlier is the one with a double bass sitting in, played here by Ensemble 360's Laurène Durantel.

It has an appealing slow movement, a lovingly-languid andante after an opening movement of Schubertian relaxation underpinned by trademark Bohemian rhythm.

The under-appreciated Suk's short work, full title Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn St Wenceslas, is one of his best-known pieces written in 1914 as the Czech citizens of the Austro-Hungarian empire nervously watched events unfolding in Europe.

Its initial sense of foreboding develops through hope and yearning to unshakeable optimism in the future.