Brahms: String Quintets - Gringolts Quartet, Lilli Maijala (Hybrid SACD)

Johannes Brahms’s soul shines through in his chamber music. Following in the footsteps of Mozart and Schubert, Brahms wrote two string quintets that rank among his greatest chamber music masterpieces. He took up this genre rather late in life, but in it he was able to express both the joy and the nostalgia he carried with him into his maturity. The Quintet in F major, Op. 88, held a special place in the composer’s heart, and he considered it to be his finest work. A bucolic spirit and a gentle joie de vivre pervade the work, sometimes referred to as the ‘spring quintet’. A majestic, pastoral first movement testifies to this cheerfulness, followed by a melancholy movement before the spirited finale. The Quintet in G major, Op. 111, also radiates vigour, expressing the composer’s strength, nostalgia and exuberance. With echoes of Viennese folk music, the piece has been referred to as the ‘Prater quintet’, a reference to the famous Viennese park.

String Quintet No. 1 in F major
1
I. Allegro non troppo ma con brio
11'52
2
II. Grave ed appassionato - Allegretto vivace - Tempo I - Presto - Tempo I
12'12
3
III. Allegro energico - Presto
5'28
String Quintet No. 2 in G major
4
I. Allegro non troppo, ma con brio
13'14
5
II. Adagio
6'13
6
III. Un poco allegretto
6'04
7
IV. Vivace ma non troppo presto
5'17