Brahms: String Quintets (SACD)

Johannes Brahms' soul radiates in his chamber music. Following in the footsteps of Mozart and Schubert, Brahms wrote two string quintets that are among his greatest chamber music masterpieces. He devoted himself to this genre quite late in life, but was able to express both the joy and the nostalgia that he always carried within him. The Quintet in F major, Op. 88, had a special place in the composer's heart and he regarded it as his best composition. A bucolic spirit and a gentle joie de vivre permeate the work, which is sometimes referred to as the 'Spring Quintet'. A majestic, pastoral first movement bears witness to this cheerfulness, followed by a melancholy movement before the spirited finale. The Quintet in G major, Op. 111, also radiates power and expresses the composer's strength, nostalgia and exuberance. With its echoes of Viennese folk music, the piece is also known as the "Prater Quintet", an allusion to the famous Viennese park. These two profound works are performed by the Gringolts Quartet, whose previous recordings for BIS, particularly those featuring Arnold Schoenberg's quartets, have been highly praised, and who are joined here by the sought-after Finnish violist Lilli Maijala.