When Brahms wrote his second string quintet, he thought it was a perfect way to end his career (he later was coaxed into creating a few more by a wonderful clarinetist). It is powerful, charming, intense, light-hearted, and – especially in its Hungarian flavored finale – exuberant. When someone suggested that the famous Prater in Vienna, a favorite amusement park of Brahms, might have inspired the effervescent nature of this work, Brahms replied, “Yes, and the delightful girls there, too.” Bruch’s masterpiece is also a late work not published until after his death. This composer of the famous Scottish Fantasy and Violin Concerto excels once again in this deeply felt companion piece to the Brahms. A rare opportunity to hear both of these sumptuous romantic string masterpieces together.

Quartet in D Major, Op. 11, No. 1 (1795) • Adalbert Gyrowetz
Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello

Quintet in E-flat Major (1918), Op. Posthumous • Max Bruch
Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello

Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111 • Johannes Brahms
Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello

Musicians
Heather Zinninger, Flute
David Perry, Suzanne Beia & Ann Palen, Violin
Allyson Fleck & Catherine Lynn, Viola
Paula Kosower, Cello

Sponsored by the Jean Berkenstock Family Fund

The 2024 Season is sponsored by the Jean Berkenstock Family Fund and the Susan DeWitt Davie Legacy Fund.