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