Brahms: String Quintets

These string quintets, mellow and congenial in character, are typical of Brahms’ late style. And having worked to master the string quartet genre in the 1870s, Brahms was evidently relieved to be able to resume his characteristically richly textured, orchestral-style sound by adding an extra viola. Finnish viola-player Lilli Maijala here joins the Zurich-based Gringolts Quartet, and together they create a beautiful burnished tone. String Quintet No. 1 from 1882 recalls Brahms’ friend Dvořák in style. As the music becomes animated in the opening movement, the players highlight its orchestral-like quality, contrasting with the more intimate second theme, presented with husky-toned richness by violist Silvia Simionescu and deliciously taken over by lead violinist Ilya Gringolts. The players clearly relish the second movement’s contrasting episodes and changeable moods, and equally the relatively short yet sweet finale. String Quintet No. 2, composed in 1890, though in a more conventional four movements, strikes even deeper emotionally. The third movement includes a theme of almost Tchaikovsky-like poignancy, which seems extraordinary given the mutual dislike the two composers claimed to have for the other’s work. The music, however, seems to tell its own story…