Skip to page content

About this Piece

As early as the 1850s, Robert Schumann wrote prophetically of Johannes Brahms as a messiah who would reveal himself at once in his full artistic maturity. Schumann’s prediction was spot on, as Brahms’ works would show a consistency of quality and stylistic singularity rivaled only by Bach. The works of Bach during the culmination of the Baroque period were not unlike those of Brahms in 19th-century Vienna: an ideal balance of form and expression. Both composers would be regarded by the end of their lives as old-fashioned and out of touch, writing music whose emphasis on structural integrity and polyphony was regarded as unfashionably cerebral and academic.

The remarkable consistency of Brahms’ output over the span of his career has contributed to the impressive ratio of total composed works to those regarded as standard repertoire. In every genre Brahms made a lasting contribution.

As a composer of string-intensive chamber music, Brahms’ range encompassed everything from violin and cello sonatas to piano trios, as well as string quartets, quintets, and sextets. Like Mozart, Brahms favored the two violins/two violas/one cello combination for his string quintets.

A late work, the String Quintet in G major dates from 1890, the last decade of Brahms’ life. Brahmsian hallmarks pervade the work, from the cross accents and rhythmically playful hemiolas in the opening 9/8 movement to the bittersweet melancholy of the D-minor Adagio and typically Brahmsian Allegretto intermezzo. The Hungarian folk element of the finale calls back to the composer’s celebrated Hungarian Dances. —David Fick