Sunday, March 15, 2009

March podcast

Brahms’s String Quintet No. 1 in F, Opus 88, is a relatively late piece. He wrote it in spring 1882, immediately after completing his Piano Trio in C, Opus 87; the two pieces were premiered together in Frankfurt on December 29, 1882. Why did Brahms turn to the genre of the quintet of two violins, two violas, and cello, having in his youth (pre-Symphony No. 1) written two masterful works for string sextet along with three string quartets? It may be that Mozart’s great works for string quintet suggested the choice; like Mozart, Brahms seemed to have a fondness for the added inner voice and the richness of texture that that provided. (From the program note by Robert Kirzinger)

BRAHMS String quintet in F, Op. 88 (recorded live 3/7/09)
Jae Young Cosmos Lee, violin
Jesse Irons, violin
Stephanie Fong, viola
Marcus Thompson, viola
Miriam Bolkosky, cello
Movement 1
Movement 2
Movement 3

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