ALC 0122 J. Brahms - Quintet in F minor. op. 34 for piano, 2 violins, viola and cello

In composing the Quartet No.1 in G min op.25 for piano and strings (and op.26) - his first truly important chamber works - Brahms - being the fervent classicist that he was - looked back to some important models to emulate and renew, he composed his own diptych of quartets with piano with other significant diptychs of pieces for strings and piano in mind: Mozart's Quartets K 478 and K 493 (Mozart's K 478 and Brahms' op. 25 are both in G min), Beethoven's two Trios op.70, Schubert's two Trios op.99 and 100.

In all of these models, Brahms sees a desire to juxtapose very different expressions and styles: so op. 25 is emotionally immersed in the temperie romantica, in terms of passion, impetuosity and exuberance of instrumental writing, while op. 26 is more measured, more regular in the squaring of musical phrases and forms and less confrontational in the relationship between piano and strings.