Listen to Brahms! 3.

BRAHMS: Sextet in B-flat major, Op. 18
--intermission--
BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34

Elisabeth Leonskaja piano, Keller Quartet (András Keller, Zsófia Környei violin, Gábor Homoky viola, László Fenyő cello), Janka Szomor-Mekis viola, Miklós Perényi cello

 

The third concert in the series showcases the cream of early chamber music: Brahms composed the Sextet in B-flat major, which was an important milestone on the rocky road leading to the string quartet genre, when he was 27 years old, and its slow movement in tribute to Bach has made its way even into popular culture (for example, it can be heard in an episode of Star Trek). The Piano Quintet in F minor composed a few years later first had the form of a string quintet, and then a two-piano sonata before it reached its final shape. Many consider it the crowning achievement of chamber music by Brahms. For this concert, Elisabeth Leonskaja is the pianist partner of Keller Quartet: born in 1945, the pianist won recognition at a very early age with her important international competition victories. Her four-hand recordings with Sviatoslav Richter brought her even further attention on the world stage.