There is simply too much beauty in this enormous box of Brahms chambermusic. I just love the piano quartets and the string quartets, but those are very well known to me. It’s the stuff that I don’t know that well that really amazes me here. String sextets, but also pieces for instruments I neglect a bit too much: horn and clarinet.
In 1890 Brahms wanted to quit composing. This self imposed pension didn’t last long: after he met the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld at an arts festival, he found he really loved the sound of the reed instrument. He ended up composing four pieces, and all of them are considered highlights in the repertoire. Especially the sonatas op 120 are worth a listen. They were the last chamber pieces Brahms would write before he died in 1897.
I’ve set myself the goal of writing about one album each day. With this box it was impossible to actually listen to all of it in one day. Not to worry though: I’m still on schedule!