Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18 (reference recording: Berlin Philharmonic Octet)

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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18
00:00 I. Allegro ma non troppo (2025 Remastered, Berlin 1966)
11:01 II. Andante ma moderato (2025 Remastered, Berlin 1966)
21:16 III. Scherzo: Allegro molto (2025 Remastered, Berlin 1966)
24:45 IV. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso (2025 Remastered, Berlin 1966)

Berlin Philharmonic Octet
Recorded in 1966, at Berlin
New mastering in 2026 by AB for https://classicalmusicreference.com/
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Kai Christiansen: "The first movement in sonata form features no less than five separate themes that flow easily and almost seamlessly over a gentle three-four pulse like a German folk waltz. The main harmonically contrasting themes are both introduced by the cello whose deep and mellow tone gives the sextet its particular warmth with a passing melancholy due to plaintive harmonies. This longest movement in the sextet sports a brilliant and even turbulent development, but the lyrical themes along with ample, guitar-like pizzicato sparkling throughout the texture express an ardent serenade concluding with grace and delicacy.

The second movement darkens into the minor mode as the husky viola intones a Hungarian-themed lament that gravely marches through a theme and variations. The initial variations exploit tidal swells in the underlying twin cellos that accelerate the pace (through increasing subdivisions of the beat) and escalate the tension in a riveting drama recalling Schubert. The fourth glows warmly like a hymn and the fifth variation is like a music box or a hurdy-gurdy, sans celli, with a reedy viola solo, ethereal violins and a drone effect. The final variation is a kind of shortened coda that vividly recalls the opening lament, a magic palette alla Schubert and a touch of hope at the end.

The third movement is a brief, lively scherzo that starts out rather poised, stutters with syncopation, begins to sway and swirl, then races through an animated trio. While the scherzo form returns to the beginning, Brahms can't resist the breathless trio reprising it briefly in a coda.

The finale is an elaborate rondo-sonata hybrid that recalls the genial grace of the first movement along with its thematic riches and yet another evocation of Schubert. The first cello again introduces the theme and, here, Brahms plays with his generous ensemble by dividing it into trios, the cellos in one, and the violins in the other creating an interactive "antiphony" between low and high. Towards the end, he has the dueling trios alternate measure by measure, reprising the rondo refrain in a clipped call and response of sparse and delicate textures. In between are rich contrasting episodes, sonata-like developments, fluid variations and refined swatches of the Baroque and the Rococo in passing. A brief feint of sorrow precedes a sparkling accelerando dash to the end: an extended, enthusiastic cadence celebrating the victory of Brahms's first triumph of purely string chamber music." https://www.earsense.org/chamber-musi...

🔥🎧 Album available // Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18 by the Berlin Philharmonic Octet
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Other Album available // Dvořák: Serenades Op. 22 & Op. 44 by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
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Johannes Brahms PLAYLIST (reference recordings):    • Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)