String Quintet No. 1 (Brahms)

Johannes Brahms' String Quintet No. 1 in F major, op. 88, was composed in 1882 in the spa town of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, and published by the firm of Fritz Simrock.^[1] It was first performed at a chamber music evening in Frankfurt-on-Main on 29 December 1882.

It is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet with a second viola. Brahms composed the work in three movements:

Allegro non troppo ma con brio: in sonata form. The first subject group is in F major, while the second is in A major, the first of the "pervasive mediant relationships" in this work.^[1]
Grave ed appassionato – Allegretto vivace – Tempo I – Presto – Tempo I: in double variation form. The first theme is based on a sarabande Brahms wrote in 1854, while the second theme is based on a gavotte that he wrote in the same year. The movement starts in C-sharp major, and ends in A major, another mediant relationship.^[1]
Allegro energico – Presto: in a fusion of sonata and contrapuntal forms. The final key of the previous movement, A major, and the key of this movement, F major, represent another mediant relationship.^[1]

Brahms described the quintet to his friend Clara Schumann as "one of [his] finest works" and told Simrock, "You have never before had such a beautiful work from me."^[1]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wyld, Joanna (2009). "Sleeve Notes: Nash Ensemble – Brahms String Quintets". Retrieved 13 April 2010.

External links

String Quintet No. 1, Op. 88: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Detailed listening Guide using the recording by the Amadeus Quartet with Aronowitz

Chamber music by Johannes Brahms

Duos	Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108

Trios	Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 Piano Trio in A major, attributed to Brahms

Quartets	Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67

Quintets & Sextets	Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by genre List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by opus number