When Johannes Brahms wrote his String Quintet in G, he was 57-years-old, he was famous, and he had already completed all of the symphonies and concertos that he would write during his lifetime. He was, as the saying goes, at the top of his game. So it’s little wonder that when he went to a mountain resort to composet the Quintet in G, the music came out radiating a sense of assuredness, accomplishment and optimism. This is music by a composer who’s earned his status, and is writing for the sheer joy of It.

(music)

Two other works will be on the Sacramento Chamber Music Society’s program this weekend – the Piano Trio by Ernest Chausson, written in the summer of 1881, and the Arpeggione Sonata by Schubert.  This will be the final program before the musicians of the Chamber Music Society go on THEIR summer break. And there are two opportunities to hear the concert – on Saturday at 2:30 at University Retirement Community in Davis, and on Sunday at 7:30 in Capistrano Hall at Sacramento State University.

(music out)