Customer Reviews

Johannes Brahms: String Sextet Nos. 1 & 2

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The two Brahms string sextets, Opp. 18 and 26, are among the glories of Brahms's chamber music. People who don't particularly like chamber music tend to like these because of the fuller sound obtained from six string instruments. Indeed, one friend said that it sounded like a string orchestra, a sound he particularly liked, and 'not that scrawny fiddling you get with string quartets.' I don't endorse that view of string quartets, but I certainly understand what he meant.

As a regular attendee at the Aspen Music Festival for almost forty years, I have heard a number of performances of each of these works. They are favorites of players, amateurs and professionals alike. And I have several recordings of the sextets. I like this one by the Raphael Ensemble as well as any of them. It was their very first recording; they were young London musicians at the time. They went on to record the two String Quintets equally well. Hyperion has given them extremely lifelike sound.

This recording is a winner. One knows from the very first few bars that the music is in the hands of a solid, musicianly group and that the recording will be satisfying. After all these years -- the CD came out in 1989 -- it is still the one I reach for most often.

Scott Morrison

This is an excellent performance. The sound is clean but still full and solid. They understand Brahms. Of the five recordings I have of the Sextets, this one is the best.

This disc was highly praised when it was released and still remains one of several gems of Hyperion's impressive catalogue (it was also the Raphael Ensemble's first recording). The characterfulness yet warmth of the playing strikes the listener from the very opening bars of the first sextet, conveying a depth and making an impact that few if any other recordings can match. This is carefully shaped, warm and alluring playing, yet with profundity, commitment and indeed even boldness, excellently phrased and with a feeling of freshness these works need (they are, to be honest, not among Brahms's very best chamber works). Perhaps surprisingly, the highlight of the performance of the first sextet is the finale (but perhaps in particular because of the wonderful, contrastive continuity they manage to bring between this movement and the preceding scherzo).

The second sextet is maybe even more impressive than the first. It is quite remarkable, in fact, how unforced the music sounds, how natural and freshly it flows through the first movement, slowly gathering momentum to a radiant close. But the Raphaels are no less impressive in the other movements, and again the finale is particularly impressive, imparting the feeling that it couldn't have sounded differently; delightful. The recorded sound is bright and spacious, but perhaps just a little bit artificial-sounding. Still, this is a thoroughly recommended release.

Brahms is a master of chamber music and this recording really brings out the moving melodies of his sextet. Sextets are pretty rare in the genre and this one is a real gem to experience. This album can be enjoyed by anyone from the novice classical music listener to the romantic expert who will appreciate the subtle nuisances of the Raphael Ensemble. Either way you cannot go wrong with the CD. Enjoy.