Brahms: Sonata for 2 Pianos in F Minor, Op. 34bis & Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34

Featuring

Lucia Huang
Sebastian Euler
Hovhannes Mokatsian
Sha Katsouris
Peter Zelienka
Arnold Ilg

Duo d'Accord
Hába Quartett
Johannes Brahms

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Performer Biography

The Hába Quartet, founded in 1946 by violinist Dušan Pandula, was named after Alois Hába, a significant composer of microtonal music who dedicated twelve of his seventeen quartets to the ensemble.

Critical Reception

The renowned music publishing house Breitkopf & Härtel initially refused to print Brahms's Sonata for Two Pianos because they only wanted to publish 'easily playable works'.

Composer Biography

Johannes Brahms dedicated both the Sonata for Two Pianos and the Piano Quintet to Princess Anna von Hessen, a gifted pianist and a niece of King Wilhelm I of Prussia.

Composition History

The Piano Quintet, Opus 34, was Brahms's third revision of the work, where he combined the piano part with a string quartet, and it became a great success upon its release in late 1865.

Composition History

Brahms struggled for two years to find the definitive form for this piece, originally conceiving it as a string quintet before rewriting it for two pianos.

Performer Biography

The Duo d'Accord, consisting of Lucia Huang and Sebastian Euler, won the two most important piano duo competitions in the world within two years: the ARD Competition and the 'Murray Dranoff' Competition.

Album & Artwork

This album is believed to be the first time that Brahms's two chamber works, Opus 34 and 34b (his only Piano Quintet and the Sonata for Two Pianos), are found together on the same CD.