Johannes Brahms: String Sextets

After their acclaimed Brahms String Quintets recording, the WDR Chamber Players now present the composer’s string sextets. Brahms wrote his two sextets at the beginning of his career, partly as a way to evade the “Ghost of Beethoven” haunting the string quartet, but also as the ideal genre to realize a typically Brahmsian sound: full, “orchestral” and rich in harmonies. Due to the limited institutionalization of the sextet as an ensemble, these pieces are rarely performed today. The WDR Chamber Players – who are all members of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, as well as pursuing their own international careers – are ideal interpreters of this repertoire, combining chamber-musical intimacy with “symphonic” depth. The WDR Chamber Players consist of Cristian Suvaiala, Carola Nasdala, Laura Escanilla, Mirca Mocanita, Johannes Wohlmacher and Susanne Eychmüller. Brahms String Sextets is their second PENTATONE album, after Brahms String Quintets (2017). The WDR Symphony Orchestra also has a vast discography with the label.