The Music@Menlo festival brings its survey of Brahms to a brilliant close with clarinetist David Shifrin playing the Clarinet Quintet, Paul Neubauer playing the viola transcription of the second clarinet sonata, Gilbert Kalish contributing several of the piano pieces from Opp. 118 and 119, and cellist Paul Watkins' cello sounding the famous opening melody in a performance of the G Major Quintet.
If you read any two words about Brahms' late period, one of them is likely to be “autumnal.” It's just a habit we've gotten into. Actually, some of Brahms' late music, though clearly the product of an experienced composer, sounds quite youthful. Elizabeth von Herzogenberg, Brahms' longtime friend, heard “spring breezes” in the G Major Quintet, which was written after he returned from a trip to Italy. It's fiery finale hardly seems “autumnal” to me, more like the work of a 30-year-old, as von Herzenbogen said. In any case, the delights of this music are a good argument to go and beg for stray tickets or, failing that, to talk an usher into letting you stand at the door.