JOSEPH MIROSLAV WEBER (1854-1906): String Quintet in D, JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897): String Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 (reconstr. Sebastian Brown)

Description: Weber was a German Czech, born in Prague, and his 1898 quintet has a strong Slavonic air to it, especially in the scherzo, subtitled "Youthful High Spirits". In fact, all four movements have programmatic subtitles, the others being 1) "Like the Herr Professors Would Want to Compose", 3) "Longing for the Fatherland" and 4) "In the Country", and the 28-minute work makes a delightful addition to one's late Romantic chamber music collection. So, in fact, does the Brahms reconstruction, done during World War II and premiered in London in 1946 to great acclaim from such critics as Ernest Newman and Eric Blom. Divertimenti Ensemble.