Brahms’ three piano quartets mark the beginning of the «young eagle’s» full artistic maturity. The unique combination of formal perfection, technical brilliance and youthful inventiveness contribute to their unique beauty and originality. The quartet in G minor, opus 25, is lively and colorful, well-known for its Rondo à la hongroise. The quartet in A major, opus 26, is more expansive and more strictly composed; the last two movements mark the beginning of Brahms’ life-long attachment to Vienna. The quartet opus 60 was first conceived in the despair of his unrequited love for Clara Schumann; 20 years later Brahms completed this work, one of the most thoroughly romantic and exquisitely beautiful works in the chamber music repertoire.

The Menuhin Festival Piano Quartet (Friedemann Rieger, piano, Nora Chastain, violin, Paul Coletti, viola and Francis Gouton, cello) was founded at the instigation of Sir Yehudi Menuhin in 1989 and bears his name as a sign of tribute. This group of young musicians performs at the major concert halls throughout the world and has earned a reputation as one of the leading piano quartets of our time.