Brahms, conscious of comparisons with Beethoven,pushed his creativity to new heights with his Op. 51string quartets. He began Op. 51 No. 1 in the early1850s but did not complete the work until 1873.

The Doric String Quartet prefaces the composer’sheroic score with the second of Mozart’s ‘Prussian’quartets, a judicious blend of flowing lyricism andrhythmic high spirits.