Haunted by the imposing specter of Beethoven, the perfectionistic and self-critical Brahms is thought to have written and destroyed almost two dozen quartets, leaving behind only three for posterity. He composed this first extant quartet, Op. 51, in C major at the age of 40. Already advanced in his career, he reveals here the extraordinary creativity of a seasoned artist who also sought inspiration in the classic forms of his predecessors: a captivating Brahmsian mix straddling the worlds of tradition and modernity.