The 34-year-old Antonín Dvořák wrote the String Quintet in G Major at an artistic crossroads. After spending the first part of his career writing music based on the style of Liszt and Wagner, Dvořák was in rehearsals at the Prague Provisional Theater in 1873 for his opera King and Charcoal Burner. The work was declared too difficult—but rather than simplifying the music, Dvořák composed an entirely new score to the same libretto, declaring the update was “national rather than Wagnerian.” This new compositional voice set him on a path to fame. He won Austrian stipends in 1874 and 1875, attracting the attention of Brahms in the process, who helped Dvořák obtain a contract with the famed publisher Simrock.

Completed in 1875, the Quintet in G Major marked a significant point on Dvořák’s upward trajectory. Written for the Artistic Circle’s chamber music competition in Prague, the quintet won first prize for its “distinction of theme, technical skill in polyphonic composition, and mastery of form.” The quintet initially consisted of five movements rather than four; the Andante religioso later became the Nocturne for Strings, Op. 40. (Simrock published the four-movement version, which is now standard today, as Op. 77 in 1888.) Dvořák adds double bass to the standard quartet of two violins, viola, and cello, adding a sense of depth and space. Unlike later chamber works like the “American” String Quartet, Dvořák builds entire movements out of small musical building blocks. The Scherzo and the Finale, for example, develop from the same five notes. In the Poco andante, sometimes compared to Schubert, a sense of musical economy predominates. Dvořák’s careful deployment of the fifth instrument—the double bass—creates a rich musical texture throughout the work.

A largely self-taught composer, Francis Poulenc was one of the leading members of Les Six, a group of French composers opposed to impressionism, formalism, and intellectualism in music. Poulenc’s compositions fit these aesthetic principles well. His music tends to be direct and tuneful, merging classical influences with the popular music of his time. As he said in 1935, “I need a certain musical vulgarity as a plant lives on compost.” Completed in 1932, Poulenc’s Sextet for piano and winds shows off the results of this musical eclecticism. In the outer sections of the first movement, for example, campy band music alternates with harsh chromaticism, while in the second movement, a lyrical oboe solo contrasts with a march. Traditionalists roundly criticized the Sextet, although André George of Les Nouvelles littéraires declared that “with Poulenc, all of France comes out the windows he opens.” After the death of one of his best friends, Poulenc became dissatisfied with his absurdity, scaling back his “musical vulgarity” and becoming more interested in religious music. He returned to the Sextet in 1939, adding heartfelt emotion to the earlier playful tone. As Nadia Boulanger summarized, “There were some good ideas in [the original], but the whole thing was badly put together. With the proportions altered and better balanced, it comes over very clearly.”

In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna to establish himself as a composer and virtuoso pianist. According to contemporary accounts, he apparently lacked both social graces and a pleasing countenance. As his biographer Thayer describes, he was

… small, thin, dark-complexioned, pockmarked, dark-eyed … His front teeth, owing to the singular flatness of the roof of his mouth, protruded, and, of course, thrust out his lips; the nose was rather broad and decidedly flattened, while the forehead was remarkably full and round—in the words of Court Secretary Mähler, who twice painted his portrait, a “bullet.”

Beethoven came highly recommended, however—the Elector-Archbishop Maximilian Franz of Cologne, uncle of the current emperor, had sponsored him, and he also had the endorsement of lifelong friend and patron Count Waldstein. From late 1792 to late 1793, he studied with the most famous composer in Europe, Franz Joseph Haydn. (The busy Haydn, sandwiching Beethoven between trips to London, was less than conscientious about his lessons.) He started to develop a reputation, first connected to Mozart and Haydn, and then one all his own. In 1797, he composed the Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 16, a work influenced by Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452, written 13 years earlier. The pair share the same key and instrumentation (piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn), and Beethoven even uses the same forms within the same three-movement plan. When Beethoven published the work in 1810, he included a reduced version for piano quartet (piano, violin, viola, and cello), taking full advantage of the difference between wind and string instruments. A chamber piano concerto is a result, the sparkling, virtuosic piano part remaining constant between the two versions.

Founded in 1970, the Canadian Brass is one of the world’s most renowned brass quintets, celebrated for its virtuosity, innovative performances, and diverse repertoire. The group initially consisted of founding members Eugene Watts (trumpet), Charles Daellenbach (tuba), and Fred Mills (trumpet). Over the decades, it expanded and evolved, welcoming various musicians who contributed to its distinctive sound. The ensemble has performed worldwide, appearing everywhere from major concert halls to people’s living rooms through numerous television specials. As a result of its accessible repertoire and engaging performance style, the group has played a crucial role in popularizing brass music.

The Canadian Brass is particularly renowned for its annual Christmas concerts, which have become a beloved tradition for many audiences with their fusion of classical Christmas music and carols with jazz and popular tunes. In the words of the ensemble, “Our Christmas concerts are a celebration of the season’s joy and magic. We strive to bring an element of surprise and delight, making each performance a special experience for our audience." The selections from A Canadian Brass Christmas were created for the group by the famous jazz arranger and pianist Luther Henderson, whom Duke Ellington called “my classical arm.”