InnerChamber

Johannes Brahms fully intended that his Op. 111 would be his last work. Still in relatively good health, he intended to enjoy retirement, riding triumphantly into the sunset, as it were. Though this didn’t turn out to be the case, this spirited and inspired gem would have been a suitable epilogue to an enviable career.

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In stark contrast, Dmitry Shostakovich was not at all well as he finished his final quartet. Finishing the work with a failing right hand that could barely hold the pen, he made every possible haste to have it performed lest he should die without having heard it.