Pulling Out the Stops

The G Major String Quintet, which was the featured work on an excellent program on Monday evening presented by the chamber group Concertante at Merkin Hall, was intended by Brahms to be his final effort, a rich, valedictory summing-up of his 56 years of aesthetic and life experience. His satisfied, autumnal mood lasted for approximately one year, until he met the clarinetist Richard Muehlfeld and began to compose once again, creating his great series of pieces for this instrument and arguably his most profound works for the piano. But like Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, the string quintet stands as a reflection on a career, even though that career continued further.