Heinrich von Herzogenberg dedicated these three quartets to Brahms, his friend and musical idol.

The first quartet in G minor is by far the most satisfying. There’s a delightful air of lilting melancholy wafting through the first movement, and although the formal structure is daringly expansive, Herzogenberg manages to mold his wealth of ideas into a reasonably coherent whole. The slow movement is a series of variations on a theme that seems dully predictable at first but is relieved by an accretion of increasingly inventive detail. A tuneful and metrically playful scherzo is followed by a high-spirited, folk-inflected finale that’s only slightly blemished by an overlong coda.

There are charming moments in the two other quartets of the set, though these come fewer and farther between. But just when your patience could begin to wear thin, there’s a delicious dab of instrumental color, or a demonstration of contrapuntal legerdemain that reminds you of Herzogenberg’s worth.

– Gramophone