Yesterday we arrived home to a package notice in our mailbox. I could not think what it could be and was pleasantly surprised to find the Brahms Piano Quintet score that I had won on eBay and promptly forgotten about. Excitement! Don’t you love getting a surprise package?

If you don’t know the glory that is the Brahms Piano Quintet, you should check it out. I particularly love Ashkenazy with the Cleveland Orchestra String Quartet, but I believe that recording is long out of print (see it at Amazon). Here is a YouTube video of the last movement with Zukerman, Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer, Gary Hoffman, and David Golub:

If nothing else, watch the last 2-3 minutes or so. Pure magic. Also, in self-loving news, Gary Hoffman once told me that I was a great accompanist.