Brahms 5th?

[Peter]

An interesting orchestration of the beautiful Brahms quintet Op.111 which was originally sketched as a 5th symphony.

[Sorrano]

Did Brahms have any orchestral ideas written for this?

[Peter]

Well I doubt there is anything surviving of the original sketches to give us a clue as he meticulously destroyed his original ideas and simply presented the finished work. However the first movement in particular of the Op.111 quintet has an undoubted orchestral texture which I think is shown off well in this arrangement. Incidentally he also intended it to be his last work but thankfully this wasn't to be or else we'd be deprived of the wonderful last piano pieces and the clarinet works.

[Sorrano]

I think, while this is interesting, that the quintet medium is best suited for the work. However, I heard an arrangement for Haydn's 104th Symphony for a small, mixed ensemble. (It could have been for an octet, I don't recall the number.) That worked quite nicely.