In their overarching feeling of balance and proportion, these interpretations by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players remind me of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players’ 1982 Nonesuch recording – still my preferred account of the two Brahms string quintets. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that both ensembles are drawn from an orchestral body and lack the febrile tonal quality of full-time chamber groups such as the Takács Quartet (with Lawrence Power for Hyperion), the Hagen Quartet (with Gerard Caussé for DG) or the Nash Ensemble (Onyx).

But whatever the WDR Chamber Players’ tone may lack in grit is made up for in warmth and clarity. Listen, for example, at 5'37" in the first movement of the F major First Quintet, where the WDR musicians play with generous legato yet dig into the phrases in a way that draws one just as effectively into the music’s rich texture. And as the movement unfolds, they maintain tension while holding fast to the basic tempo. The central Grave ed appassionato is unusually introspective, convincingly trading full-throated threnody for delicate wistfulness.

Indeed, the only real disappointment is in the opening movement of the G major Second Quintet, where the WDR seem to be striving for orchestral richness and heft but sound dogged and earthbound, particularly when heard alongside the Bostonians’ soaring, ecstatic account. Happily, the remainder of Op 111 is a delight, with the WDR players finding a happy balance between emotional urgency and lyrical fluidity. I especially liked the element of Haydnesque earthiness they lend to the finale. Pentatone’s recording is flatteringly sonorous and engagingly detailed.