There are actually 3 piano quartets from Brahms....all masterly, with #3 in C minor perhaps being my favorite of his works. I don't know any Richter recordings (perhaps you are thinking of his recordings of the Dvorak quinetets witht he Borodin quartet) but I heartily recommend that you make every effort to find the 2 CDs the group known as Domus recorded of these pieces....they are amazing. Simply put, the perfect blend of pathos and technical precision...recorded sound is amazing. Unfortunately these CDs are on Virgin (VC 7 90739-2 and VC 7 90709-2), who are notorious for deleting their best CDs. The bonus selection (and quite a bonus it is) is Gustav Mahler's quartet movement....which clearly lines him up in Brahms' tradition and is a very strong piece on its own (a lot of ties between Wagnerian and Brahmsian harmony and development can be found in these 11 minutes). If you are unable to find these, there is the all-star lineup of E. Ax, I. Stern, J. Laredo, and Y. Ma on Sony classical which is pretty flashy and glossy but does fill the hole nicely. If you want to buy individual performances my other favorites are: 1--Berlin Philharmonic Ensemble on MD + G, or Emil Gilels and the Amadeus SQ on DG (both almost match Domus) 2--W. Trampler and the Beaux Arts Trio on Philips 3--sheesh there's almost no match to the Domus recording that I've heard....try Ax/Stern/Laredo/Ma or Rubinstein w/ the Guarner Quartet on RCA I haven't heard the Hollywood SQ's recordings with Victor Al;ler on Testament. but I'm sure these are amazing, although Domus would easily trump them due to recorded sound. This set of pieces definitely includes one of my desert island pieces (#3) and the other two are extraordinary works in their own right. I'd recommend scouring every used CD store within 100 miles to find Domus' recording.....good luck! Marcus Maroney [log in to unmask] http://www.geocities.com/marcus.maroney