The Hamburg-born Ferdinand Thieriot (18381919) not only shared a teacher Eduard Marxsen with Brahms; both composers, who remained friends in later years, use a very similar musical language. The musicologist Wilhelm Altmann wrote that Thieriots chamber music is without exception noble and pure. He writes with perfect command of form and expression as the works on this fifth Toccata Classics volume prove, in their exquisite balance of depth and beauty, of Brahmsian richness and Schubertian spontaneity. Thieriots Op. 62 Octet for winds and strings brings one gorgeous tune after another, but its the Op. 78 Octet for strings here in its first recording that will astonish: in its blend of melodic profusion and effortless counterpoint it is hardly less impressive than Mendelssohns exemplar.