Budapest String Quartet & Walter Trampler
"Brahms Viola Quintets (Vinyl)

The father of the modern string quartet captured in the studio with collaborator-extraordinaire Walter Trampler recording both of Brahms' quintets for two violins, two violas and cello.

These pieces have long been a staple of chamber music literature (and a favorite of violists everywhere.) The Budapest gives a good performance here, but it is an enlightening record to listen to: the recording itself isn't the most thought out. The first violinist is favored too much by the microphones, the ensemble is "loose" by the standards which we judge these things today.
In an era before microscopic editing capabilities these recordings are very useful to help remind us of the artificial standard we hold ourselves to today, and also help us see what we've accomplished.