A Brahms Double Bill Without a doubt the most beloved and well-known work for violin, horn, and piano, Brahms’ Horn Trio in Eb Major op. 40 has been an integral part of our performing lives as an ensemble. It is the music that first brought us together, enabling us to perform around the world, and is the cornerstone of our repertoire. By capturing our rendition of this truly iconic work today, we aim to establish ourselves as an ensemble that is both rooted in, and connected to, the foundations of our area of practice. Written shortly after the death of his mother – with the third movement embodying a lament – Brahms’ Horn Trio op. 40 was originally published in 1865, interestingly along with an alternative cello part that, when performed in lieu of the horn, presents the more traditional trio instrumentation of violin, cello, and piano akin to his Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major op. 8. This precedent, along with Arna’s instinct for the french horn being a well-suited cello substitution for this work, ultimately led to her transcribing Brahms’ B Major Piano Trio, and to the premiere of this intriguing adaptation in July 2022. And while the cello and french horn behave differently, this in fact affords us unique interpretive possibilities that may not be possible in its original form. We offer our version of Brahms’ op. 8 as a provocation to reconsider an alternative timbral palette, and have confidence Brahms would not only enjoy and appreciate our transcription, but ultimately approve of it.