BRAHMS' PIANO WORKS
Played by HOWARD JONES
Intermezzo in A Flat, Op. 76, No. 3
Rhapsody in B Minor, Op. 79, No. I
FOR about thirteen years, from 1866 to 1879,
Brahms gave up pianoforte composition, devoting himself to chamber and vocal music, and bringing out the first of his four great symphonies.
This Intermezzo is one of the first set of pieces
(Op. 76) in which, after this long interval,- he resumed composing for tho pianoforte. It is a gracious trifle of but thirty bars, with a hint of harp chords in the left hand and an expressively swaying, syncopated right-hand part. This charming and uncommon effect soon gives way to a few bars in which Brahms uses his favourite cross-rhythmic device of two notes to a beat in one part and three to a boat in another.
Among Brahms' most vigorous and distinctive piano solos are his Rhapsodies. The B Minor Rhapsody is the first of two such pieces which constitute his Opus 79. This piece is in three sections, the first of which itself has much varied material. The opening is very busy and agitated. After a while there comes a very quiet, simple tune in the Treble ; then greater energy than ever; and so on for some time.
The Second (middle) Section consists of a very smooth, sustained melody marked ' Very sweet and expressive.'
The Final Section is, on the whole, a rccapitulation of the First Section.