; Nick Tchaikoff (Clarinet)
Ernest Lush (Pianoforte)
Sonata in E flat, Op. 120, No. 2 Brahms
1. Allegro amabile ; 2. Allegro appassionato ; 3. Andante con mqto,
Allegro Brahms ' last group of chamber works, in which the clarinet plays a leading part, was due to the composer's great admiration for the beautiful playing of Miihlfeld, the principal clarinettist of the famous Meiningen Orchestra, of which von Billow was conductor; The two sonatas, in F minor and E flat, for clarinet and piano (also arranged by the composer for viola and piano) show Brahms' genius in its full glory. Speaking of the first movement of the E flat sonata, Professor Tovey has well said that ' players who cannot make of this movement one of the most
-mellow products of all chamber music should leave Brahms alone.' The second movement is a dramatic and expressive scherzo, and the third movement, the finale, a fine set of variations on a theme in slow time.