W. G. ORR

by Antony Baldwin
Brahms's Scherzo in E flat minor is supposed to have been written in 1851 when the composer was eighteen years of age. During the early days of his career it was his favourite work and he introduced himself with it to Joachim, Schumann, and Liszt.
When Schumann said that Brahms sprang out like Minerva fully armed, after having seen a handful of Brahms's first compositions that included this truly remarkable Scherzo in E flat minor, a work not only worthy of Beethoven, but which clearly foreshadows the masterly hand of the later Brahms, Schumann showed an extraordinarily keen perception.