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Final Recital Brahms Drei Intermezzi Op.117 No.2

206 views · Published 28 June 2013 · 4:46 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: eveeludbrook · 2013 · Music

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This was part of my final recital for my undergraduate music degree at the University of Sheffield.

II. Andante non troppo e con molto espressione

Johannes Brahms (born 1833) was a German composer and pianist, though lived much of his life in Vienna, becoming considerably popular during his lifetime. A virtuoso pianist himself, he would often premier his own works. He had a good relationship with Robert Schumann, who after their first meeting, wrote in his diary "Visit from Brahms, a genius." Brahms had quite an attachment with Schumann's wife, Clara, although their letters to each other were destroyed so evidence is not complete. However, after Schumann attempted suicide in 1854, Brahms was the main intercessor between Clara and her now mentally institutionalised husband.

He wrote these pieces near the end of his life, having resolved to give up composing in 1890. Despite this resolve, he wrote these and a number of other pieces before developing cancer, resulting in his passing away in 1897.
These three interludes allow the listener an intimate picture of his emotions at the time and are decidedly melancholic. He once referred to it as "a lullaby for my sufferings", clearly evoked through the minor keys and repetitive nature of each movement, almost as if to lull one into a sense of calm. Malcolm Macdonald, in his book "Brahms" (1990), describes this and his similar works as "amongst the most personal piano music ever written, in that they seem a product of the composer's self-communing, something to play to himself or at most to a few close friends."

I. The first movement is headed with lines from a Scots lullaby "Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament" in the poet Herder's German translation.
The related lines from the original song reads:

" Balow, my boy, ly still and sleep,
It grieves me sore to hear thee weep."

The way the melody is gently rocked between the repeated octaves gives it a distinct lullaby feel. The middle section is more shadowy, as it descends into the minor key, which helps make the lulling reprise even more poignant.

II. The second movement uses a simple falling arpeggio feature throughout, melting through a range of tonalities with fluid grace. It follows a miniature sonata form, and the development and reprise merge together, with a growing intensity near the end.

III. Intermezzo no.3 begins spaciously, with bare octaves at sotto voce, and later becomes an inner voice against an unusually rich harmonic background. The major middle section creates a beautiful impressionistic sound world, again giving a glimpse into Brahms' most deep emotions.

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