Brahms composed his two sonatas for the clarinet for the principal clarinetist of the Meiningen orchestra, Richard Mühlfeld. These two sonatas, published as op. 120, with the Clarinet Trio in A minor, op. 114 and the B minor Clarinet Quintet, op. 115 were Brahms’s last chamber works. They have since become cornerstones of the clarinet repertoire. Brahms also published alternate versions of the works for viola and piano, which became the first published sonatas for that instruments, as well as, versions for the violin.
The F minor sonata, unlike its counterpart in E flat major, follows an orthodox four movement design. The appassionata first movement, despite its lyrical melodies, invokes the stormy nature Brahms had always associated with that key. Like many of Brahms’s sonata forms, the formal divisions of the movement are difficult to distinguish.
The two middle movements blend together quite well, as both are in A flat major. The first, marked Andante un poco Adagio, is a kind of Nocturne in a ternary form, though its middle section is closely derived from the opening melody. The following movement is an Intermezzo in the style of an Austrian Ländler. The final movement, a Vivace rondo in F major, is full of energy and youthfulness, even though Brahms was sixty-one years old when he composed it. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Music for Viola
Johannes Brahms
Sonata for Piano and Viola Op. 120, No. 1 in f minor Play
Recorded on 07/08/2014, uploaded on 08/05/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Brahms composed his two sonatas for the clarinet for the principal clarinetist of the Meiningen orchestra, Richard Mühlfeld. These two sonatas, published as op. 120, with the Clarinet Trio in A minor, op. 114 and the B minor Clarinet Quintet, op. 115 were Brahms’s last chamber works. They have since become cornerstones of the clarinet repertoire. Brahms also published alternate versions of the works for viola and piano, which became the first published sonatas for that instruments, as well as, versions for the violin.
The F minor sonata, unlike its counterpart in E flat major, follows an orthodox four movement design. The appassionata first movement, despite its lyrical melodies, invokes the stormy nature Brahms had always associated with that key. Like many of Brahms’s sonata forms, the formal divisions of the movement are difficult to distinguish.
The two middle movements blend together quite well, as both are in A flat major. The first, marked Andante un poco Adagio, is a kind of Nocturne in a ternary form, though its middle section is closely derived from the opening melody. The following movement is an Intermezzo in the style of an Austrian Ländler. The final movement, a Vivace rondo in F major, is full of energy and youthfulness, even though Brahms was sixty-one years old when he composed it. Joseph DuBose
More music by Johannes Brahms
Capriccio in d minor, Op 116, No. 7, from Seven Fantasies
Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Paganini variatons
Capriccio in c-sharp minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, No. 4, from Seven Fantasies
Schicksalslied, Op. 54
Intermezzo in A Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in e minor, Op. 116, No. 5, from Seven Fantasies
Intermezzo in b minor, Op. 119, No. 1
Klavierstücke op. 118 - VI. Intermezzo
Performances by same musician(s)
String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97
String Quintet No. 2 in c minor, K. 406
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 15
Caprice no. 2, from Twelve Caprices for Viola Solo
Caprice no. 4, from Twelve Caprices for Viola Solo
String Quartet Op. 131
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