In 1875, Johannes Brahms despatched the newly accomplished rating for his C minor Piano Quartet to his writer, Fritz Simrock, with the next message:
On the quilt you need to have an image, specifically a head with a pistol to it. Now you possibly can type some conception of the music! I’ll ship you my {photograph} for the aim. Because you appear to love shade printing, you should utilize blue coat, yellow breeches, and top-boots.
It was a tongue in cheek reference to Goethe’s 1774 epistolary novel, The Sorrows of Younger Werther, during which the Romantic hero commits suicide after falling in love with a married lady whose husband he admires. Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor was the final to be revealed of Brahms’ contributions to the style. But, its first model, which preceded the opposite two quartets, was accomplished in 1856 at a time when the 23-year-old composer had grow to be dedicated to Clara Schumann. Whereas Robert Schumann spent his ultimate years languishing in an asylum amid deteriorating psychological well being, Brahms assisted Clara in taking good care of the Schumann family. Apparent parallels may be drawn between Brahms’ deep affection for Clara and the emotional tumult of the fictional Werther.
Dissatisfied with the work in its unique type, Brahms set it apart. Twenty years later, the mature piece emerged. Initially set in C-sharp minor, the ultimate model moved down a semitone to tragic and lamenting C minor, the important thing of Brahms’ First Symphony. The unique finale was remodeled into the Scherzo, and the concluding two actions had been newly written. Nonetheless, the turbulent passions which swirled across the piece at its inception remained.
The primary motion (Allegro non troppo) begins with octave C’s within the piano, adopted by tragic “sighs” within the strings which appear to intone the title, “Clara.” It’s a motivic kernel which develops into a transposition of the 4 be aware descending “Clara Theme” (E-flat, D, C, B, C), the motif which haunts a lot of the music of Robert Schumann. These gloomy opening bars bear a harmonic “descent.” The primary theme is launched into movement with the jarring, dissonant interruption of a rising octave E pizzicato within the viola and violin. The rest of the tempestuous motion alternates between ferocity and hovering ardour. The recapitulation drifts into mysterious territory which fails to determine absolutely the house key of C minor. The coda’s tragic ultimate cadence leaves the strain unresolved.
The Scherzo returns to C minor, as if to “[furnish] the tonal stability unprovided for by the top of the primary motion.” (Donald Francis Tovey) It unfolds as an exhilarating, frenetic musical dialog. We’re denied the aid of a contrasting trio part. As an alternative, a ferocious improvement part takes maintain.
Shifting to the distant key of E main, the third motion (Andante) is a young love music with out phrases. The nice and cozy first theme is launched by the cello, after which turns into a sensuous duet between the cello and violin. This music offers us a way of deep craving, thriller, and shimmering transcendence. The ultimate bars are a poignant farewell.
The ultimate motion (Allegro comodo) returns to tempestuous C minor. Within the opening bars, the piano’s undulating strains echo the opening of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66. The fateful “short-short-short-long” motif of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (additionally in C minor) lurks within the shadows of the inside voices. This rhythmic motif turns into extra daring because the motion continues. It haunts the music as a persistent musical ghost. There are allusions to the “sighs” of the opening motion, in addition to the “Clara Theme,” which is heard in retrograde within the violin (B, C, D, E-flat, F, E-flat). The second theme strikes to the relative main with a chorale theme which is heard within the strings amid playful ripples within the piano. The coda drifts into quiet resignation and exhaustion. A forte cadence in C main brings the Quartet to an abrupt conclusion.
The “Werther” Quartet, because it has come to be identified, was premiered in Vienna on November 18, 1875 with Brahms on the piano alongside members of the Hellmesberger Quartet.
I. Allegro non troppo:
II. Scherzo. Allegro:
III. Andante:
IV. Finale. Allegro comodo:
