Intermezzo in B-flat Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76 Johannes Brahms
Brahms completed the Eight
Piano Pieces, Op. 76 in 1878. To four of the pieces he gave the title
Capriccio, and to the other four, Intermezzo. It is clear that these titles,
along with several others, were largely interchangeable in Romantic piano
music, and it is sometimes difficult to see why a particular title was chosen.
Regardless, each movement is perfectly formed and highly expressive.
The dark, f-sharp minor
tonality and diminished harmonies of the first piece's introductory page
prepare us for music which seethes with suppressed passion. In the second
piece, we see a lighter side to Brahms, with hints of Hungarian flavor. The almost constant 16th note movement
is maintained even as the accompaniment to the cantabile contrasting theme of
this irresistible piece. In the third
piece a peaceful, beautiful mood is achieved through the graceful, rather
limpid theme of falling notes and the constant gentle arpeggio of chords. A
similarly gentle mood is achieved in the fourth piece with a lyrical theme of
dotted rhythms alternating with Hungarian thirds and sixths, pianissimo, with
an enigmatic and sudden end.
The boldness of the opening of the following Capriccio
creates a complete contrast, and this fifth piece contains many contrasts in
and of itself. The range of emotion expressed includes moments full of anger
and frustration yet leading to a moment of exquisite tenderness and what seems
very much like hope just before the coda. The sixth piece is in the
conventional ABA form. A
triplet movement in the right hand is set against simple eighth notes in the
left, creating a constant rhythmic tension beneath the surface. The seventh piece is framed by two identical
chordal statements, while the main section, devised from a single, syncopated
phrase, is more searching in nature. The final Capriccio is like an
improvisation-restless and passionate.
Here Brahms avoids a cadence in the tonic of C major until the very end,
making the final cadence all the more triumphant. Maya Hartman
Classical Music | Piano Music
Johannes Brahms
Intermezzo in B-flat Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76 Play
Recorded on 01/16/2007, uploaded on 01/13/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Intermezzo in B-flat Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76 Johannes Brahms
Brahms completed the Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 76 in 1878. To four of the pieces he gave the title Capriccio, and to the other four, Intermezzo. It is clear that these titles, along with several others, were largely interchangeable in Romantic piano music, and it is sometimes difficult to see why a particular title was chosen. Regardless, each movement is perfectly formed and highly expressive.
The dark, f-sharp minor tonality and diminished harmonies of the first piece's introductory page prepare us for music which seethes with suppressed passion. In the second piece, we see a lighter side to Brahms, with hints of Hungarian flavor. The almost constant 16th note movement is maintained even as the accompaniment to the cantabile contrasting theme of this irresistible piece. In the third piece a peaceful, beautiful mood is achieved through the graceful, rather limpid theme of falling notes and the constant gentle arpeggio of chords. A similarly gentle mood is achieved in the fourth piece with a lyrical theme of dotted rhythms alternating with Hungarian thirds and sixths, pianissimo, with an enigmatic and sudden end.
The boldness of the opening of the following Capriccio creates a complete contrast, and this fifth piece contains many contrasts in and of itself. The range of emotion expressed includes moments full of anger and frustration yet leading to a moment of exquisite tenderness and what seems very much like hope just before the coda. The sixth piece is in the conventional ABA form. A triplet movement in the right hand is set against simple eighth notes in the left, creating a constant rhythmic tension beneath the surface. The seventh piece is framed by two identical chordal statements, while the main section, devised from a single, syncopated phrase, is more searching in nature. The final Capriccio is like an improvisation-restless and passionate. Here Brahms avoids a cadence in the tonic of C major until the very end, making the final cadence all the more triumphant. Maya Hartman
More music by Johannes Brahms
Intermezzo in a minor, Op. 116, No. 2, from Seven Fantasies
Intermezzo No. 2 in A Major, from Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118
Piano Quintet in f minor, Op 34
Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79, No. 2
Intermezzo in e minor, Op. 116, No. 5, from Seven Fantasies
Intermezzo No. 1 in E-flat Major Op.117
Intermezzo No. 2 in b-flat minor Op.117
Piano Sonata no. 3 Op. 5 in f minor
Klavierstücke op. 118 - I. Intermezzo
Ballade No. 3 in b minor, Allegro, Op. 10
Performances by same musician(s)
Capriccio in c-sharp minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Reflets dans l’eau, from Images, Book 1
Capriccio in f-sharp minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Capriccio in b minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in A-flat Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in A Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in a minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Capriccio in C Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Perpetuum Mobile
Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Op. 78 in G Major
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