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Johannes Brahms

Capriccio in g minor, Op. 116, No. 3, from Seven Fantasies  Play

Christopher Atzinger Piano

Recorded on 01/02/2007, uploaded on 01/17/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Capriccio in g minor, Op. 116, No. 3, from Seven Fantasies      Johannes Brahms

For Brahms, 1892 was a productive year for keyboard compositions, as he completed both the Op. 118 and Op. 119 sets in addition to the fantasies that comprise Opus 116.  The seven pieces of Op. 116 balance individuality with large-scale cohesion....

The Capriccio in g minor (third in the set) has similarities with the Capriccio in d minor that concludes the work.  Both make use of falling thirds that lead to diminished seventh chords, resulting in harmonic tension.  Furthermore, Brahms uses an A-B-A design that is common throughout much of the set.  However while the final Capriccio moves to a brooding middle section in the dominant minor, Brahms moves to E-flat Major in the g minor Capriccio, thus highlighting third relationships, a technique commonly used among nineteenth century composers...       Christopher Atzinger