Ruminations on Brahms's Chamber Music

Author(s): Robert Pascall

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 116, No. 1590 (Aug., 1975), pp. 697-699
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/960030 .
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Ruminations
on Brahms's
chamber
music
RobertPascall
It is too simplea viewto maintainthatBrahms,in
thelatterhalfof thelastcentury,
upheldalone the
genreof chambermusicas a stillvital mode of
Chambermusicwas partofhisenvironexpression.
ment;he was surrounded
by chambermusicians,
and by lessercomposers
amateurand professional,
chamberworks.It is merely
enthusiastically
writing
the variousconcernsof the othergreatGermanic
composersthattendto givehimtheappearanceof
isolation;and possiblyBrahmsfelthimselfa missionaryforchambermusicin theearly1860s,that
period which immediatelyfollows his ill-fated
and whichis so richin chamberworks.
manifestol
If he did,thenhismissionwas nottheresultofa
he had beeninvolvedin chamPaulineconversion;
bermusicfromhis earliestyears.He playedchamconcertarranged
bermusicin a privatesubscription
by his fatherin 1843; the programmeincluded
Beethoven'sop.16 and one of Mozart's piano
quartets.2He also wrotechambermusicearlyin
his career.In 1851twoof his chamberworkswere
playedat a privateconcert;3these,a duo forcello
and piano and a piano trio,are probablylost,
alongwithotherearlychamberworksof whichwe
knowfromSchumann'swritings(especiallyNeue
Bahnen). His early interestin chamber music
and comremainedwith him, and performance
positionin the genreformeda centralfeatureof
his life. It was as a chambermusic playerand
himselfin Viennain
composerthathe introduced
1862 withthe piano quartetsopp.25-6; and he
of his lastchamber
performances
playedin thefirst
works,thetwoclarinetsonatas.
It mightbe thoughtthat in what by context
mediumBrahmswould
provedto be a traditional
be at his most traditional.That view cannotbe
convincingly
supported.In fact,in some chamber
pieceshe showedwellhispeculiarbrandofmodernity:in themelodyat the openingof the G major
stringsextet,in the harmonicnuanceof the third
movementof the C minorstringquartet,in the
of the
of the thirdmovement
formaloriginalities
C major piano trioor the secondof the F major
stringquintet.
Besides being a vehiclefor newness,chamber
for
music was also a vehiclefor autobiography
Brahms.Some of the musicalmaterialin thisintimategenreflowed,suitablyenough,fromhis
circleof intimates.The firstmovementof the C
minorpianoquartetand thesecondoftheG minor
pianoquartetcontainClara themes;4theG major
to Agathe;the
is his farewell
sextetfirstmovement
movement
usesJoachim's
A minorstring
first
quartet
in the A major
motto;and his song correlations
1M. Kalbeck: Johannes Brahms, i (Berlin, 3/1912), 404f
2F. May: The Life of Johannes Brahms (London, 1905), i, 59
3J. A. Fuller-Maitland: Brahms (London, 2/1911), 4
4E. Sams: 'Brahms and his Clara Themes', MT, cxii (1971), 432

violinsonataderive,as Kalbeckhas shown,5from

his admirationfor HermineSpiess. The chamber
in a deepersense:
musicis also autobiographical
we may properlysee in it muchabout Brahms's
his centralmusical
relationto his predecessors,
and hisdevelopment
as a composer.
concerns,
Brahmsbuiltmostobviouslynot on theworkof
Mendelssohnand Schumann-thoughthere are
wherehismusicis redolentofthose
manyinstances
composers'spirit-buton that of Beethovenand
Schubert.It is possibleto view his musicas an
traditionof
of the Haydn-Beethoven
integration
dynamicargumentand dramaticpowerwiththe
and
Mozart-Schubert
traditionof relaxedlyricism
serenebeauty.Brahmsseems a more sensuous
oftexture
bothinmatters
composerthanBeethoven
and melody,and a more dynamically
symphonic
composerthanSchubert;theethosis morestrenmorenorthGerman.
uous,moreProtestant,
in
Is it possibleto justifysuch generalizations
examples?Op.18,theB flatstringsextet,
particular
one of Brahms'smost relaxedchamberworks,
offersan instructive
comparisonwith Schubert's
last piano sonata. The worksbeginwithmelodic
materialsimilarin mattersof contourand typeof
couldwell
first
movement
motion,and theSchubert
have lain behind Brahms's inspiration.Yet
with
Schubert'sworkhas regularphrase-lengths,
definite
cadences;Brahms'sare morecomplicated.
The tonalschemesforthefirst
subjectin theworks
are similar,and both use mediantrelationships;
Schubert'sfirst
but thereis a tellingdifference.
subjectis in ternaryform,withthe middleas a
variedversionoftheopeningin theflatsubmediant
a staticconceptfora sonata-form
major:formally
opening.Brahms'sfirstsubject,on theotherhand,
combineshis mediantmodulation(to the flat
a less relaxedkeythan
mediantmajor,if anything
witha binaryschemeincluding
developSchubert's)
the shape is
ment and progressive
thematicism;
of A + B, whereB is a
A + A + development
returnto the tonic but with a new tune. The
is basicallymoresymphonic.
Brahmsmovement
in common
has features
Op.34,thepianoquintet,
withBeethoven's
'Serioso'Quartetop.95,especially
in the last movement.Both finaleshave slow
followedby extendedbinarymain
introductions,
sectionswhichlead intofaster,lengthy
codas; the
includes
of the Beethovenmovement
introduction
introduction.
forBrahms's
shapeswhicharegerminal
Beethoven'smain Allegrettomelodyis however
withmotivicfragments
intenseand short-breathed,
separatedby restsand emphasizedby immediate
Brahmsalso wrotea motivicmelody,
repetition.
but withlonger,uninterrupted
phrases;his,as the
is moretranquillo
instructions
confirm,
performing
thanBeethoven's
agitato,and basicallymorelyrical.
5M. Kalbeck: op cit, iv (Berlin, 2/1915), 15ff

697

concernsin his
Two of Brahms'schiefstylistic
workinthesonata-symphony
tradition
(ofwhichthe
chambermusicformsthe most substantialpart)
of formand
maybe seenin termsof complication
of texture.In commonwithlate
resourcefulness
Classicaland earlyRomanticcomposers,he had
of multiambitionsfor the greaterunification
forsuchunification
movement
Pressures
structures.
worksby Brahms,
occurin mostmulti-movement
and manifestthemselvesin thematicquotation
across movements(as in the thirdand fourth
thirdand
of the horntrio,or thefirst,
movements
thematic
of theclarinetquintet),
fourthmovements
and thirdmovements
metamorphosis
(as in thefirst
of thepianoquintetand theE minorcellosonata),
of the
or motivicsimilarities
(as in all movements
C minorstring
ortheG majorviolinsonata).
quartet,
thereseemsa speciallystrongthematic
Sometimes
relationshipbetweenfirstand last movements:
theC major
quartet,
examplesaretheC minorstring
piano trioand theclarinettrio(wherethethemes
of the last movement
may be seen as parodiesof
concomitant
onesin thefirst
movement).
ofClassicalformtakeplacewithin
Complications
as wellas acrossthem.Brahms'scommovements
of sonata formhas been fullydisplex treatment
cussed elsewhere;6it must sufficehere to draw
features
attention
to one ofthemainand consistent
called the
of thistreatment-what
Urbantschitsch
6V. Urbantschitsch: Die Sonatenform bei Brahms (diss., U. of
Vienna, 1925); A. Mitschka: Der Sonatensatz in den Werken

vonJohannesBrahms(diss., U. of Mainz, 1961); R. Pascall:

Formal Principles in the Music of Brahms (diss., U. of Oxford,

1972)

combination
of sonataand variationforms.SometimesBrahmsused smallvariationsetsas subjects
withinsonata forms(as in thefirstmovements
of
theC minorpianoquartetand theF minorclarinet
ratherto thestrong
sonata);buthereI am referring
motiviccohesionof otherwise
contrasted
material.
This is moreobviousin some cases thanothers;
a particularly
good exampleis thefirstmovement
of theC minorpianotrio,whereall theexposition
materialis containedin bar 1. Such motifsare
morecomplexand distinctive
thanthose
generally
foundin Beethoven
of
by Reti.This concentration
material,memorablydescribedby Spitta,7must
of Brahms'sworkthat
surelybe one of thefeatures
appealedto Schoenberg.Brahmsas a handlerof
sonata formmay be seen as standingmidway
betweentheearlyClassicalcomposers
(basingtheir
on tonal power)and Schoenberg
formprimarily
(basing his primarilyon motivicand thematic
Thetonalandmotivic
ofBrahms's
elements
rhetoric).
sonata formsare co-equal,and indeedare manione oftheother.He usedsonataformfor
festations
of all but one of his chamber
thefirstmovements
works(thehorntrio)and forthelastmovements
of
it is usedin middlemoveall buteight.Sometimes
mentstoo (as in theD minorviolinsonataand the
of theclarinetquintet),
thirdmovement
and it is of
in a miniature
formin mostsections
coursepresent
of scherzo-and-trio
typemovements.
The contrast-based
formsof ternary
and rondo
also receivedcomplex treatmentfrom Brahms.
und untrennbar
7'Sein Strebengehtauf Concentrirung
festes
mitall den Mitteln,welcheder Tonkunstals
Zusammenfugen
solchereigensind' (P. Spitta:Zur Musik,Berlin,1892,417)

GreaterLondon Council

Royal FestivalHall * Queen ElizabethHall * PurcellRoom

Director:JohnDenisonCBE

Musicand
SouthBankSummer
MasterClasses
withNevilleMarriner
collaboration
bytheGreaterLondonCouncilin artistic
presented

3-17 August1975

* Apollo Society * JanetBaker * Dalton Baldwin *

Academyof St Martin-in-the-Fields

* NeilBlack* Alfred
WilliamBennett
Brendel* MichaelChapman* Gervasede Peyer*
RichardGoode* LynnHarrell* CarmelKaine* TheKing'sSingers* MichaelLaird*
* GerardSouzay*
* Tess Miller* JackRothstein
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* Wilbraham
BrassSoloists* FestivalSingers
TokyoStringQuartet* JohnWilbraham
SOUTH BANK SUMMER MUSIC

ALFRED BRENDEL MASTER CLASSES

TALKING POINT August 4-9 and 11-16

TicketsavailablefromRoyalFestivalHall
Leafletwithfullprogramme
Box Office.
detailsavailablefromRoyalFestivalHall

The chambermusicofBrahmsfeatures
in thisyear'sFestival.
predominantly
Amongtheworksselectedare therarelySonatain D forcelloand piano
performed
of
(whichis thecomposer'sowntranscription
theViolinSonatain G), thewell-known
ClarinetTrio,theA minorStringQuartet,the
F minorPiano Quintetand theG majorSextet.
Neville
SpeakersincludeSir MichaelTippett,
Gervasede PeyerandHumphrey
Burton
Marriner,

698

Each afternoon
fromAugust11-15
AlfredBrendelwillgivea seriesoffiveMaster
Classesforsixyoungprofessional
pianistsin
theQueenElizabethHall.
The repertory
willconsistofsolo and/or
concertoworksbyHaydn,Mozart,Beethoven
and Schubert.
Membersofthegeneralpublic
willbe able to attendtheclassesas observers.

Having decided upon-and, as it were, set up-a

contrastformbased on thejuxtaposition of distinct
sections,Brahms could oftenproceed to modifythe
contrastin a numberof ways which led to a more
dynamic and symphonicformal conception. There
is a large variety of ways in which he brought
contrasted sections closer together thematically;
the ternaryformsof the second movementsof the
clarinetquintetand the F minorclarinetsonata are
compelling examples, showing the main theme of
the middle section evolved from that of the main
section. Brahms also modified the basic contrast
pattern by varying recurringsections, both thematically and tonally, thus weakening the central
contrast by placing contrast elsewhere; examples
include the second movementsof the B flat string
quartet and the C minor piano trio (variations of
texture)and the second movementsof the A minor
and B flat string quartets and the F major cello
sonata (variations of tonality).Ternary and rondo
forms may furtherbe complicated by the use of
substantialbridgepassages or codas-giving ternary
formsa binaryor rondo bias, and expandingrondo
forms-and by the use of discrete sections containing contrast within themselves. Brahms used
many types of rondo form: ABABA (the first
movementof the horn trio, the second movements
of the F major string quintet and the A major
violin sonata), ABACA (the thirdmovementsof the
G major violin sonata and the clarinet trio),
ABACBA (the fourthmovementsof the G minor
piano quartet and the F minorclarinetsonata) and
ABACABA (the last movementsof the B flatstring
sextetand the A major violin sonata).
Justas formswerea matterforcomplicationwith
Brahms, so too were textures: his restlessness
towards,and sensitivityto, sound compelled him to
vary his instrumentation.Unlike the Classical
masters,who based theirchamber output around a
nucleus of one or two central groupings,Brahms
are not
had no such central genre.The instruments
simplyoutward show, or merelya vehicle for presenting ideas: they have an intimate relationship
withthe ideas-they help generatethem,theyshape
them and colour them. And Brahms always used
the texturalpossibilitiesof his instrumentationto
articulate and enhance his musical argument,as
one may see fromsuch movementsas the firstof the
B flat stringsextetand the second of the A major
piano quartet and the F major stringquintet.
If it is helpfulto divide Brahms's creativelifeinto
periods, that is best done not by considerationsof
genre,formor harmony(though thereare certainly
changes in each) but by considerationsof melody
and itstreatment.True, theearlyperiodis dominated
by piano music, and the late period by clarinetand
keyboard music, leaving in the rich middle period
the large choral works and the symphonies; but
that is surely fortuitous(though it is significant
that he was unable to compose fifthand sixth
symphonies in his late years). Urbantschitsch's
attempt8to divideoffperiodsaccordingto Brahms's
treatmentof sonata form is unconvincing,largely
because those characteristicallyearly works the
piano sonatas all show, as do such works as the
8V. Urbantschitsch: op cit, chaps. 4-7, 22

firsttwo string quartets, those featureswhich he

ascribed chiefly to late sonata forms. Brahms's
formschanged during his life, but the differences
are not differencesin kind; he was always an
intricateformalthinker,as the earlyworks indicate.
His harmony also developed; there is a typically
early, Mendelssohnian chromaticismwhich seems
to be less used after 1860, and his interestingdefinitions of tonalityby the avoidance of the tonic tend
to be in middle-periodworks; but his love of diatonic discords was with him throughouthis life
(as opp. 1/ii,78/i and 119/i show). These changes
of genre, formand harmonyare not characteristic
enough to defineperiods.
It may be that we are not discussing periods,
in the Beethovenian sense, but rather the phases
thateveryhuman beingand artistmustpass through.
The years before Brahms moved' to Vienna show
diverse influences,readily accepted, and diverse
spiritualconditions.This is the period of the search,
ripebutreceptive;he was enthusiasticand strenuous,
and his pieces are in consequence somewhat bombastic. The years from about 1862 to 1887 are the
open, rich years of consolidation, his musical
personalityfound; he worked because he liked to.
The finalyears are those of reflectionand economy;
he had to compose, for he could not stop. These
phases, really no more than the artisticequivalents
of youth, maturityand old age, centre around,
first,his meetingwith the Schumanns and its profound impact on his art and his life; second, the
fame of the Requiem; and third,the retrospection
of his late yearsof reworking,assemblingand finishing (he said that op.111 would be his last work9).
Those events are central to the three phases: they
embody selfconsciousness,establishmentand contemplation.
If those phases are apparent in any aspect of his
work, it is in his melody and its treatment.In the
early period, his themescomparativelylack distinction; the methods of developmentdo not seem to
penetratedeeply into the themes; and theme and
developments are somewhat separate. From the
second string sextet onwards, the themes have a
new suavityand economy and an altogethergreater
distinction;developmentaltechniquesbecome more
meaningful; and the separation of theme and
developmentbecomes less clear (the opening of the
C major piano triois a tellingexample). As Brahms's
lifeprogressed,more and more notes have more and
more significance,until in the last period we may
speak of a melodic density differentin kind from
those of earlier periods. The continual intensityof
melodic beauty becomes overwhelming,and such
movementsas the firstof the second clarinetsonata
show a fusionof melodic presentationand developmentunrivalledin Brahms and elsewhere.
9M. Kalbeck: op cit, iv, 216

Chambermusicby Brahmsis a centralfeatureof this

year's South Bank Summer Music, August 3-17,
devisedby Neville Marriner.
The Music Publishers' Association and Photographic Service
(Music Reproductions) Ltd have devised a scheme for reproducing out of print, copyright material with the publisher's
approval. Details from Edward Shipley, 62 Hatton Garden,
London ECIN 8LR.

699