Spanish-American pianist JOSU De SOLAUN (www.josudesolaun.com)
In an All-Brahms-Recital
The Final Piano Pieces:
Op. 116, Op. 117, Op. 118, Op. 119 (Bad Ischl, AUSTRIA, 1892)
Live from Madrid’s Shigeru Kawai Center
Madrid, SPAIN, July 12, 2024
Produced by Courtiers
Special thanks to
Luis Clemente
and
Kawai Spain
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116 (1892)
Capriccio. Presto energico 0:16
Intermezzo. Andante 2:42
Capriccio. Allegro passionato 5:57
Intermezzo. Adagio 9:09
Intermezzo. Andante con grazia ed intimissimo sentimento 13:19
Intermezzo in E major. Andantino teneramente 16:35
Capriccio in D minor. Allegro agitato 19:46
Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 (1892)
Andante moderato 22:23
Andante non troppo e con molta espressione 27:23
Andante con moto 32:04
Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 (1892)
Intermezzo in A minor. Allegro non assai, ma molto appassionato 38:03
Intermezzo in A major. Andante teneramente 39:58
Ballade in G minor. Allegro energico 45:54
Intermezzo in F minor. Allegretto un poco agitato 49:09
Romanze in F major. Andante 51:33
Intermezzo in E♭ minor. Andante, largo e mesto. 55:20
Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119 (1892)
Intermezzo in B minor 1:00:04
Intermezzo in E minor 1:03:23
Intermezzo in C major 1:08:27
Rhapsody in E-flat major 1:09:55
After composing the string quintet, Op. 111, in 1890, Brahms told his friend Mandyczewski that his recent attempts at large-scale projects had failed and that he might be too old to continue. The next year, in the summer resort of Bad Ischl, Austria, he wrote his will. However, in 1891, meeting clarinetist Mühlfeld inspired him to compose the clarinet trio and quintet, Opp. 114 & 115, followed by two sonatas for Mühlfeld (Op. 120). In 1892, in Ischl, Brahms also began work on twenty piano pieces, later published as Opp. 116-119.
This late music is filled with a sense of mortality. His last work, written after Clara's funeral in 1896, was a set of 11 chorale preludes ending with "O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" ("O world, I must leave you"). That same year, he composed the Vier ernste Gesänge ("Four serious songs"), including "O Tod, wie bitter bist du" ("O death, how bitter you are"), set to a descending chain of thirds, symbolizing death in his late music. This interval is prominent in many of his final piano pieces.
Listening to his piano pieces from 1892, we can imagine him finding solace as he composed them. This period saw the deaths of many close to him: his sister Elise, his friend von Herzogenberg, singer Hermine Spies, Bach biographer Philipp Spitta, Hans von Bülow, and Theodor Billroth.
Op. 116: Consisting of three capriccios and four intermezzos. Brahms had used "capriccio" and "intermezzo" for a similar set fourteen years earlier (Op. 76). He sent these pieces to Simrock with instructions to issue them in two volumes, but the strong unity of the set makes this surprising. The last number, like the first, is a stormy D minor capriccio, with three intermezzos in E major and minor at the center. The interval of the falling third is prominent throughout, particularly in the impetuous opening number and the melancholy A minor intermezzo that follows. The third piece, a passionate G minor capriccio, acts as the scherzo of the set. Its initial phrase returns in an augmented form and in the decorated reprise of the following E major intermezzo’s main theme. This intermezzo, originally called a nocturne, is a perfect miniature. The fifth intermezzo begins with sighing two-note phrases and dissonant harmony, while the penultimate piece is a nostalgic, bittersweet minuet. The final capriccio, in Brahms's most agitated style, brings the collection full circle.
Op. 117: He called these "the cradle songs of my grief." The first piece quotes lines from Johann Gottfried Herder’s translation of an old Scottish poem, invoking a lullaby. The second piece transitions from minor to major in its middle section, while the third piece's middle section is restlessly syncopated, with falling intervals symbolizing death.
Op. 118: The titles "capriccio" and "intermezzo" disappear, replaced by "ballade" and "romance." The ballade and romance (Nos. 3 and 5) feature middle sections in distant keys, contrasting with their outer sections. The first intermezzo unfolds in a spontaneous sweep, the second is one of Brahms's most famous shorter pieces, and the final piece, marked "mesto" ("sad"), evokes orchestral sonorities and ends in E flat minor, a key associated with a bleak mood in Brahms's mind.
Op. 119: The concluding rhapsody in E flat major features a confident opening subject, a shadowy idea in the minor, and a dramatic ending. The first piece is saturated with descending thirds, creating dissonances. The second intermezzo transitions from minor to major, and the penultimate number is a playful C major intermezzo, contrasting with the grandeur of the final rhapsody.
11 июл 2024
