Program Notes
Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Opus 2 by JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
The Sonata in F-sharp minor, Opus 2, is marked by epic drama, gravitas, and Kreislerian emotionalism. Written by a prodigiously gifted Johannes Brahms, it contains the traits that would eventually define the nexus of his style: structural cohesiveness by means of macrocosmic thematic integration, a strong expressiveness that never collapses into contrived sentimentality, a rigorous rhythmic heft, and a masterful treatment of counterpoint. This sonata certainly stands apart from its successors, however, in spirit: the work is markedly Lisztian in its bravura piano writing, vehemently passionate Romanticism (recalling Goethe’s ardent Werther), and rhapsodic fantasy-like episodes. The zeal of the young Brahms leaps from every page, and the four movements reveal essential facets of his artistic idiom: the first movement is full of forthright intensity; the Lied-like second movement exudes a poetic and stark melancholy; the folkloric third movement darts with verve, grace, and power; and the sprawling finale impressively fuses formal integrity with an improvisatory freedom.
Brahms was an ambitious man of not yet 20 years of age when he created this remarkable composition. According to the autograph, he completed the sonata in November 1852, and it was one of the first works he showed to Robert and Clara Schumann. The Schumanns were greatly impressed by the talent of Brahms and thus an enduring friendship began. Robert Schumann was a tireless advocate for Brahms; he avidly urged publishers to print the latter’s compositions and even pronounced the young composer to be a visionary of sorts in an article entitled “New Paths” in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik: “Seated at the piano, he proceeded to uncover wondrous regions. With this came playing of sheer genius, so that the piano was turned into an orchestra of lamenting and jubilant voices. They were not sonatas so much as veiled symphonies.” This glowing review underscores Brahms’s grand orchestral approach to pianowriting. The opening, with its earth-shattering cascades of octaves, must have produced an especially startling impression; it seems to pronounce Brahms’s bold arrival to the musical world. Though the F-sharp minor sonata was the first piano sonata that Brahms wrote, it was published in 1853, after the C major sonata. Brahms aptly dedicated the work “with deepest respect” to Clara Schumann.
From the very outset, Brahms possessed the unique ability to transcend genres and to imbue a solo piano work with symphonic and songlike elements. Fittingly, the Andante con espressione movement of the sonata is a set of variations based on the old Minnesinger melody “Mir est leide” (“It saddens me that winter has turned both forest and heath pale”). Although this piece as a whole bears a somewhat rough-hewn quality due to its discursive structure and unwieldy passagework, its shortcomings are superceded by the music’s potent yearning, immense scope, and inspired vision.
©2007 Elizabeth Joy Roe. All rights reserved.