It was about ten years ago at a chamber music concert in Charlotte, North Carolina that I first encountered Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in g minor. I was immediately hooked! The finale which I am sharing in today’s Musical Offering is about as good as it gets in terms of repertoire for a chamber ensemble.
Johannes Brahms was twenty-eight years old when he wrote his ambitious Piano Quartet No. 1 in g minor. The year was 1861. It was his third composition in what would become an oeuvre of some twenty-six chamber music masterworks. The last movement is entitled Rondo alla Zingarese. Presto” or “Rondo in the Gypsy style. Very Fast.” It is truly a tour-de-force of rhythmic and melodic bravado.
The term Rondo refers to a sectional movement form in music that features a recurring refrain between two or many contrasting episodes. A typical Rondo would be ABACABA where A represents the refrain with B and C as episodes. See how many times Brahms returns to the refrain in this rhythmical fourth movement and how many episodes you can discover.
This YouTube Video features Kyung Sun Lee, violin, Brian Suits, piano, Sheila Browne, viola, and Brooks Whitehouse, cello. Do enjoy this spirited performance.
Love One Another - Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment