In his Essay on Brahms (Paetel, Berlin), the well-known author of the monumental life of John Sebastian Bach, Philip Spitta, says:—“The leading characteristics of Brahms’s music are all plainly visible in his first ten works. A manliness that is almost brusque, a dislike for purely emotional music, stern conciseness in the melodic matter, a delight in organic structure, particularly by the use of strict polyphony, all combining with the freer style of Beethoven to produce entirely new results. The serious underlying feeling, a sense of depth, and a shrouded exquisite beauty of sentiment under a dignified reserve.... Such a complete comprehension of all the forms and means of musical expression as we find in Brahms, and the way to apply them in the forms of composition he affected, is really stupendous, and in its way quite unprecedented.”
Sir Hubert Parry
Speaking of the modern tendencies in music, Sir Hubert Parry[30] says:—“And even in the highest branches of art, represented by the noble symphonies of Brahms, which illustrate the loftiest standard of style of the day, the significant change from the old ideals is noticeable. For the aim is but rarely after what is equivalent to external beauty in music. What beauty is aimed at is beauty of thought, the beauty of nobleness, and high musical intelligence.”
W.H. Hadow
The personal note is added by Mr. Hadow[31] when he recites the story of Brahms taking up his residence in Vienna, the city of high musical activity, in 1862. “As yet his compositions were little known, but there was no musician in Vienna who had not heard his name or felt some expectation at his arrival. Before long, introduction had ripened into acquaintance, and acquaintance into a many-sided friendship. Men were glad to welcome a new genius of conspicuous power and encyclopædic knowledge, who never spoke of himself, who never wrote a line in his own defence, who never attacked an opponent, or depreciated a rival. Add to this the quiet voice, the undemonstrative manner, the kindly disposition that expended itself in a thousand services, the upright honesty that would never stoop even to conquer, and it is not hard to explain a personal popularity which has lasted unimpaired to the present day. The artist is too often to be described in Mr. Stevenson’s phrase, as ‘a man who sows hurry and reaps indigestion.’... It is not a little refreshing to contemplate a genius who, with all the astonishing amount that he accomplished, yet found time to enjoy his dinner, to bear his part in the company of his friends, and to become the sworn ally of all the children in the neighbourhood.”
An examination of the list of Brahms’s works shows that he found a congenial field for his labours in the department of chamber music. His works for Piano Solo number 23, amongst them being the remarkable Sonatas op. 1 and 2, which were probably among the compositions that drew from Schumann his highly appreciative notices of Brahms. There are seven Duet Sonatas, viz.: three for piano and violin (truly great works), two for piano and ’cello, and two for piano and clarinet. The last-named, op. 120, are almost his final compositions, and contain some admirable music, especially that in E♭, No. 2. The andante of No. 1 is also a beautiful and characteristic movement, by which is meant that its beauty is no mere prettiness, but rather a noble expression of the composer’s best thought.
Piano Trio, op. 8: Two Versions
There are also seventeen other chamber music works, many of them being of the highest importance. The Trio op. 8, for piano, violin, and ’cello, may be named first, seeing that after a lapse of nearly forty years Brahms, with a rare sense of self-criticism, re-wrote the work and published the new edition, thus, as it were, opening to us quite freely the windows of his workshop. Each movement of the trio has undergone some change, the chief of these being the first allegro con brio, which is shortened by some two hundred bars, the melodious second subject of the original version being replaced by other matter, and a fugal episode, based on this subject, which on second thoughts Brahms evidently rejected as incongruous, is eliminated altogether. The next movement, a scherzo, remains, save as to slight details, unaltered until the last thirty bars. In these the treatment is different from the first edition, a series of descending chromatic chords in the piano part being replaced by passages evolved from previously-used themes, and the string parts are radically altered. The adagio has undergone a considerable amount of alteration. In place of the second subject an entirely new theme appears; the allegro episode (Doppio Movimento) is discarded, and the length of the whole movement curtailed by more than one-third. The finale, originally marked “allegro molto agitato,” is marked “allegro” only, and instead of 518 bars, it has now only 322. New thematic matter replaces that which is omitted, and generally speaking the whole movement is a good deal transformed.
We have here a somewhat rare, although of course by no means unique, opportunity of comparing the treatment of similar musical ideas by a great master at two different periods of his career, and while no doubt the changes of some of the original themes for others is of interest, the chief lesson which this revised version enforces, is that of conciseness of musical utterance. The first edition contains more passages of melodic beauty (or, may we say, more tunes approximating to prettiness?), and much more of scholarly working out; but for all this there can be little doubt that Brahms perceived the organic weakness which arises out of this diffuseness, however charming the subject-matter may have been in itself, and hence arose the artistic impulse to rewrite the work.