while an examination of the score reveals a wealth of material which can only be assessed by patient and loving study.
Piano Quartett in G Minor
It was in his Piano Quartett, op. 25, in G minor, that Brahms made his first appearance in Vienna, after he took up his residence there in 1862, and although the work is now regarded as an intelligible and convincing piece of chamber music, it was at first received with strong disapprobation by the Viennese musical public. “Dull and ill-developed,” were the terms applied to the first three movements; and the last, because of its being written in Hungarian dance style, was condemned as without precedent and artistically bad. That Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven had already introduced such movements into their chamber music was either unknown to these critics, or ignored by them.
The andante of this quartett contains some of its author’s noblest thoughts, expressed with the utmost clearness. Special attention may be directed to the middle section in C major of this movement, with its strongly-marked military rhythm and highly characteristic effects.
The other two compositions in this form are that in A major, op. 26, and in C minor, op. 60. In the commencement of the former we have a fine example of poetic expression, yet at the close the same material is worked out, in a contrapuntal manner, which is quite remarkable. The slow movement of this Quartett has been referred to by Mr. Fuller Maitland as an example of “exquisite tone colour,”[32] and this work, and that in G minor already referred to, are regarded by this writer as “among the loveliest of Brahms’s works.”
The Piano Quartett in C minor, op. 60, does not show the same high qualities as the other two, and is indeed somewhat lacking in spontaneity. The second entry of the strings in the opening movement has a chromatic passage which is more like Spohr than Brahms, nor is the chorale which appears in the last movement at all in his usual style.
Quintett in F Minor
Of the works for piano and strings, the great Quintett in F minor, op. 34, is a remarkable example. It has been said that Brahms has the gift of making simplicity memorable, and this is illustrated by the commencement of this quintett. To hear it once is to be impressed with its power, and although viewed theoretically it seems almost commonplace, it produces in performance an effect which is truly vital. The piano, first violin, and ’cello begin thus, the first three bars being in unison and octave:—