Completed in 1893, the Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 were among Johannes Brahms’ final works. They drift into a world of dreamy introspection and wistful nostalgia. The lengthening shadows of autumn are at hand. Brahms dedicated the collection to Clara Schumann.
Op. 118, No. 2, the Intermezzo in A Major, is at once majestic, melancholy, and longing. Marked Andante teneramente (“tenderly”), it has been described as a cradle song. Developing from the motivic seed of the first three notes, the music feels as if it is continuously searching for a path forward. With expansive phrases, the middle section becomes more passionate and restless before dissolving and finding its way back to the initial theme.
Here is Emanuel Ax’s 1992 recording:
Recordings
Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2, Emanuel Ax Amazon
Featured Image: “Autumn Woods” (1886), Albert Bierstadt
1 thought on “Brahms’ Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2: Emanuel Ax”
Dear Timothy, thank you for highlighting this sublime reflective opus of Brahms’ piano repertoire. I played this exact piece for my dear mother’s memorial this summer. She adored Brahms and was a lifelong patron of the arts in Seattle and then in Tucson. All the pieces of the opus 118 and 119 are gorgeous mature works. Ax’s rendition here is excellent. I used the one by Lars Vogt, also perfect.
Dear Timothy, thank you for highlighting this sublime reflective opus of Brahms’ piano repertoire. I played this exact piece for my dear mother’s memorial this summer. She adored Brahms and was a lifelong patron of the arts in Seattle and then in Tucson. All the pieces of the opus 118 and 119 are gorgeous mature works. Ax’s rendition here is excellent. I used the one by Lars Vogt, also perfect.