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
