ATTENTION: For this AEIOU article, there is probably
a new version in
Austria-Forum
www.austria-forum.org
Please click here
|
Brahms: Symphony No.2, 2nd movement
|
Form scheme
2nd movement |
A slow movement that is somewhat difficult to grasp - there are only few distinct melodies, there is little thematic work in the traditional sense. What happens here is "musical prose" - a term coined by Arnold Schönberg (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon") for those Brahms themes that do not correspond to symmetrical patterns.
|
bars 1-12
|
The main theme, consisting of 12 bars, contains several motifs succeeding each other without the usual elaborations or repetitions. The basic mood of the movement is solemn, in spite of the light key B.
From the celli 4 bars of the main theme are taken over by flute and violin. The ascending fourth from the 3rd bar is used to form a new theme in the horn. A further motif elaboration, using the 3rd bar of the main theme, prepares the ground for a friendly, intimate centerpart.
|
bars 32-38
|
In part B a gracious, syncopated theme turns up in the woodwinds.
|
bars 45-49
|
The mood becomes more dramatic in the bridge. The theme is played by various groups of instruments, first by the strings, then by the wind.
Part A 1 is based on the main theme, which is also used in variations. It is presented by the oboes, taken over by the wind and varied in the strings.
|
bars 97-104
|
The brief Coda repeats the main theme in an abridged form.
|
|
