Jason Gallagher

Chamber Music
Profs. Lehrer and Barton
April 5, 2013
Brahms Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 78, Movement 1
Composed in:
1878 - 1879
Style:
Romantic
Characteristics:
This piece follows sonata-allegro form very closely. I hear four clear ideas in the exposition that
are played with in the development and return in the recapitulation. I believe the second theme is the
most challenging musically because the violin's melody is made up of dotted-quarter to eight-note
rhythms which would fit more nicely in a 2/4 meter and the piano appears to fit better in a 6/8 meter
where the eighth notes are equal in the two instruments. The piece uses a lot of melodic exchange
between the two instruments and employs a wide range of dynamics. The places where the melodies of
each part coincide are quite moving, and the interplay of scalar passages and motivic ideas is very
engaging. Of particular interest is mm. 118 124 where the dotted rhythms of each instrument are
arranged so that one every eighth note either the violin or the right hand plays, but they complement
each other rather than play together.
Piano Writing:
The piano part involves a variety of technical and musical challenges. The opening chords, for
instance, look simple enough, but contain resolutions that need to be brought out. The writing is filled
with large chords and arpeggios with leaps that take time for the pianist to get comfortable with. A few
passages also use triplets against eighths, which can be difficult for the pianist alone but are very
difficult where the pianist must line up triplets with the violin's eighths. Also of interest is mm. 133
147, where Brahms uses some very special harmonies combined with different touches in the two
hands. Also, though the violin has the melody at this point, mm. 174 180 are very beautifully written
and make me think of a song accompaniment.
Rehearsal Notes:
Sergei and I ended up having a stop-and-go rehearsal. We dealt with several general issues:
deciding what voices I wanted to bring out, lining up my technical challenges so that the music came
together, breathing and looking at each other for cues, and managing balance issues. The opening
chords (mm. 1-9) bring up issues of voice leading in the piano and bringing out resolutions. We also
worked on mm. 10 20 to give the piano texture some articulation without overpowering the violin.
Mm. 64 69 are challenging because of the dialogue between the left hand and the violin, and mm. 70
81 are challenging because of the offbeats that make staying together tough and Sergei pointed out
that because of the offbeats the piano has to gauge the calando at the end of this section. The remainder
of this pieces continues to challenge the ensemble. It is important to note the coda, though, because it
returns to the main idea (which is already challenging for the ensemble) and leads straight into piano
chords that need to be lined up with the violin's two-note slurs and a triplet arpeggio that needs to

remain in tempo so that the ensemble plays the last three chords together.
Other Chamber Works:
Piano Trio no. 1 in B
Sextet No. 1 in B (2 violins, 2 viola, 2 'cello)
Piano Quartet no. 1 in g minor
Piano Quartet no. 2 in A major
Piano Quintet in f minor
Sextet No. 2 in G
Cello Sonata No. 1 in e minor
Trio in E (violin, horn/'cello, piano)
Two String Quartets in c minor and a minor
Piano Quartet no. 3 in c minor
String Quartet no. 3 in B major
Violin Sonata no. 1 in G major
Piano Trio no. 2 in C major
Quintet no. 1 in F major (2 violins, 2 violas, 1 cello)
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major
Violin Sonata no. 2 in A major
Piano Trio no. 3 in c minor
Violin Sonata no. 3 in d minor
Quintet no. 2 in G major
Trio in a minor (clarinet/viola, 'cello, piano)
Quintet in b minor (clarinet/viola, string quartet)
Two Sonatas in f minor and E major (clarinet/viola and piano)
Scherzo in c minor (violin and piano)
Piano Trio in A major
Hymne trio in A major (2 violins, double-bass/'cello)