Johannes Brahms, born in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany – died in Vienna, Austria in 1897, was one of

the great authentic German, romantic composers and pianists of the 19th century. He as well wrote symphonies,
piano concerti, a German requiem, and variations of other composers themes. He was a traditionalist in music
compared to the “New German School” that Brendel defines as being Liszt, Wagner, and Berlioz – who are not
even German composers but get an honorary title. Brahms could be described under the term – absolute music
in which his music focused on the Classical style more than the progressive. He was also a perfectionist with so
many of his drafts getting destroyed and only keeping the final versions. This is a reason why he had moved to
Vienna, a city that was more conservative in culture and in music was so that he could easily express his ideas
from the instability of Europe at the time. Some events that took place in his life include the Revolution of 1848
in France, Germany, and Hungary, as well as the Unification of Germany in 1870. Brahms also met with Robert
and Clara Schumann, two other great composers in the early 19th century, which also influenced his style and
even later dedicated his Alto Rhapsodie to Julie Schumann.

Brahms conservative style in music, especially for the piano, provides much more clarity in what was
being written, heard, and played. It can be seen during his three different periods of music: starting from his
sonatas where he follows a standard Sonata form but expands it – similar to Schubert, the second period which
consists mostly of character pieces such as his rhapsodies - which were mostly diatonic but experimented with
chromatic key changes – or intermezzi and caprice, the third period – containing the most beautiful music of
Brahms’s late life included intermezzi and is where Brahms started to slowly experiment out of the Romantic
mindset by using chromaticism and dissonance to create rich harmonies and making the instrument a lyrical
itself.

The piece that I will play today will be Brahms’s Rhapsody in g minor, Op.79 no.2, composed in 1879,
takes place right after the one in b minor, No.1. It was dedicated to Elisabeth Herzogenberg – a German pianist
and composer who was an ambassador of Hanover who also had connections to Chopin and Alkan, and was
closely associated with Johannes Brahms. The term rhapsodie associates with the piece itself, with certain
sections sounding improvised by the highly contrasting sections and use of colour in the piece. The piece is in
an allegro- sonata form with a coda at the end traveling between g minor and b minor. The Development section
is the largest section and includes drama and use of chromaticism – such as the use of the Ger+6 and immediate
phrase modulations from b minor to g minor, helping in the creation of ecstatic and enthusiasm. The piece itself
is outstanding with major dynamic contrast from each section, with a heavy texture that keeps the piece together
and can be even described as vigorous but a sense of blissfulness is seen in the piece.