This ruminative Intermezzo is an example of Brahms' "autumnal" style, at the same time being one of the composer's most radical experiments in upsetting our notions of meter. The piece's outer sections are in a sedate triple meter, built from two phrases of four measures each -- materials for a potentially stodgy structure and rhythm. Yet there's also a song-like nature to this music, and its pauses naturally invite a degree of rubato, something that Brahms builds into the Intermezzo's central section. Here, the phrases take on highly irregular lengths, as if the pianist were improvising; it's an unlikely combination of extroversion and delicate fantasy. In mood, this is indeed an intermezzo between the more fiery first and third pieces of the composer's Op. 116 set. ~ James Reel, All Music Guide
