Piano Quartet No. 1

The Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25, was composed by Johannes Brahms between 1856 and 1861. It was Clara Schumann who owned this masterpiece, as she was the pianist for the first performance in 1861 in Hamburg. It was also played in Vienna on November 16, 1862 with Brahms himself at the piano supported by members of the Hellmesberger Quartet.^[1] Like most piano quartets, it is scored for piano, violin, viola and cello.

The quartet is in four movements:

1. Allegro
2. Intermezzo: Allegro
3. Andante con moto
4. Rondo alla Zingarese: Presto

First movement

	Piano Quartet in G minor - 1. Allegro Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin), Elias Goldstein (viola), Stephen Balderston (cello), and Mathew Ganong (piano)
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This first movement, a sonata form movement in G minor and common time, begins immediately with the first theme, a declamatory statement in straight quarter-notes, stated in octaves for the piano alone. This theme is the opening cell that governs the content of the rest of the musical material in the movement. The other instruments soon join in to develop this initial theme and cadence in G minor. There are numerous secondary themes in the exposition, in B-flat major (for all instruments), D minor (beginning with violoncello solo), and two in D major: the first being the D minor theme in the major mode and developed differently as well (heralding a key signature change to D major), and the second being a more exuberant idea for all instruments (marked 'animato'). The exposition ends in D major and is not indicated to be repeated. The development section is notably short, developing only the main opening theme. The recapitulation begins with a key signature change back to G minor and the musical content is identical to the beginning for the introductory theme. The recapitulation moves to A minor for a significant portion, and notably, one of the initial themes returns later in G major. The resolution is short-lived, as it moves back to the minor mode, where it cadences after an imitative development of the first theme in G minor, ending with a desolate G minor chord for all instruments, the highest notes being the third and fifth scale degrees of the tonic triad.

Second movement

Piano Quartet in G minor - 2. Allegro, ma non troppo Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin), Elias Goldstein (viola), Stephen Balderston (cello), and Mathew Ganong (piano)

The second movement, marked Intermezzo and Trio, is in C minor and compound triple meter. It is in ternary form and functions like a scherzo, the more traditional second or third movement of a piano quartet. The consistently repeated eighth notes creates an effect of perpetual motion, even agitation, although the melodic themes are quite lyrical. The intermezzo flirts between major and minor and ends in C major. The trio, in A-flat major, is quicker and less agitated than the intermezzo; the trio has two primary themes, the first being in A-flat and the second beginning in E major. The intermezzo is repeated, followed by a brief coda in C major that restates the theme of the trio.

Third movement

Piano Quartet in G minor - 3. Andante con Moto Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin), Elias Goldstein (viola), Stephen Balderston (cello), and Mathew Ganong (piano)

The Andante, a massive slow movement, is a ternary form movement in E-flat major in triple time. The first subject is very lyrical. A second idea, which brings back the repeated eighth notes from the intermezzo, begins the transition to the second main section. The second section is in C major and starts with fortissimo chords in dotted rhythm for the piano solo. The second theme itself is rhythmically energetic and exuberant in character. It is initially stated by the piano and accompanied by light sixteenth note gestures by the strings, although this is later reversed. After a surprising twist, in which the instruments land on a diminished-seventh chord, the first theme returns, first in C minor and then in the home key of E-flat major. A long coda helps to stabilize the often dissonant and unstable harmonies of the movement. Like the previous movements, this movement develops a plethora of themes. The final cadence of this movement, from the minor subdominant to the tonic, is used to conclude many of Brahms's slow movements, such as that from the Piano Quintet. The voicing of the last chord is ominous: the highest note of the strings is the violin's open G string, while the piano plays a tonic chord (again with the third on top) two octaves higher.

Fourth movement

Piano Quartet in G minor - 4. Presto, Rondo alla Zingarese Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin), Elias Goldstein (viola), Stephen Balderston (cello), and Mathew Ganong (piano)

This fast rondo (marked 'presto') is in G minor in duple time. The subtitle "Rondo alla zingarese" has given it the nickname "Gypsy Rondo." Like many of Brahms's finales, this uses as its principle theme a very fast, rhythmic, tonal, simple idea (see the finales to his Piano Quintet and Double Concerto), this one covering an irregular number of measures. The formal design resembles: ABACDBCADCBA, although the movement is more nuanced than this because each section is in ABA form and cadenzas occasionally interject between sections. This movement is notable for its difficulty, rhythmic and metrical complexity, and harmonic exploration (for instance, after the final D section, the piano plays a cadenza based on the B section that modulates from G minor to F-sharp minor), and has remained one of the most difficult movements to perform in all of Brahms's chamber music.

Arrangements

The quartet was orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg; this orchestrated version was made into the ballet Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet by George Balanchine.

References

• See also: Donald Francis Tovey, Chamber Music: Essays in Musical Analysis, Volume 2 of Essays in Musical Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• See also: Carl Dahlhaus, Nineteenth Century Music, Trans., J. Bradford Robinson, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.

External links

• Piano Quartet No. 1: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Detailed listening guide using recording by Emanuel Ax, piano; Isaac Stern, violin; Jaime Laredo, viola; Yo-Yo Ma, cello
• http://web.mit.edu/ckcheung/www/MusicalWritings_files/BrahmsPfQt_Context_20050423.pdf

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