Johannes Brahms – Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34

The combinaon of string quartet and piano makes the piano quintet a singularly powerful ensemble as it joins two self-sufficient forces in a grand partnership. As a genre it occurs far less frequently in the repertoire than string or piano quartets, but there are noteworthy examples of the piano quintet amongst the works of several of the greatest composers, including Schumann, Franck, Brahms, Dvořák, Fauré and Shostakovich. Brahms’s one and only piano quintet, his Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34, underwent several metamorphoses before it arrived at its current form. It began life in 1861 as a string quintet with two cellos, but Brahms’ friend and chamber music collaborator, Joseph Joachim, persuaded him that the string ensemble did not do jusce to the work’s musical climaxes and symphonic concepon. Brahms then switched to the keyboard and rewrote the piece as a sonata for two pianos. With double piano resources he could achieve a more orchestral breadth of sound but he remained dissasfied with the absence of string colour and eventually he seled on the present version for piano quintet which he published in 1865. A dark, mighty work of tremendous scope, it is generally considered to be Brahms’ great chamber music epic completed when he was only thirty-one.

The first movement is predominantly sombre and tragic. It opens with an eerie unison of piano, violin, and cello that is soon reiterated by the enre quintet in a powerful and painful way that represents the ‘Sturm und Drang’ frequently employed by Brahms in his dramac composions. The whole first movement is derived enrely from this first theme. Brahms’s gi for themac variaon and his skill with rhythmic complexity – parcularly his use of two beats against three which makes for a driving pulse with a myriad of cross-rhythms – provide a broad and powerful scope to the movement and set the tone for the work as a whole. The full contrapuntal resources of the string quartet are combined with a rich variety of piano techniques to create a density of texture.

The second movement is wrien with Schuberan lyricism, expressed through the calm grace of the piano which is accompanied by the gentle swaying of the strings. The prevailing tenderness occasionally reveals a hidden sadness. Towards the end the quartet takes the opening song of the piano, and reveals it in a quieter, more reflecve mood. This movement forms a sweet intermezzo between the contrapuntal complexity of the first movement and the temperamental quality of the third.

The Scherzo is one of Brahms’ most electrifying composions. It contains three movic elements: a rising theme of vague rhythmic identy; a snapping move in strict, doed rhythm; and a march-like strain in full chordal harmony. These three components are juxtaposed throughout the movement, with the doed-rhythm theme being given special prominence in a vigorous fugal workout. The middle secon transforms the march into a majesc and powerful chorale. Aer this ‘Trio’ secon, the movement then returns to the maniacal opening themes, and closes in an aggressive and decisive manner.

The finale has a structural composion that is unique to Brahms. It opens with a haunng introducon that becomes more dramac unl the tension is released with the Allegro non troppo secon. Here the cello plays the first theme - a folk-like melody that develops into a gypsy dance. Brahms interweaves several themes throughout this movement: the folk-like melody, the rusc dance, and a meditave refrain. His genius in wring variaons is exquisitely demonstrated in this movement by the way he morphs and blends the themes together, culminang in a breathtaking coda that sweeps the work to a dramac end.

Elizabeth Dalton, 2017