LDV67

AMAURY COEYTAUX, GEOFFROY COUTEAU 21 The Andante tranquillo asserts its presence as a romance or folksong, simple in tone, giving way to a joyous interlude (Vivace) before returning for a second, even more poetic episode, which rises to a sublime expressive peak. The motif then takes on a ‘Gypsy’ colouring (violin pizzicati); it is this that will gain the upper hand, ushering in a joyous ending. The finale, Allegretto grazioso (quasi Andante), begins in a more autumnal tone, soon to become surreptitiously rhapsodic. The melody, borne mainly by the violin, generates three episodes as serene as a late summer afternoon, and affectionately quotes the vernal lied Meine Liebe ist grün , a setting of a poem by Felix Schumann which Brahms had sent Clara at Christmas 1873. She wrote of the sonata that no work by Brahms had delighted her so utterly, making her happier than she had been for a long time. Thus the first two sonatas recount Brahms’s tender relationship with Clara Schumann, through a constant celebration of song.