LDV67

22 BRAHMS • THE VIOLIN SONATAS Sketched in the same year, 1886, but completed in the summer of 1888, again on the shores of Lake Thun, the Third Sonata in D minor op.108 displays a different mood, distinctly darker and more redolent of German legend, right from the spirited Allegro alla breve that opens the work. In this sonata, Brahms returns to his tormented, symphonic style, which was to be further affirmed in the late piano pieces. More virtuosic and confrontational than its companions, it is dedicated to the great pianist Hans von Bülow, perhaps to underline the battle waged between the two instruments in places! A second theme of heartfelt lyricism contrasts with the vehemence of the first. After a mysterious, free-floating passage, in which thematic fragments and new ideas mingle, comes a powerful, concentrated development, rhapsodic and well-nigh concertante in scale. A beautiful coda forms a tranquil conclusion to the movement, as if suspended in time, preparing the way for the splendour that is to follow. The ensuing Adagio is the culmination of the three sonatas, at once a prayer and a lullaby. The violin states a pure, poignant melody that quickly rises to a great outpouring. One might equally compare it to a lied, or a fervent hymn, mournful and noble, with an emotion that is all the loftier for remaining contained. The piano makes its voice heard in a tender response; then the song returns, more vibrant still, as if choking back its emotion, before a conclusion that evaporates like the setting sun bathed in ochre.