LDV67

AMAURY COEYTAUX, GEOFFROY COUTEAU 23 The third movement, Un poco presto e con sentimento, ‘one of his most inspired pieces’ according to the critic Eduard Hanslick, a close friend of Brahms, is a marvellous intermezzo in the Viennese vein he adopted so often, a whimsical, cheerful and witty caprice, interrupted by a brief, luminous passage of imitation, before the dancelike piano theme returns, only to be swiftly spirited away by the violin’s final pirouettes. The Presto agitato erupts at once and races off valiantly, but is soon interrupted by a chorale that generates a second, highly expressive melody on the violin. The development is very stormy, before the return of the chorale and the abrupt ending. It is the epic side of Brahms that reasserts itself here, as if he were rediscovering the fiery vigour of his youth, which in the end never deserted him, from the Ballades to the Second Piano Concerto. Of all the great composers in history, Brahms is the one who never truly grew old, merely diversifying and varying what had always been part of his style from the age of twenty onwards. It is perhaps this impression of timelessness that makes him such a powerful presence for us.