20 BRAHMS | CLARINET SONATAS ∙ HORN TRIO The opening Andante, in free form, presents a tranquil melody in the violin, taken up by the far-off, legendary sound of the horn; a serene atmosphere is established, in quasi-idyllic communion. The music grows livelier, more agitated, and gradually becomes dramatic, even tragic, with the irruption of a heart-rending motif, suddenly shattered by melancholy. The opening theme returns, assigned to the horn; the piece ends in well-nigh euphoric outpouring. The Scherzo resembles an initial ‘hunt’ before the actual hunt of the finale. Here we have a typically eighteenth-century genre piece, enthusiastically pursued by the three instruments. The theme is hammered out with wild impetuosity. The Trio section unfolds a veritable lullaby, gently nostalgic, of the kind we encounter so often in Brahms’s works, sung in unison by the violin and horn, then taken up by the piano.
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