LDV61

GEOFFROY COUTEAU & QUATUOR HERMÈS 21 The op.76 pieces date from 1878, the year of the composition of theViolin Concerto, a work of magnificent breadth. What a contrast with Brahms’s piano writing, which here seems to be intended solely for the use of the musician who plays the pieces. ‘Some pieces, like the last one, the Capriccio in C major, are virtuosic and utilise an improvisatory style. The Capriccio in B minor and the Intermezzo in A flat major, with their Hungarian character, are full of folklike vigour that might be compared to Liszt. Their popular character comes out in a very lyrical way. However, I perceive a kinship, in these Klavierstücke , with Schubert as a kind of soul mate of Brahms. The expression of stark suffering and melancholy brings the two composers closer together. For me, the fifth piece, the Capriccio in C sharp minor, suggests a link with Variation VII from the Second Book of Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini. The complexity of the latter movement, a genuine study in rhythm (one hand plays in duple time while the other is in triple time), accentuates the “fantastical”character of the music, just as in the Capriccio. Two other examples also come to mind, showing just how premonitory Brahms’s music appears to be. Perhaps the Hungarian György Ligeti saw in this musical gesture an idea that could be explored further, because some of the piano études he composed a century later superimpose rhythms and harmonies that are independent of each other. Finally, I’d like to mention the style of Gustav Mahler. Following in the footsteps of his elder Brahms, an adopted Viennese like himself, Mahler also superimposes several independentmelodic and rhythmic lines in the orchestra. He develops the concepts of polyphony, in the literal sense of the term, and polyrhythm. It’s understandable that one can feel, listening to these works by Brahms, and especially op.76, that we have come to the end of Romanticism. A new chapter is beginning’, concludes Geoffroy Couteau.