Karajan - Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73 - II. Adagio non troppo

The Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73 was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1877 during a visit to the Austrian Alps. Its gestation was brief in comparison with the fifteen years which Brahms took to complete his First Symphony. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.

The cheerfulness of the Symphony has been likened with the pastoral mood of Ludwig van Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. In contrast, Brahms' First Symphony was marked by its sombre tonality (C minor).

II. Adagio non troppo

A brooding subject is introduced by the cellos from bars 1 to 12 alongside the bassoons and double basses. Brahms inserted a new tempo in bar 33 marked "L'istesso tempo, ma grazioso". Here, the dark and sombre mood of the piece continues until the end of the movement.

His second movement is another sombre work in this symphony. In this movement Adagio non troppo, Brahms uses Beethovens expanded form. This expanded sonata form has quite a large exposition, almost expanding half the length of the movement itself. Like Beethovens works, the development would usually be shortened in length to allow a weighty finale or recapitulation to occur. The recapitulation has far more weight than the first movement. It contrasts the rest of the movement by providing a driving rhythm and melody in the strings. It then finishes by returning to a coda-like section in which the main theme is reintroduced in the end. A delightfull technique that Brahms used in this movement directly related to lyricism, was his use of harmonic daring. Throughout the movement, he is creating suspense and release. This tension is rather powerful and draws in the listener and allows them to savour the warm tone color of the instrumentation. Another technique that Brahms was adamant about in this movement is use of thematic material. An interesting uses of thematic material is used in this piece. Here we see the use of a developing variation of the theme. The main theme is introduced by the low strings, low horns, and low winds in d# minor, this immediately brings the listener to the sombre mood of this first movement. The original theme as shown is example 2.1, has the descending line continuously reshaped. we see that this descending line is altered and varied a number of times. To bring this to the listeners ear, he repeated this altered motive in several voices to not only create emotion and increase the pieces tone color, but to also draw attention to something that may have otherwise been missed. Brahms also uses variations on a number of different themes as well in this movement, using everything from leaping fourths and fifths, to descending lines and triplets.

A common technique that will be used in this symphony is change in meter. In this movement, the change is not as profound. It moves simply into 4/4 at the begging, to 12/8 at measure 32, to a combination at measure 56, and then, finally, back to 12/8 at measure 92. Why Brahms chose to add in these time signatures is hard to determine. He may have done this to allows greater ease to the performer to play the triplets in the later half; Or this may have been done create a slightly more dance like texture, perhaps creating a preface to the coming movements that would break the dreary shackles of the first two movements.

-Wikipedia-

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[earthypig]

@Cocoheadedcannibal there is an even finer "inbetweenness" within melancholy itself.

not here to convince you, but to air what is. one can have just a touch of melancholy, or deeper. the palette is much richer than one can imagine, and just as one thinks one knows all about melancholy, there will be yet another artist to come along to explore the level of melancholy not yet expressed....

[Cocoheadedcannibal]

@earthypig strange...and unconvincing, you have extremes of emotions happiness and sadness, and inbetween you have melancholy.

if you move away from the fragile state of melancholy you stumble off the path of it altogether into despair and sadness.

The quintessence of melancholy is its state of 'inbetweeness' , it is the mildest of sorrows, while at the same time being sorrow for it acknowledges the contradictions of life, without being depression.

your intense melancholy is sorrow.

[earthypig]

@Cocoheadedcannibal i disagree... a piece of music can have just a "touch"of melancholy, or more intense melancholy. "melancholy" isn't just one color, far from it. and different artists have their own special flavor of melancholy unto themselves.

[josepharchbold]

@Simon0 I would define Brahms as the melancholy composer. Its nice that all the composers have different moods because it adds variety.

[Cocoheadedcannibal]

@mi007fistspot it's impossible to have gradations of melancholy. If Beethoven expresses melancholy on a 'much deeper level' than you're no longer talking about melancholy; it would be more like a deep depression, which moves away from melancholy into extremes of emotion.

[nirvana2187]

whoa an amazing symphony



[donnasweet0703]

Stunning.......I studied it (analysis) in college...had to listen to it 30 x, or so....leaves an indelible impression.........impending tragedy @ 8:03.

[gotoast123]

Best.Composer.Ever.

I'm just sayin:P

[mi007fistspot]

@Simon0 I would say that beethovens melancholy was on a much deeper level...

[mi007fistspot]

Ha excuse me, I meant BRAHMS! not BACH.