My Life is Not Interesting

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Op. 27

Brahms's Psalm 13, Op. 27, was written in 1859 and was published in 1864 by C. A. Spania. As it says in the title, Brahms uses the German translated text of Psalm 13, from the book of psalms in the bible. The text is easy to find, and an English translation is available on Wikipedia. The song is written for a SSA woman's choir and organ. He also notes that the organ part can be replaced with piano, three hands. Since there are six verses in the psalm, Brahms makes each of the verses have a distinct character to them. For example, the first verse is written in a dance-like 6/4, while the second verse is in a cut-time allegro. 

I honestly do not know what to make of this song. There are times where it sounds really great, and then there are other times where it sounds like it could have been written better. It is obvious that Brahms takes a lot from the immaculate Bach, as the style of writing for both the choir parts and organ part emulate his works very well. What I mean by that is Brahms wrote in the same baroque style, while incorporating romantic elements into it. One thing I do dislike about this piece is the ending. I found it strange that Brahms did not make it seem like it resolves at the end. Maybe it was the voice leading, or that it was written for organ, but I just thought it could have been better.

Despite my criticism of this piece, it is still very unique and is worth listening to.

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Op. 25 and 26

My apologies for being so late and behind with these posts. Holidays, travelling, and practicing for a recital have caused me to focus my time and energy at different tasks. Nevertheless...

Brahms's Op. 25 and 26 are his first two piano quartets. They were published in 1861 by Nikolaus Simrock, who was a very popular publisher for many composers. They are both substantially long pieces, with the first one lasting about 40 minutes long, and the second the second one at 45 minutes. The difference between a string quartet and a piano quartet is that a piano quartet has a piano instead of a second violin.

The first piano quartet was premiered by the wife of the late Robert Schumann, Clara. The piece was written in G minor and contains four movements. The first movement, simply titled Allegro, does exactly what is expected of Brahms. It continues to show his work with music form, and what he does that makes it almost perfect later in his life. One interesting thing about this movement, and throughout the piece as a whole, is that he writes the string parts as if it were a piano. Most of the time, he makes it clear that the strings are one group and the piano another group. I think it is interesting that he makes this decision for what I assume is timbre reasons. The second movement is interesting because of what is marked in the string parts. He writes Con sordino, which tells the performer to play with a mute. String players have a variety of different mutes available, but it was uncommon for them to play this way. Other than that, it is a very nice ternary piece. The third movement is very beautiful. It is once again in ternary form, with a very lush sounding A section, and a march-like B section. It only slightly pales in comparison to the fourth movement.  This movement is titled Rondo alla Zingarese, which means "in the Gypsy style." It is a rondo, which has a main theme, and different episodes that eventually return to that theme. This movement is just simply fantastic. Brahms does a great job at portraying a wide range of emotions in this movement, from passion to excitement. It has become one of my favorite pieces of music.

Brahms's second piano quartet was composed the same year as his first, and shares many similarities with it. In the first movement, marked Allegro ma non troppo, he has they exact same type of entrance as the first movement of his first piano quartet. He has the piano play an introduction, followed by the cello, viola, and then the violin. I believe that the first movement of this piece relies heavily on contrast. He has times where it is really soft and light, and other times when it is loud and thick. Unlike the second movement of the previous one, the second movement of this piece is slow and marked Poco adagio. I think that this movement has some of the most expressive string parts that Brahms has ever written so far. There are many things that he does in this movement that makes the string parts shine their brightest, either when they are playing alone or together. Also, I should note that Brahms also has Con sordino written in parts of this movement. For the third movement, Brahms writes another scherzo. This movement is very dramatic, and constantly switches between a major and minor tonality. Despite having a lot of stormy passages, this movement manages to keep its playfulness before and after the storm has passed. The fourth movement is the finale, and what a grand finale it is. It is very bombastic, and it hits you right in the face at the very beginning. Even when it dies down, it will quickly get its energy back, and keep going from there. Like the last movement of the previous quartet, this makes for a fantastic finale. Though there is one major difference between the two. In the first piano quartet, he uses the wild energy of the gypsy style to make the piece energetic. In the second quartet, the energy is much more controlled, and sounds more refined.

At first I was really skeptical about these two pieces of music. After listening through both of them, however, I found that have some of the most beautifully written passages ever composed. 

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Op. 23 and 24

Brahms’s Op. 23 is a rearrangement of his Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann for piano four hands. This is where there are two performers at a piano instead of the usual one.

Brahms’s Op. 24 is titled Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel for Piano. It contains the main theme, called an aria in the score, and 25 variations of this aria. At the end, there is a fugue the ends the piece. An average performance of this piece lasts about half an hour.

The aria begins this piece. It has a distinct baroque sound that is easily recognizable to have been written by Handel. One thing I find interesting is that Brahms keeps it like a baroque score, by only including ornament markings and no other performance markings. Dynamics, legato, etc. was something that was usually omitted by the composer, and was left up to performer interpretation.

The first variation is light and bouncy. Brahms marks it with a large forte, and includes a lot of staccato markings on many of the notes. He also makes puts emphasis on the off-beat, which gives the variation some dance to it. I also feel that he contrasts the theme by heavily marking the score with performance markings for most of the notes. The second variation goes in the complete opposite direction. It is marked both piano and legato. Brahms also introduces more chromaticism and cross-rhythms to contrast the aria. The third variation is different in that is combines both hands together to create on line of music. It has a unique sound that would be different than if it were played by one hand on the melody and the other on the accompaniment. 

The fourth variation is bombastic variation with plenty of sixteenth notes and sforzandos. Brahms also includes many anacrusises by writing it in a way that each eighth note in the bass is preceded by a sixteenth note. The fifth variation is a character change from the previous ones, by being written in the relative minor key of Bb minor. It is also very expressive, like a song without words. The sixth variation is a two part canon. A canon is a type of piece that is contrapuntal, or has imitations of the theme. The first part of the variation has the canon beginning in the right hand. The second part of the variation has the canon beginning in the left hand.

The variation lifts the mood from the previous two, and is written like a fanfare. It is up beat, and seems to announcing the arrival of something. The eighth variation seems to be a continuation of the previous variation, with the same rhythmic motif of an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes. There is also a running sixteenth note line that lasts the entire length of the variation. I would find this difficult to play, because it crosses many voices. The ninth variation is very romantic. First off, he writes these large legato phrase markings, and demands a lot of sustain pedal. He also includes a large amount of chromaticism that cause the tonal center to be constantly shifting. The rhythm choice that he uses also makes it sound free, as he uses triplets in the right hand with descending chromatic octave eighth notes in the the left hand.

I honestly do not know how to define the tenth variation. It is unique in that the phrase shape starts from the top and goes down in arpeggios to the bottom. It is very enjoyable to listen to though. The eleventh variation is very melodic, and has three different lines. There are a quarter note, and eighth note, and a sixteenth note lines. I find it to be delicately written, as Brahms shifts effortlessly between major and minor chords. Variation twelve has a very classical feel to it. It has a very simple and light harmony in the left hand, as the right hand plays a single sixteenth note run. I think it sounds like something that Mozart would have written.The thirteenth variation is written at a much slower tempo, and is back into Bb minor. To me, this one sounds like a funeral march. It has long and expressive phrases that are very dramatic. It is also sounds reminiscent of Chopin’s piano works. 

Variations fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen are all related. With an exception of the fourteenth, they all take at least one element from the previous variation. To me, fourteen sounds like it was influenced by Beethoven. This was not something unique, as Brahms has a very deep respect for the composer. Fifteen takes the sixteen note runs from fourteen, and brackets them with pairs of eighth notes. What is interesting about this is that Brahms has the phrase go across the bar line. This was a normal composition technique, and shows how useless the bar line is when determining phrases. Sixteen is based off of fifteen in that it has the sixteenth notes between eighth notes. This time though, there is only one pair of eighth notes, and they are staccato instead of legato. Seventeen takes the phrase shaping of the previous variation, and puts it into eighth notes that begin on the off beat. Eighteen then follows this up, by making it more ornate with sixteenth notes instead of eighth notes.

Variation nineteen is different from the previous variations in that Brahms changes the meter from duple into triple. This makes it feel more like a dance, which was another popular form of baroque composition. Variation twenty is slow and drawn out, with plenty of chromaticism. This variation seems like it takes more influence from Brahms’s contemporaries such as Richard Wagner. I would even go as far to say that it sounds late 19th-century or early 20th-century. Twenty-one contains many arpeggios that give it a virtuostic sound. Brahms writes sixteenth notes in the left hand, with triplets in the right hand. I think it sounds like something Franz Liszt would compose.

Variation twenty-two has a light, march-like style to it. While it has five voices going on at the same time, Brahms writes it high enough on the keyboard to give it minuet/musette quality. Twenty-three goes back into a triple meter while being marked vivace e staccato. In the phrases, there is a constant build up, with multiple climax points along the way. Eventually, it does it the high point, and leads into variation twenty-four. This one it like the previous one, except that he writes more legato runs. The set of variations ends with the twenty-fifth variation. It is written back into duple meter, and marked Fortissimo as its dynamic marking. All the chords are written as octaves, with and added third or fifth between them. This variation has fanfare quality to it, and I feel that it announces both the end of the variations, and the beginning of the fugue.

The fugue is the second chunk of Brahms’s Op. 24. A fugue is a type of contrapuntal piece that is based off of imitation that develops. It has a pretty rigid form, of where there is an exposition, followed by episodes, and then a development. The fugue was a popular compositional style during the baroque period, and several baroque composers such as Bach wrote plenty of them. 

Brahms writes pieces that rely heavily on the perfection of their form. This contrasts the romantic character piece, which is often formless music. He might have had and inspiration to add a fugue to the end of the variations after studying counterpoint in his free time. What makes it unique is that Brahms utilizes romantic harmonies, which gives it a distinct romantic sound that is not in many other fugues.

I would definitely recommend Brahms’s Op. 23 and Op. 24. His Schumann Variations is a fun rearrangement that gives the piece a little bit different character from the added second part. While his Handel Variations and Fugue is a relatively short piece, it is deep in terms of content.

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Op. 22

Brahms wrote Marienlieder Op. 22, or Songs for Mary, in 1860. This set of seven songs, as the title describes, all have text that is all about the virgin Mary. They are divided into two books. The first three songs are in the first book, and the last four are in the second book. All of these songs are for an SATB choir, and is unaccompanied. They are all also in either strophic, or some type of strophic form. Another key element that they share is that they are written as Baroque chorales, but with added Romantic harmonies.

The first song is titled Der Englische Gruß, or the Angel's Annunciation. From the title alone, I can safely assume that the text is about the angel telling Mary that she will give birth to Christ. Brahms uses this the music to show that it is something to celebrate and be happy about. There is some counterpoint, but overall it does not stray away from a normal chorale. The second song is title Marias Kirchgang. Brahms hides the tonality a bit more in this song, going in and out of Gb major and the relative minor of Eb. On the penultimate verse, Brahms eventually does modulate to Eb major, and gives it a cheerful feel. The third song is Marias Wallfahrt. The one is marked Con moto, and thus has a bit more motion than the two previous ones. Brahms does some really interesting stuff to the rhythms in this song. In the first section, he puts a bump in the rhythm by making the end of each phrase a half note. This  makes the ends seem to stretch. The second thing he does is that he does a metric modulation for the last verse. He goes from 4/4 into 9/4, with the half note tempo becoming the dotted half note tempo. This turns it into a dance, with the beat being felt in triple instead of duple.  

The second book begins with the fourth song, Der Jager. This translate as The Hunter, and I am not sure how this relates to Mary. Nonetheless, Brahms writes this a bit faster, and is the fastest song in this set. To me, this song sounds has a melody that is reminiscent of a folk-song that Brahms might have used. My favorite thing about this song happens in the second section. Brahms puts the melody and harmony in the soprano and alto, while writing a call and response section for the tenor and bass. The fifth song, Ruf zur Maria, is one of the most relaxing chorales I have heard in a long time. The voices just seem to move effortlessly from note to note, and all of them make these very beautiful chords. While he does this, he also puts just enough chromaticism to keep your attention. The sixth song, Magdalena, is written like a normal chorale as well. What makes this one beautiful is that there is are very dramatic phrase shapings as the parts rise up and down. The moving lines in the lower parts are also well written. The final song has the title Marias Lob. This song also has fantastic voice-leading, with the ending being very pleasant to the ears. It is a great, light wrap-up to these songs.

For such a secular human being, I find that he can create some of the most beautiful sacred music to have existed. I may say this about most of what he writes, but I love these songs very much. 

The next listening example will be another set of variations. It is his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. 

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Op. 21

Brahms' Op. 21 is another large set of piano pieces. It consists of a Eleven Variations on an Original Theme, and Fourteen Variations on a Hungarian Melody. the first set is about sixteen minutes long, while the second movement is about seven and a half minutes long.

As the name implies, this set of variations is based off of an original theme that Brahms composed. This is in 3/8, and is in it's own binary form. In the first variation, Brahms turns the theme from eighth notes into running sixteenth notes. It is also very soft, as it is marked either piano or pianissimo throughout. The second variation is much more expressive. He keeps the sixteenth note constant in the left hand as the right hand has a melody that a quarter note followed by an eighth note. Brahms plays with the rhythm in the third variation. The left hand has eighth notes on beats one and two, while the right hand plays tied eighth notes that begin on beat three. The fourth variation is much faster, with both hands playing chords in a sixteenth note rhythm. While the chords are thick, it maintains its lightness by Brahms writing the dynamic as piano. The fifth variation is written as molto dolce. What is unique about it is that Brahms writes "Canone in motu contrarium." What I assume, and hear, is that this variation is a canon. Very interesting stuff. The sixth variation is much the first one, except it is in triple instead of duple, and is marked to be played with more motion. The seventh variation brings the tempo back to a slower speed, with dotted rhythms that go across the barline.

The next three variations are much darker, and give much contrast to the others before it. The eighth is mostly in the lower part of the piano, and much heavier when compared to the lightness of the previous ones. I would even go as far as to call it "stormy." The ninth is much like a continuation of the eighth, but it is higher up the keyboard and is in a major key. The power created by these two is eventually brought down by the tenth variation, which is stormy like the eight variation, but with a thinner texture. The eleventh and final variations is a return to the main theme. It is much different in that it has more motion in the form of sixteenth notes below the melody. It also contains a lot of characteristics from previous variations. I like to think of it as a person returning from a journey, reminiscing and learning from the experiences he learned during his travels. 

His second set of variations are based off of a Hungarian melody. This is not unusual for Brahms to do, as he was a huge collector of folk music. This piece is much shorter than the other one, as Brahms writes each variation to be the same phrase length of the theme.

The theme is nice and stately. It is powerful, but not too much, so the piece has room to grow. He then goes into the first variation, which is louder and thicker than the theme. Brahms ornaments the melody a little bit by adding passing tones, and changing the rhythm some. The second theme is much lighter, with the left hand playing every other measure on low staccato notes. The right hand is playing  in a rhythm that is very dance-like. The third variation adds more movement by adding a constant sixteenth note rhythm in the left hand. This is then followed by the fourth variation, which is like the second, but louder and more bombastic. The fifth variation is when Brahms begins to introduce cross rhythms. This is where one parts play a duple rhythm, and another part plays a triple rhythm. The next variation is like the previous one, except the cross rhythms are switched into different hands.

Variations seven is very thin, to contrast the previous ones. Brahms marks "quasi pizzicato" in the left hand. With this marking, he wants the left hand to play it short, and to make it sound like a cellist is plucking the string. In variation eight, he   puts the left hand playing large leaps with a grace note in between them. When combined with the right hand playing on the off beats, it leads to a very strange and unique sounding variation. Variation nine is not that exciting. All he does is introduce a little bit more dissonance. It is important though, as it sets up for variation ten. It is a flawlessly legato melody that shoots out like a cannon from the previous variation. The eleventh is a continuation of the tenth, but with sixteenth notes instead of eighth notes. It keeps building with cross rhythms in the twelfth variation, and eventually 32nd notes in the thirteenth variation. The fourteenth variation is unique in that it is the longest. Brahms does not limit this to the standard two phrases, but instead makes it larger, and combines parts of previous variations. If I were to set this variation to a scene, I would say that it sounds like something that would play at a rural wedding. He then triumphantly returns to the main theme, and ends the piece with a huge ending.

These two sets of variations are fantastic. It also helps that I listened to a recording of these played by Sviatoslav Richter. While they are not as popular as his Schumann or Handel variations, I thoroughly enjoyed these pieces.

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Op. 20

Brahms composed his Drei Duette Op. 20 in 1860. It is a set of three duets for soprano and alto with piano accompaniment. The names of the duets are Weg der Liebe I, Weg der Liebe II, and Die Meere. The first two duets have text by Johanner Herder, while the third's is by Wilhelm Muller. All three of these songs are written in a 6/8 time signature  The first movement moves at brisk Allegro, as the soprano and alto alternate between singing together and singing contrapuntally. I also find it interesting that Brahms sometimes writes the alto part as high as the soprano part, for what I assume is for a timbre difference. The second song has the same title as the first, and from what I assume is a continuation of the same text used in the first song. This song is slower, and is marked Poco adgaio molto espressivo. This song is incredibly beautiful, as Brahms does a good job with voicing the soprano and alto. The soprano has the melody, while the alto has a counter melody. Despite being a three verse strophic song, it contains a lot of passion in the two vocal lines. The third movement goes slightly faster, as it is marked Andante. This song opens with four bars of piano that just sounds distinctly Brahms in character. It is very passionate in the way it gradually ascends and descends in the phrase. It also ends with a nice coda.

So far, this is my favorite set of songs written Brahms. I would love to see a live performance of these.

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Op. 18 and 19

Brahms wrote his String Sextet No.1 Op. 19 in 1860, and was published in 1862. This piece is written for the standard string sextet, which is composed of two violins, two violas, and two cellos. I like to think of this type of ensemble as an intermediate between a string quartet and a string orchestra. There is the intimacy of a group of friends, but the two added players on the lower instruments can really add depth to the sound. Unfortunately, this type of ensemble is not as popular as the other two, and thus has less written works. This piece contains 4 movements, with an average performance time lasting around 38-39 minutes.

The first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, is the longest movement. As was usual for a string quartet or four movement sonata, the first movement is in sonata form. I find that Brahms did a very good job at making the form very clear. One can easily see where the exposition, development, recapitulation, and coda is. The movement itself is very enjoyable to listen to. He has two very interesting themes that are contrasting enough to be different. Another thing that he does well is create climaxes in both the phrase shaping, and in the shaping of the piece. It slowly rises up and down in the exposition, grows large in the development, and slowly dies down in the recapitulation. It also has a very nice pizzicato ending for the coda. The second movement, Andante ma moderate, is also fantastic. The form of this piece is a theme and variations. This is where the composer writes a theme, and then writes variations on that theme. The main theme is very enjoyable, as is rather ambiguous on what key it is in, and constantly passes between major and minor. Brahms writes some very nice variations, as they are all different from each other, but maintain cohesion to the main theme. What I fin interesting is that Brahms introduces another them about halfway through the piece, and writes a variation on that. Where he possibly wanted to insert a break for the listener from the rest of the piece. Though this is just speculation. 

The third movement is a charming little scherzo that is marked Allegro molto. It is written in ternary form, and in 3/4 time. This piece has a lot of different moving lines, with the melody mostly in the first violin. The rest of the ensemble is mostly either holding longer notes to fill out the chords, or keep the dance-like rhythm going. It just keeps getting faster and faster. As was expected of Brahms, he writes the last movement as a rondo. I find that this piece contrasts nicely with the rest of the work. The theme is much lighter in character than the ambiguous second movement or the driving third movement, and actually reminds me more of string quartet music from the classical period of Mozart and Haydn.

The next piece I listened to was Brahms’s Five Poems Op. 19. Unfortunately, the only recording I could find for the first three songs was not very good. These five songs were based off different poems by: Holty for the first song, Uhland for the second, third, and fourth, and Morike for the final. These songs are very much like much of the rest of German lieder. Most of them are in some type of strophic form, with the exception of the fifth song. This one is interesting in that it contains recitatives at both the beginning and the end. I do not know if this is normal or not, as I am not well versed in romantic lieder. It is also good to note that the piano part for all the songs is very well written.

These two pieces are both very enjoyable, and continue to show Brahms’s evolving maturity in his use of form. It also shows that he is writing more for instruments other than the piano. The next two pieces I will listen to tomorrow are his Three Duets for Soprano and Alto, Op. 20, and his Two Sets of Variations for Piano Op. 21.

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Op. 16 and 17

Brahms's Serenade No. 2 Op. 16 is yet another orchestral work that Brahms wrote before his first symphony. It was written in 1859, and was dedicated to the late Robert Schumann's wife Clara. This piece was written with 5 movements, and was later revised in 1875. What is unique about this piece is that Brahms did not score this for violin at all, which is the main body of sound in an orchestra. An average performance length for this is about a half hour.

The first movement, Allegro moderato, is very light. It does a very good job at characterizing what a serenade actually it. This movement is very much about the winds, where they usually have the melody, and Brahms passes it through different groups. The second movement, Scherzo: vivace is the shortest movement. It is written in the standard ternary form, or ABA. The the outer A sections are almost dance-like, with short staccato eighth and quarter notes. The inner trio section is contrasting, with legato phrases in the winds. Adagio non troppo is the name of the third movement, and Brahms does really well in making sure it does not go too slow. It is in a modified ternary form, with an added coda at the end. It is also the first movement to in a minor key, which is A minor, and then later, C minor. Though he does modulate to different keys a lot. What is interesting about this is that there is mostly always some sort of underlying rhythm that gives it a sense of motion at the slow adagio tempo. Another neat section is in middle when he has the oboe and clarinet play against each other in duple and triple. The fourth movement is a minuetto, and as expected of Brahms, was written in the minuet form. This form is like ternary, but is a little bit more strict on what you can do to the piece or movement. There is not much to say about it, other than the fact that it is written in 6/4, instead of the usual 3/4 that was common for minuets. There is also a lot of syncopation, and phrases that bounce from instrument to instrument. The final rondo movement is by far my favorite from this piece. It is light and fun, while still have some darkness in parts of the episodes. The melody is the best part. It sounds like something from either a folk song or more precisely, a sea shanty. Overall, it is a very fun piece to listen to, despite it lacking a violin and most brass parts.

His Op. 17 is titled Vier Gesänge, or 4 songs. These four songs add up to about 14 minutes in length, and is written for SSA, two horns, and a harp. The text comes a variety of writers. I enjoyed this group of songs for a variety of reasons. The first is the accompaniment. It is gives a very unique sound that is very pleasing to the ears. The second thing is the variety. The 4 songs all have a very distinct feel to them. The third thing is the voice leading. A lot of the chords, especially in the fourth movement, move together with such beauty, that it is hard to not pay attention to their beauty. The final thing I loved about these was the drama in the fourth movement. This one was the only one that was not strophic form, or goes through verses. It has the perfect amount of Strum und Drang, and help create a very dark song with rays of light shining through the darkness.

Next time, I will be listening to his String Sextet No. 1 Op. 18, his Five Poems Op. 19, and his Three Duets for Soprano and Alto with Piano Accompaniment Op. 20.

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Op. 15

Brahms's Piano Concerto in D minor No. 1, Op. 15, is a fantastic piece of music. It was completed in 1858 and performed by Brahms in 1859. The piece, unfortunately, was not well received by the crowd at the first performance. It was written after the death of Brahms's dear friend Robert Schumann in 1856, and the effect it had on Brahms is clearly evident in this piece. It is divided into three movement: Maestoso, Adagio, and Rondo: Allegro non troppo, with an average performance time lasting 45 minutes.  The first movement, as the name of it suggests, is large and big. It is the longest movement, with an average length of 22 minutes. This movement is really great, there is a constant shift of energy between the two contrasting themes, and Brahms does a really good job at going from the development into the recapitulation. The second theme itself is very beautiful, and seems like it could be taken out and rearranged into its own solo piano work. It is evident that he While this movement is the weakest to me, it is still great! The only word I can use to describe the second movement is pastoral. I think that it sounds like Beethoven's 6th symphony, despite being down a minor third. In this movement he relies much on the winds to give it tone color, and inter-plays it with the strings to create some quasi call and response passages. What makes this piece amazing for me are the resolutions of chords. At the slow adagio tempo, Brahms really likes to drag on secondary and altered dominant chords to create these absolutely beautiful resolutions that are full of emotion. There is also a very nice cadenza at the end. The final movement is a very impressive rondo. The average performance time is 12 minutes, and I believe it is in an ABACADA form. This movement is seen by many to be similar to Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto. It has been a long time since I listened to it, so I cannot account for this. His mastery of form at the young age of 25 is evident in this movement. He makes it clear what part of the rondo you are at, and when it changes to a different episode. Another thing I loved about this movement was the little fugue, and later the march, he includes near the end of the piece. This piece is tremendous. It is Brahms experimenting with orchestral tone color, and adding a virtuostic piano part. I recommend that everyone should listen to it while following along in a score.