Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms)

Sonata for Piano and Violin

* No. 2
* "Thun"
* "Meistersinger"

by Johannes Brahms

The composer around 1885

Key| A major
Opus| 100
Composed| 1886 (1886)
Performed| 2 December 1886 (1886-12-02):  Vienna
Movements| three

The Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 ("Thun" or "Meistersinger"), by Johannes Brahms was written while spending the summer of 1886 in Thun in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

It was a very fertile and refreshing time for Brahms. His friend, the Swiss pastor and poet Josef Victor Widmann [de] (1842–1911), lived in Bern and they visited each other. He was also visited by the poet Klaus Groth and the young German contralto Hermine Spies. Both Groth and Brahms were somewhat enamoured of Spies.[1] He found himself so invigorated by the genial atmosphere and surroundings that he said the area was "so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any". In a short space of time, he produced, in addition to this violin sonata, the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, the Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, and various songs.

The second Violin Sonata is the shortest[2] and is considered the most lyrical of Brahms's three violin sonatas. It is also considered the most difficult of the three to bring off successfully, and to exhibit its balance of lyricism and virtuosity.[3] It maintains a radiant, happy mood throughout.[2][4]

## Movements

[edit]

External audio

Performed by Josef Suk and Julius Katchen
I. Allegro amabile
II. Andante tranquillo
III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante)

The sonata consists of three movements, with the middle movement doing service as both a slow movement and a scherzo:[1]

1. Allegro amabile – A major
2. Andante tranquillo — Vivace — Andante — Vivace di più — Andante — Vivace – F major
3. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante) – A major

## Commentary

[edit]

By giving the work the formal title of "Sonata for Piano and Violin", rather than the more usual "Sonata for Violin and Piano", Brahms indicated the piano part was just as important as the violin part.[2] In keeping with this, he allowed the piano to announce the opening theme. The first three notes of the first movement are very similar in both melody and harmony[5] to the first three notes of "Walther's Prize Song" (Morgendlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein) from Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Although they were musical rivals, Brahms was a great admirer of Wagner's music,[5] but whether this was a deliberate quotation on Brahms's part is open to speculation. Nevertheless, the sonata has often been subtitled the "Meistersinger" Sonata.[3] It is also sometimes called the "Thun" Sonata from the place of its creation.

Motifs from three of the songs Brahms wrote that summer with Hermine Spies's voice in mind[1] appear fleetingly in the sonata: "Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn", Op. 105/1 ("Like melodies it steals softly through my mind"; words by Klaus Groth) makes an appearance in the second subject of the first movement. "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer", Op. 105/2 ("Ever gentle is my slumber"; words by Hermann Lingg) and "Auf dem Kirchhofe", Op. 105/4 (words by Detlev von Liliencron) are quoted in the final movement.[1][6] The song "Komm bald", Op. 97/5 ("Come soon"; words by Groth) is also said have provided thematic inspiration for the sonata.[7]

An outstanding quotation of Brahms' own music can also be found at bar 89 in the last movement. Lied Meine liebe ist grün (Op. 63 no 5, poem by Felix Schumann, son of Robert and Clara, died in 1879) provides the dramatic portion of its melody corresponding to die glänzt wohl herab auf den Fliederbusch lyrics ('which gleams down on the lilac bush').

For French musicologist Georges Kan, this is the location of the little phrase in Vinteuil Sonata which Swann listens to in 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust.

The Violin Sonata No. 2 was premiered in Vienna on 2 December 1886 by the violinist Joseph Hellmesberger and Brahms himself at the piano.[1][2]

Brahms's friend the poet Josef Widmann later wrote a poem to be accompanied by the sonata.[8]

## Recordings

[edit]

Year  | Piano  | Violin  | Label  | Remarks

|
|
|
|

1990 | Daniel Barenboim | Itzhak Perlman | Sony |
1985 | Vladimir Ashkenazy | Itzhak Perlman | Warner |
1960 | Arthur Rubinstein | Henryk Szeryng |  |
1962 |  | Yehudi Menuhin |  |
1948 | Georg Solti | Georg Kulenkampff | Decca |
2009 | Lambert Orkis | Anne-Sophie Mutter | Deutsche Grammophon |
1983 | Alexis Weissenberg | Anne-Sophie Mutter | Warner |
1993 | Yefim Bronfman | Isaac Stern | Sony |
1972 |  | Jascha Heifetz | RCA |
1991 | Maria João Pires | Augustin Dumay | Deutsche Grammophon |
1975 | György Sebők | Arthur Grumiaux | Philips |
1990 | Pascal Rogé | Pierre Amoyal | Decca |
1997 | Peter Frankl | Kyung-Wha Chung | Warner |
2005 | Nicholas Angelich | Renaud Capuçon |  |
1998 |  | Ruggiero Ricci |  |
2015 | Alexander Melnikov | Isabelle Faust | Harmonia mundi |
2013 | Yuja Wang | Leonidas Kavakos | Decca |
1967 | Julius Katchen | Josef Suk | Decca |
1960 | Carl Seemann | Wolfgang Schneiderhan | Deutsche Grammophon |
2001 |  | Zino Francescatti | Sony |
1995 | Piotr Anderszewski | Viktoria Mullova | Philips |
2017 |  | Nathan Milstein |  |
1991 |  | Maxim Vengerov | Teldec |
1955 | Andrei Mytnik | Leonid Kogan |  |
1997 | Roland Pöntinen | Ulf Wallin | Arte Nova |
2019 | Éric le Sage | Pierre Fouchenneret |  |
2016 |  | Christian Tetzlaff |  |
1996 | Peter Serkin | Pamela Frank | Decca |
2018 |  | Tasmin Little | Chandos |
2002 | Frederic Chiu | Pierre Amoyal |  |
2011 |  | Arabella Steinbacher | PentaTone |
2002 |  | Ilya Kaler | Naxos |
1988 |  | Nils-Erik Sparf | BIS |
2015 |  | Szenthelyi Miklós | Hungaroton |
1974 | Daniel Barenboim | Pinchas Zukerman | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Sviatoslav Richter | David Oistrakh | Melodiya |
1987 | Valery Afanassiev | Gidon Kremer | Deutsche Grammophon |
1968 | Pierre Barbizet | Christian Ferras | Deutsche Grammophon |
2011 | Gary Graffman | Berl Senofsky |  |
2019 | Nicholas Angelich | Akiko Suwanai |  |
2014 | Louise Lortie | Augustin Dumay | Onyx |
1932 | Rudolf Serkin | Adolf Busch | HMV |

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2020)

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## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Deutsche Grammophon". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
2. ^ a b c d Classical Archives
3. ^ a b WolfgangDavid.com
4. ^ Music Web International
5. ^ a b "Classical TV". Archived from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
6. ^ Naxos Direct
7. ^ Edward Lein, Program Notes
8. ^ The Gramophone, September 1961[permanent dead link]

## External links

[edit]

* Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

* v
* t
* e

Chamber music by Johannes Brahms

Duos|

* Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
* Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99
* Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
* Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2
* Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
* Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
* Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108

Trios|

* Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
* Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40
* Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
* Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87
* Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
* Piano Trio in A major, Anh. 4/5 (doubtful)

Quartets|

* Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
* Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26
* Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60
* String Quartets, Op. 51 (No. 1 in C minor; No. 2 in A minor)
* String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67

Quintets
& Sextets|

* Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
* Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
* String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88
* String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
* String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18
* String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

* List of compositions by Johannes Brahms

* v
* t
* e

Johannes Brahms

List of compositions

Orchestral works|

* Academic Festival Overture
* Serenades
* Symphony No. 1 in C minor
* Symphony No. 2 in D major
* Symphony No. 3 in F major
* Symphony No. 4 in E minor
* Tragic Overture
* Variations on a Theme by Haydn

Concertante|

* Double Concerto
* Piano Concerto No. 1
* Piano Concerto No. 2
* Violin Concerto

Vocal works
with orchestra|

* A German Requiem
* Alto Rhapsody
* Gesang der Parzen
* Nänie
* Rinaldo
* Schicksalslied
* Triumphlied

Chamber music|

* Cello Sonata No. 1
* Cello Sonata No. 2
* Clarinet Quintet
* Clarinet Sonatas
* Clarinet Trio
* Horn Trio
* Piano Quartet No. 1
* Piano Quartet No. 2
* Piano Quartet No. 3
* Piano Quintet
* Piano Trio No. 1
* Piano Trio No. 2
* Piano Trio No. 3
* String Quartet No. 3
* String Quintet No. 1
* String Quintet No. 2
* String Sextet No. 1
* String Sextet No. 2
* Two String Quartets, Op. 51
* Violin Sonata No. 1
* Violin Sonata No. 2
* Violin Sonata No. 3

Piano works|

* Ballades, Op. 10
* Fantasies, Op. 116
* Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119
* Hungarian Dances
* Piano Sonata No. 1
* Piano Sonata No. 2
* Piano Sonata No. 3
* Rhapsodies, Op. 79
* Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118
* Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39
* Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117
* Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
* Variations on a Theme of Paganini

Other compositions|

* Eleven Chorale Preludes
* Fest- und Gedenksprüche
* Fünf Gesänge, Op. 104
* Fünf Lieder, Op. 105
* Geistliches Lied
* Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52
* Neue Liebeslieder
* Two Motets, Op. 74
* Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91
* Vier ernste Gesänge
* "Wiegenlied (Lullaby)", Op. 49, no. 4
* Zigeunerlieder

Collaborations|

* F-A-E Sonata

Named for Brahms|

* 1818 Brahms
* Brahms (crater)
* Brahms Inlet

Related articles|

* Brahms House (Baden-Baden)
* Brahms Museum (Hamburg)
* Brahms Museum, Mürzzuschlag
* Brahms guitar
* Brahms-Institut
* Brahms-Preis
* German Romanticism
* International Johannes Brahms Competition
* Musical cryptogram
* Three Bs
* Op. 120, No. 1 (Berio)

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* Audio

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