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Viewsand Viewpoints
OriginsofBrahms's
Structural
Control
Charles M.Joseph
SouthernMethodist
University
the manystylistic featuresone associateswithBrahms'smusic,
noneis morepowerfulthanthearchitecture
ofhismusicaldesigns.
coherencewas thegenesisof hiscreativeprocess,notmerely
Structural
thegoal. The alluringidea of creativeinspiration
assumingprecedence
over the creator'sconsciouscontrolwas a romanticnotionforeignto
therefore
thatin hispersonalcopyofJahn's
Brahms.It is notsurprising
ofMozart,Brahmsshoulddoublyunderlinethepassage"In all
biography
forcecannoteven foran inthecreative,inventive
artisticproductivity,
one."1
divorcedfromtheconstructive,
stantbe completely
organizing
in
his
celebrated
and
even
essay
Tovey,Evans,Reti,
Schoenberg
are among a host of authorswho have ad"Brahmsthe Progressive,"
dressedthe meansby whichBrahmsarchitecturally
develops,balances,
unifieshisvariedforms.We are wellacquaintedwiththe
and ultimately
to
undertaken
ofsuchworksas theFourth
dissection
byanalysts
Symphony,
Thus
Brahms'sprowessinthearea ofmotivic
demonstrate
manipulation.
ofa mastermusicalengineer,
thematureBrahmsstandsas thearchetype
buildinghis impressive
designsby the mosteconomicalmeans.Yet the
aboveallelse
his
as
a
of
study
origins composerwhoemphasizedstructure
The purposeof this
is an area whichhas notbeen exploredsufficiently.
whichconarticleis threefold:(1) to examinethevariouscircumstances
ofBrahms'searlyawarenessofformal
totheinitialestablishment
tributed
coherenceas a compositionalpriority,
(2) througha briefhistoricalinEpianowork,theScherzo
analyticstudyof Brahms'searliestsurviving
flatMinor,Opus 4, to suggestan earlylinearresourceas a nucleartech(3) to projectthisyouthful
techniqueas a vitaland
niqueof unification,
in
from
laterperiodsof his
of
structural
control
works
means
continuing
creativeactivity.
Brahms
^ans Gal,Johannes
(NewYork:Knopf,1963),p. 155.
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a sharphistorical
in whichto placetheearFormulating
perspective
liestof Brahms'sworksis a difficult
task.Chronologicaluncertainties
abound.However,one mayjustifiably
yearsto
assignBrahms'sformative
a periodlastinguntil1853,theyeartheSchumannsspiritually
adopted
ofhiscompotheunknownyouthintotheirhousehold.Sincethemajority
and Harsitionalattempts
worksreleasedbyBreitkopf
precedingthefirst
telin 1853weredestroyed,
how
itisimpossible
toascertain
"youthful"
just
hisearliestworksactuallywere.Thereforeinexamining
Brahms'sorigins
as a musical architectwe must relyalmost solelyupon eventsand
influences
knowntohaveaffected
himin thatinitialstudentperiod.
In varying
detailKalbeckand otherearlyscholarstellofBrahms'sinterestin orderliness
and structure
evenas a smallchild.Raisedin theimof Hamburg,Brahms'searlypenchantfororder
poverishedGangeviertel
rebellion
as a not-so-latent
surelywouldbe viewedbytoday'spsychologists
his
with
unordered
environment.
His
against
toysoldiers,
youthful
play
is
his
of
them
into
various
formations,a favorite
especially arrangement
anecdoterelatedby manybiographers,
some primorperhapsimplying
dial typeof geneticurgeto structure
mattersand createorder.On less
tenuousgroundBrahms'sunquenchablethirst
traceable
forscholarship,
to his days as a schoolboy,is firmly
documented.Geiringerreports:
'Brahmsalwaysused his pocketmoneyfora subscription
to thecirculatand whenas a youth,he playeddance-music
inlittlepubsand
inglibrary;
pothouses,he would set a book beforehimon the musicrack,eagerly
reading while his fingersmechanicallyperformedthe long familiar
tunes."2We have some knowledgeof the bookshe read and musiche
knew.The regularpurchaseof suchtheoretical
manualsas thosebyMatof hiscomtheson,Marpurgand othersis germaneto an understanding
with
is
his
positionalbeginnings.
Especiallypertinent
familiarity theconof
Fux.
withsuch scholarly
The
trapuntalmethodology
familiarity
treatisesat an earlyage atteststo Brahms'sdevotionto seriousinquiry.
Evenas a youngpianistin theearly1840shisprogramming
of a fugue
fromtheWell-tempered
Clavierforpublicrecitalwashighlyirregular
and
indicativeof his musicaltastes.These signalsrevealan exceptionally
sober-mindedyouthabsorbedin theoretically
orientedmaterials,all of
whichstemfroma senseoforder,disciplineand logic.Indeed,theseare
the same qualitiesusuallyassociatedwithBrahms's"severe"composi2Karl Geiringer,"Brahms as a Reader and Collector,"TheMusical Quarterly,
XIX,
No. 2 (April 1933), 158.
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10
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11
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12
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13
II
Marxsenexerteda steadyinfluenceon theyouth's
Unquestionably
thatthis
growthas a composer.It seemsreasonabletoassume,therefore,
withit.
Scherzowas not a radicaldeparturefrompiecescontemporary
same
time
of
the
it
is
other
works
written
about
Verylikely representative
Brahms
butdestroyed.
Whatare thecircumstances,
that
then,
prompted
workto serveas thedividinglinebetweenwhat
to permitthisparticular
lostand whatwastobelongtoposterity?
wastobe forever
The Opus 4 Scherzo
enjoyeda favoriteplace in Brahms'searlypertoJoachimin Hanover,this
When
he wasintroduced
repertoire.
forming
Likewisein
confidant.
wastheworkthathe firstplayedto hissoon-to-be
totheSchumanns.In a letitservedas Brahms'sintroduction
Dusseldorf,
and Hartelof November3, 1853,Robertdescribedthe
terto Breitkopf
workas "great"askingeightlouisd'orforiton Brahms'sbehalf.Evenmore
when RemenyiintroducedBrahmsto Liszt in Weimar
interestingly,
(duringtheirconcerttourof 1853),Liszthimselfplayedtheworksince
it.12Lisztwasso takenbythe
Brahmscouldnotbe persuadedto perform
his
work'svigorthathe immediately
Surelyall of
repeated performance.
theseincidentsswayedBrahmsto includethisworkin hisfirstpublished
of the
eventhen,musthavebeen confident
set.Yet Brahms,self-critical
it
is unotherwise
to
these
Scherzo
of
the
events;
reinforcing
prior
quality
eminent
to
such
his
introduction
have
it
would
offered
as
that
he
likely
musicians.
Also in viewof his aforementioned
trainingwithMarxsenin the
thatBrahmswouldfeel
not
it
is
of
classical
surprising
design,
principles
Gal
with
this
form.
For
as
at
ease
suggests,thescherzo,more
especially
fewer
than mostnormativestructures,
compositionalproblems
posed
imsince"thequintessenceof the formis that,froma singlerhythmic
material."13
thematic
confined
with
it
can
narrowly
develop
pulse,
verified
to thescherzoas a viableformis further
Brahms'sattraction
by
first
Brahms's
for
this
severalotherefforts
employing design: example,
publishedchambermusicwas the violin-pianoScherzoof 1853. That
movement
as hispersonalshareofthejointly
Brahmschosethisparticular
to hisassurednessin this
F.A.E. Sonata,lendsfurther
written
testimony
costructural
the
exhibit
sonatas
The
three
form.14
strongest
earlypiano
with
whenBrahmsin 1890,
scherzos.Finally,
herencein theirrespective
inB Major,Opus 8, itwas
Trio
his
1854
revised
in
hand,
drastically
scalpel
alonewhichescapedradicalsurgery.
theScherzo
12Schauffler,
p. 33.
13Gal,p. 159.
tnbutetoJoachim.Schumann
as a birthday
14Thiswork,withopus number,was written
and Dietrichweretheothercontributors.
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14
It hasbeensuggestedthattheOpus 4 Scherzo
maybe thesolesurvivor
of an earlypiano sonata.Ehrmannreportsthattheautographof theC
MajorPianoSonata,releasedas Opus 1,carriesthetitle"VierteSonata."15
froma
This at leastallowsforthe possibility
extraction
of theScherzo's
earlier
six
work.
of
because
its
enormous
Still,
larger,
length(over hundred measures)comparedto itscounterparts
fromthethreepublished
pianosonatas,sucha prospectseemsunlikely.
such
ThoughBrahmswasa faithful
discipleof Marxsen'steachings,
devotiondid notprecludetheyouth'sattention
to theideasofothercomformalconventions
posers;nor did his knowledgeof traditional
impair
hisownexperimentation
in constructing
hisowndesigns.The relatively
unorthodox
toincludea secondtriois noted
expansionofthemacroform
in thisScherzo(whichalso strengthens
a case forthework'sindependent
conception). The temptationto credit this formalenlargementto
Schumann'sinfluencemustbe resisted,for Brahmsknewnothingof
Schumann'scompositions
in 1851. Moreapparentis theoverallspiritof
which
Brahms
Chopin
adamantlydenied whenquestionedabout the
of
elan.16Yetwhatever
similarity styles especiallyin thework'spianistic
eclecticfeaturesare to be observed,aboveall else itis Brahms'sconcern
withand controlof thelineardimensionof thisworkthatare mostimpressive.A specificand traceablelineartechniqueservesas thegerminal
idea ofthecomposition
and organically
linksall subpartstothewhole.
Considerfirstthe veryopeningof theworkas seen in Example 1.
The pervasiveness
of theinitialrhythmic
figureis clear(markedx in exEx. 1.Scherzo,
Opus 4 measures1-9
(*)
' X. ^
Ihtov
wyF|fb
mm.1 i
(y)
J ) .]
I H=h
rJ *J "J
J u
n
1x
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15
construction
ofthepassageis thecrucial
ample).Centralto thethematic
conjunctlineardescent,whichbeginsat the highpointof the section's
pacing (based on the strengthof texturaland harmonicfactors,and
directionof
marked);).One mightevenspeculateas to thesubstructural
to
which
seems
theopeningrhythmic
presagethis
figure'spitchcontent,
of
a reduction
descent.Allowingforoctavedisplacement,
overallthematic
to
thecompletemelodicgesturerevealsa basiclinearunityfundamental
thework'sconstruction.
This linearlyinspiredgesture,observableat theoutsetof thepiece,
contourfortheremainderof thework.This kingeneratesthethematic
debe
seen
bycomparingtheaboveexamplewiththesimilarly
shipmay
first
the
climax
of
the
marks
18
and
which
at
measure
line
begins
scending
of thissamematerial(measures22-25)
section.The lefthand statement
thatfollow(measures26-30),
and overlapping
truncation
and themotivic
an earlyexampleof
all foundedupontheopeninglineardescent,furnish
Brahms'sadoptionof a developmental
techniqueusuallyassociatedwith
the
section
as
laterworks,such
(in pianoreduction)quotedfromtheSyminC Minor,Opus 68 (Ex. 2b).
phony
Ex. 2a Scherzo,
Opus 4 measures15-31 ,
w ^p1 iff;
o
b 11^|j'jir^
i'mi
r iriti["
fyi^r^^M
. i .
f f tjf r
11 *--
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16
dMfe=
v.
y.
~]
'
measures1-9
Ex,4. Trio I (fromScherzo),
i
Eg] Trio
s. - .
i??Vn.;i
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17
subtlebutequallysignificant
structural
linkis seenin theopeningofTrio
in
II, reprintedbelow Example5a. The subsequentextensionof thedescendinglineis observedin Example5b as itis statedoverthetexturally
Chopinesquefiguration.
Althougha measure-by-measure
analysisof theentireworkwould
tobe representative
ofthescopeofthistechprovetheaboveillustrations
material
stems
from
an
some
intervalically
disjunctorigin,perhaps
nique,
The passagequotedbelowand excerptedfrom
as a purposefulcontrast.
Trio I appearsto be unrelatedto thelinearideasseenin thepreviousexengenderedmotivereappears
amples.Yetevenwhenthisindependently
withtheopeningthemeand
inthesecondpartoftheTrio,itiscompatible
absorbedintothelineardescent(Ex. 6b).
iseventually
idea is at best
of purposeto a specific
The attribution
compositional
speculativeand nearlyalwayssuspectwithoutthe benefitof primary
of materials
sourcematerialssuch as sketches.Yet sucha compatibility
and overtusage of linearunityas mentionedabove mustbe morethan
purecoincidence.Notonlydo Marxsen'smethodssupportsucha possibilhasaddressedtheissue.In his
ityofconsciouscontrolbutBrahmshimself
Ex. 5a. Trio II, measures1-9
faoTl
TrioII
Moltoespressivo
-^
dtfrrj
wi
ir
[3831
^~
,-^^-Tf-r^
n
p
_,
^_v
n ^:
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18
I,
-r '&>
ck
-^st
a* /r St
^1r*rTrlr*i*Tr
Br^^ffyTrr*rTr
T rfnTr~
tegatoescherzando
F^-Plf
HH] ^i"-; ;
jQf
>
i . .
(l^t|'jUjj^ffWjljalcn
Tf3
'
FromEditionPeters3300a;reprinted
bypermission
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19
materialis
The seminalresourcefromwhichall theabovethematic
is
contour
derivedis clearlylinearlyinspired.In some cases the pitch
treated
as in theinversion
of Example7b or contrapuntally
transformed
as in thecanonicpassagebuilton themotiveofExample7e. Nevertheless
in everyinstancethe musicalgesturespringsfromthe germinalidea
notedabove.
in A Major,Opus 26, completed
A passage fromthePiano Quartet
a relsinceitaffords
is
morethantwenty
later,
years
especially
interesting
rather
This
is
in
a
sketch
which
rare
case
preserved.
preliminary
atively
on the
waswritten
atypicalsurvivalstemsfromthefactthatthefragment
coverpage of theHandelVariations,
Opus 24, ratherthanamidstother
The finalform
sketchesof theQuartet,whichwereroutinely
destroyed.
itforthepublishedscoreisreprinted
ofthispassageas Brahmssubmitted
inExample8. The lineardescentofthepianoisevident.
aloneone cannotdeducethatthe
Yeton thebasisofthisobservation
linewas thecreativeimpetusforBrahms'sconceptionof thistransitory
sketch(see Plate
ofExample8 withthepreliminary
section.A comparison
inthisphase
linear
it
least
a
for at
1) isenlightening,
pre-eminence
implies
ofBrahms'sactualcompositional
process.The samedescendingline,fully
Conrealizedin the draft,remainsunalteredin the printedversion.19
Deelements.
other
of
outlines
shows
the
skeletal
the
sketch
only
versely
and
focused
less
much
and
are
at
a
tailsofharmony,
stage
rhythm texture
undergoconsiderableelaborationbeforetheversionseen in
ultimately
Example8 iscompleted.20
AccountoftheEntireWorksofJoand Analytical
18EdwinEvans, Historical,Descriptive,
Brahms
hannes
(London:Reeves,1912-1936),IV, 96-100.
on whichthissketchappearsis held
19TheholographcopyoftheHandelVariations
of
the
by Library Congress.
of thiskindare notunusualforBrahms.Forexamplethedraftsof the
20Sketches
linoftheSonatainF Minor,Opus 120,No. 1,also showa wellformulated
movement
first
at
an
harmonic
earconcept(without
detail)
earlystage.
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20
r 7Fr17Frr i*rr I i My
J J
p
fyvi
j 7jj h^j i[* Jif^
TZ.
r0-
-0-^
inversionmeasures17-20 y
Ex. 7b.
Opus 5, linale, measures7-8
Ex. 7c.
Opus 5, T'inale,measures39-44
I-
I-
F"Pp^m^^
(?)
'
'
Ex. 7d.
Opus 5, linale, measures140-147
Ex. 7e.
Canonic treatment,
measures253-255
|>J
> IJ- i
ir r
i-'i-lj-l-lLt
*i'rrrfi^i rirn
diminution
|tF7ffif7ff if in ir is^p
Even in theworksof hislateryearsBrahms'srelianceupon thislinear
agent in the attainmentof structuralunityis demonstrable.The openings
of threeof the Klavierstucke,
Opus 118, composed in 1892 (fortyyearsafter the Scherzo,Opus 4) exhibitthe same technique. The Intermezzo
employsa descending line whichencompasses the entirefirstsectionof the
piece (Ex. 9a); the well-knownBallade also begins witha complete statement of a fallingscale (partiallyas a consequence of the harmonic sequence, see (Ex. 9b); and finallythe initialphrase of theRomanzerevealsa
similarlinear pattern(Ex. 9c).
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itfp
ill
Lj...
11i tin
CM
00
l>
l>
HH
HH
**
CD
(M
g.
o
I
i
i .
1
a,
00
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21
22
Holograph in the GertrudeClark WhittallCollectionin the Music Divisionof the Libraryof Congress: reproduced bypermission.
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23
measures1-10
Ex. 9a. Opus 118,No. 1,Intermezzo,
Allegro non assai, ma moltoappassionato
^ dim,rit.-
__^
^^
Vol.11(G.Sthirmer,
Works
FromJohannes
Int.,1949);reprinted
Volumes,
Brahms,
bypermission.
forPianoSoloinThree
Complete
motivictracingoftenassociatedwithanalysesof hiscomposisuperficial
tions.For hislinearusage is pervasive,
cogent,and is theverynucleusof
of hisstructural
hisconstructive
conceptof
process.It is theprogenitor
beforehis
music.Moreoverthiscontrolwas apparentin workswritten
into
the
unaltered
remained
and
twentieth
masterpieces
essentially
year
ofhismaturity.
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