Brahms’ Third Piano Quartet stands out for the extremely involved and complex history of its genesis. A very first version of certain sections – still in c sharp minor – had been written in 1855/56, but neither the composer nor his friends were genuinely happy with this version. In 1869 Brahms reprised his work , but still found no satisfying solution. It was not until 1874/75 that he brought the final version to paper, replacing two movements of the original version with new ones. While the “tragic” key of c minor points to the truly dark, passionate character of the work, the composer actually singled out the mood of suffering of the quartet himself in several letters.
Content/Details
- Piano Quartet c minor op. 60
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Preface
The following sources served as bases for the musical text: the autograph of the Finale; a copy of the last two movements, corrected by Brahms and used as engraver’s model, which was not accessible to the editors of the Complete Edition; a copy of the Simrock first edition (1875) with hand-written entries by Brahms (Handexemplar = author’s copy); and the separate string … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer

Johannes Brahms
His significant output comprises chamber music, piano works, numerous choral compositions and songs (including settings of folk-song lyrics), as well as large-scale orchestral works in the 1870s and 1880s. His compositions are characterized by the process of developing variation. He is considered an antithesis to the New German School around Liszt, and an advocate of “absolute” music.
1833 | Born in Hamburg on May 7, the son of a musician. His first piano instruction with Willibald Cossel at age seven, then with Eduard Marxen; first public performances from 1843. |
1853 | Concert tour through German cities; he meets Schumann, who announces him as the next great composer in his essay “Neue Bahnen” (“New Paths”). A lifelong, intimate friendship develops with Clara Schumann. |
1854–57 | Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15. |
1857–59 | Choir director, pianist, and teacher at the royal court in Detmold. |
1859–61 | Director of the Hamburg Women’s Choir. |
1860 | Manifesto against the New Germans around Liszt. |
1863 | Cantata “Rinaldo,” Op. 50. |
1863–64 | Director of the Wiener Singakademie. |
1868 | Partial performance in Vienna of “A German Requiem,” Op. 45 (the complete work premiered in Leipzig in 1869) |
1871–74 | Artistic director of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music) in Vienna. |
1873 | Haydn Variations, Op. 56a, for orchestra. |
from 1877 | His symphonic output begins with the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 (begun 1862); composition of the Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73; the Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 (1883); and Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (1884–85): cantabile themes, chamber-music-like style. |
from 1878 | Travels in Italy. |
1878 | Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, for Joseph Joachim. |
1881 | Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83, with a scherzo movement. |
1886 | Honorary president of Vienna’s Tonkünstlerverein (Association of Musicians). |
1897 | Four Serious Songs, Op. 121. Dies in Vienna on April 3. |