Johannes Brahms presumably wrote the Fantasies op. 116 at the same time as the Intermezzi op. 117 in the summer of 1892 in Bad Ischl. His sojourn in the Salzkammergut obviously inspired Brahms to write music for solo piano, as a year later he worked on other cycles when he was there. Amongst these late melancholy piano pieces, op. 116 is in particular characterised by opposites. Four “dreamy” – according to Clara Schumann – intermezzi are juxtaposed with three “deeply passionate” capricci. Seven pieces in true Brahms’ style, which are also accessible to non-virtuosos due to their medium level of difficulty. Our revision contains the musical text of the new Brahms Complete Edition.
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Preface
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 97) returned to composing piano pieces after quite a long break, producing the seven Fantasien op. 116 and three Intermezzi op. 117 in 1892, during his summer sojourn in Ischl. It is not verifiable, that part, or parts, of the pieces had been written at an earlier date, as is sometimes speculated. We do know for sure that in late June 1892 the … 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. |
About the authors
Andreas Boyde (Fingering)
Andreas Boyde, was born in 1967 in Oschatz/Saxony and studied the piano in Dresden and London. He has appeared as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra Manchester, the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players.
Boyde’s repertoire comprises key works from all periods, also including contemporary composers such as Paul Schoenfield and John Pickard. Boyde has recorded Brahms’s complete solo piano works with OehmsClassics, a co-production with the WDR.
A short preface and commentary is in each volume, completing impressive and desirable editions of these masterpieces.