Intermezzo in A Major (Op. 118 No. 2)

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Annotated Study Edition (7)

Bars 55 - 64

35. The music moves to F# major for the central core of the piece. We are instructed to play more slowly (più lento) and pianissimo, with the una corda pedal suggesting a muted colour scheme. This chorale-like section evoke a church scene, and if we look closely we will notice that canonic imitation continues here, albeit less obviously. To make this clear, we might shape the lines by gently stressing the F#s in each voice as the high points of the phrases alternate between the hands. Imagine a wedding were taking place, the partners exchanging their vows.
36. Prepare the una corda before the upbeat C# so we hear the colour change from the very first note of the section. For the right pedal, a legatissimo approach works well – change late, so that one harmony melts into the next. To avoid breaking the LH chord at the start, the following redistribution works very well for smaller hands. Catch the upper C# in the pedal and release the RH to take the LH’s upper A# in the first chord of bar 57.
37. These few bars can easily trip us up. To organise them thoroughly a good fingering is important, as is knowing which hand is on top when the hands interlock. Tapping practice is helpful (see practice worksheet).
38. Placing both thumbs on the middle C# is cumbersome and unnecessary. Decide which hand plays it.
39. The first part of the B section returns, again in F# minor. Brahms inverts the two upper voices so that the viola now leads. Practise especially this middle voice alone and then together with the bass line, making the connections in the middle voice as it passes from one hand to the other as seamless as possible (see practice worksheets for the open score view).

Resources & links Click here to view our Fantasy Analysis video series for a personal narrative on the interpretation of this work. For a complete, downloadable version of this walkthrough, please see our Annotated Study Edition (Click here if you already own it or click here to purchase it) Click here to view open domain editions for this work (external link).