String Sextet No. 2 (Brahms)

Johannes Brahms' String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Opus 36 was composed during the years of 1864–1865 (although it drew on material from earlier times) and published by the firm of Fritz Simrock. It was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts on October 11, 1866, with the European premiere following the next month in Zurich.^[1]

The work is scored for two violins, two violas, and two celli, and has four movements:^[2]

Allegro non troppo (G major)
Scherzo – Allegro non troppo – Presto giocoso (G minor)
Adagio (E minor)
Poco allegro (G major)

Brahms did most of the composition in the comfortable country surroundings of Lichtental, near Baden-Baden. The sextet includes a reference to the first name of Agathe von Siebold (to whom he had been briefly engaged some six years previously) in the first movement, bars 162–168, with the notes a-g-a-h-e.^[3]^[4]

The sextet is characterized by the exotic-sounding opening of its first movement, by innovative chord structures, and by its many contrasts, both technical and melodic.

Arrangements

Brahms himself arranged the work for piano four-hands. Theodor Kirchner arranged it for piano trio.^[5] Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg arranged the sextet for string orchestra^[6] in 1939.

Popular culture

The first movement of this sextet is prominent in the last sequence of Bertrand Blier's 1979 film Buffet froid.

References

^ Keller, James M. (2011). Chamber Music: A Listener's Guide. New York: Oxford University Press US. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-19-538253-2. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
^ "Streichsextett Nr. 2" [String Sextet No. 2] (in German). Klassika. October 28, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
^ Geiringer, Karl. Brahms: His Life and Work New York: Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80223-6, pp 60, 91, 230–231
^ Swafford, Jan (1997). Johannes Brahms: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 292. ISBN 0-679-42261-7.
^ String Sextet No.2, Op.36 (Brahms, Johannes), imslp.org, accessed 25 November 2019
^ Atterberg: Cello Concerto; Brahms/Atterberg: Sextet / Mork, Järvi Review by David Hurwitz "Atterberg certainly knew what he was doing... the work sounds very beautiful and entirely natural in its larger guise." www.classicstoday.com, accessed 7 December 2019

External links

String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Recording by the Borromeo String Quartet with violist Liz Freivogel and cellist Daniel McDonough from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format

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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