Brahms

Just as Liszt got inspiration from other composers, so did Brahms. What they each did with that inspiration differed dramatically however. Liszt looked foward used the influence from past composers to create his own style. Brahms on the otherhand stuck more to tradition. He looked more to history and adapted it more to the style of the time, while keeping it as true to tradition as possible. This can be seen in his third piano sonata. He remains true to the typical form, creating a clear exposition, development, and recap in the first movement. The exposition is also repeated, which was common of classical sonatas. Brahms gave the sonata a cyclical quality so that the five movement work would fit together as an entire piece. There are many similarities in the second and fourth movement. He also uses D flat major as the key of the development of the first movement, the andante movement, the trio, and the second espidoe in the rondo. This helps tie the piece together as a whole, which was something Beethoven especially began to develop in his sonatas. Brahms stayed true to tradition, espcially with the form of the sonata, but he did make changes for the times. First of all the sonata was composed in 5 movements, which was uncommon. Brahms was known for his large chord passages, sometimes even melodic chordal passages. This is, in fact, how he begins the sonata.

The third sonata was composed when Brahms was only 20 years old. So it was very early in his life of composing. At that time he usually composed pieces in forms that were common to the past, such as sonatas and variations. Later on in life, however, he gravitated more toward character pieces. Op. 117 consists of three intermezzi. In these pieces Brahms does not try to create a virtuosic sound that was popular for the time. He remains loyal to the practices of the composers before him like Mendelssohn and Schumann by sticking to a simple form. Where he does vary, however, is in his choice of harmonies and counterpoint. In the large picture Brahms has stuck to the past. It had worked before, so why change it? Instead of changing the musical styles of the past he just adds elements that were being developed at the time. He was able to create the perfect balancing of knowing how much to change to what had already existed. This ability is what has made his music so timeless.