EB 9440 – Brahms, Sonate Nr. 2

Edition Breitkopf

Brahms Sonate für Klarinette und Klavier Nr. 2 Es-dur

Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 2 in E flat major op. 120 Nr. 2 EB 9440

Johannes brahms 1833–1897

Sonate

für Klarinette und Klavier Nr. 2 Es-dur

Sonata

for Clarinet and Piano No. 2 in E flat major op. 120 Nr. 2

herausgegeben von | edited by

Hans Gál mit einem Nachwort von | with an afterword by

Ulrich Mahlert Urtext der Brahms-Gesamtausgabe, herausgegeben von der „Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde“, Wien Urtext of the Brahms Complete Edition, issued by the “Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde”, Vienna

Edition Breitkopf 9440 Printed in Germany

Sonate für Klarinette (Viola) und Klavier Nr. 2 Es-dur Johannes Brahms op. 120 Nr. 2 herausgegeben von Hans Gál

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© 2022 by Breitkopf & Här tel, Wiesbaden

2

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      

Breitkopf EB 9440



dim.                                dolce                     

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                 dolce               

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                     

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             3

3

                                                ª      ª   ª       ª               

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Breitkopf EB 9440



           

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 ª     ªª   ª    ª    ª 

 ªª  ªª    

            3 3

            3   3       ª     ª    f

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{ Sample page fp

                                         

69

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   

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   

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



   



   

   

     

ª

 ª 

ª           ª   ª        ª

Breitkopf EB 9440

        



  





                  



5 73



 



 





    ª      



  

dolce

 ª      ªªª  ª

{

 

p dolce 3



76

 

 









    ª  

 ª 





   

dolce



               

Leseprobe

  



dim.



{



 







   

                  



3

p

  

 



        ª   

 ª 

     

    

dolce



                        

79



3

  



 





3

dim.





        



        

           

                  



3

     



     dim.



              





 





poco cresc.

      





{ Sample page   

dolce

             

83

 



   

{

   



 

poco cresc.



            



         



      



     



3

       



   

più p 3



   

         

 

Breitkopf EB 9440

       

      



 

 

           



pp





3

     



     cresc.         

3



3

6 87

 



 















ª

 ª 

 

                                                   

{

f

f espress.

espress.

   

mf cresc.

                                                         

90

 

poco f

Leseprobe                 

     

         ª

3

        

                     

      

 

{

94

 

   ª

              



   

cresc.

 ªª ª





  







3

f

  

  ªª    ª

  

    ª    ª

f

 

98

 

   

 

fp

   ª ª     ª       ª  



                                                                    f

 

p

    ªª                                                        



                               f p

{

espress.



{ Sample page               



    ªª     ªª    ª      ª 

          

 ª









p

  

                            



 

   

 

    

Breitkopf EB 9440

rf

 









ª

dolce

     



p dim.

       

  ª 

  

 

 

molto dolce



     

7 103

 

  

{

     

ª p

p

      ª

107

 

3

3  3   





3

 





  ª

    

 

 

  ª

     





      

Leseprobe

 ª     ª          

    



  

{

112

 

      

     ªªª   

  

  

   

 













3

     ªªª   



dolce

{

  

116

 

 

 ªª  ª  





           



   

 

  



 

 

         3

  

5

     

3

pp

         ª



5







          

  

    

Sample page

   



dolce





              



 

  



  

3

     



f

               3 dim.









                               





{

f

3





                    più p

                 

 

  

   ª





Breitkopf EB 9440

8 120

 



   



        p

{

   

125

 

   



{

ª

  

      ª       ª   

 

  ª

   



  

              pp           

 

    



 ª

                         

      dim.

  

       

         







    

   

                    

   



      

3

     

dolce

              dolce    

                       

3

dolce

pp

             

   

   

  ª                 

      

     

    

cresc.

    

                f           f

cresc.



 



 

 

  

3



    

                     



Breitkopf EB 9440

 

 



    



più p

    

      ª    









Sample page

       

{

   ª

Leseprobe





       

 

     

   ª

{

135



           



             

   

p sotto voce

   

130





  

            





f

3



fp



3

      









  

 



9 139



 

 

 

            f





 

  

                               

{

142

 

3

 

   

{

    

146

 



 





                  fp dim.       p dim.

{

  

 

  

{

                 

3





             



                               

 





 











                             



                        

 

     

  



    

   



 

         



3

                    ª   ª    ª      Breitkopf EB 9440

3



           

     

ª p

   ª   ª 

Sample page

151

 

         

 

3



      

 



f





Leseprobe

       3









    





 



dolce



   ª

     

10 155



 





           

{

      ª

 



   

 

 

 



 

                            p

p

            

     

  ªª

   

   

  

3

molto dolce sempre

        

  



Leseprobe

      3

{



     



158

 



            

molto dolce sempre

                

dim.

     

             





    

   

  

            

                             

Tranquillo

161

 



       



               

                                3

3

                                                                                   

{ Sample page        

165

      

 

     ªªª ª

{

 





 







 

                         







 







 

                                                 

Breitkopf EB 9440

11 169

 





  

           

{



cresc. rit. un poco

      

    

                          f dim.

cresc. rit. un poco



 

     



 











                              dim.              

 

rf



Leseprobe

Allegro appassionato



    



3 4 

    



         



espress.

f

 3    4 

{

ª     ªª

poco f

  3     4    ª

7















  ª

ª 

                    f            

ª     ªª ª  ª ª



 





         



 

 





 



 



         

{ Sample page 13

  





     





     









     



{



f

                                  





   

              f

Breitkopf EB 9440

  

   mf









  

       espress.



      

 

 



  

12 19

  





         

{

 

         

25

  



 

{

32

  







                           f                               

Leseprobe 

                        

       











   

fp

fp

ª     ªª

 

 ªªª 

 

ª   ª  

    

  ªªª  ª

 

  



 

         

      



fp

 ªªª  ª 

   

ª



 ªªª  ª

ff

ª











39

  

fp

    ª

    

{

  



 

  

    

       

ª ª

 







 

ff



   



     ªª     ªª  





   

poco f

  

 

  

 

  

Breitkopf EB 9440











   

f

               



                   

   

cresc.



ff

       f            

cresc.





   ªªª       ª 

{ Sample page     

   ª 

  

     



         f

 

 

 

13 45

  





              f        

{

53

  









    

    

p

   ªªª        ªª    ª     ªªªª       

  p





  

 

     

 







 

  

Leseprobe 





    

 

 

   

 



        

    

più dolce







  

 

fp

                                 

60

  

  

    

 

 

  

cresc.



più dolce

 

 

  











  



f



  

 

 

  ª



fp

    

  

ª

  

ª

p





espress.





    

70

  



  

   

  





  

  

dolce dim.

  

        

   

 







   



         

{

 

pp



 

  





  



    

  

ª



          





              

dim.

Breitkopf EB 9440

   





p



  

    



{ Sample page f

cresc.

   



{

         





  

14 78

  

ª

      

{

ª

  ªªª  ª 

ª      ªª 

86

  













 



     



 

 

    ª    ª



     

ª



      



     

     

  



  



     

   



 



  



 

101

  



    

{

     

 ª   ª

  ª    cresc.

  

   

  

   ªª     ª  

           

p

     

  cresc.



                  



    ªª              ª        

     



    Breitkopf EB 9440

         



 

   

ª

  

ª  ªª

     

 ª     

    

  



{ Sample page         

ª   

    ªª              ª        

     

  

 ªª 

 ªª   

 

   

p ma ben cantando

 



f ma dolce e ben cantando

     ªª       ªª 

 







ª   ª 



{



Sostenuto

Leseprobe



          

   

 ªª ª

           

93





 



               

         

15 109

  





{

        

  

  

ª ª

cresc.

cresc.

             

    

       



 ª  ª

  

ª  ªª

       

f ma dolce





   

126

  

f

            

    



   ª 

 

   ª    ª

   

        

               

 



ª

f ma dolce

 

ª

  

     

     

Leseprobe 

  

 ª                  ª 

{

  

ª

                           

f

117

 

  

      ªªªª   

ª    ª   



   

f



   

 

   

134





         



{



p

 

col 8

 

   

          ªªª   

ben legato sempre

 ª



  

  

 ª  ª

 

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         



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

          

 ª







Breitkopf EB 9440





       f        

               f

pp







 

         col 8

         



     

{ Sample page  

f



   ªª          ª    

      





  

  

 

 

dim.

 



poco f

rit.

     ª 

 





16 142





   

     ª  ªª

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  

            

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espress.

   

ª     ªª  

      ª

149

     



  ª





ª ª

{

              

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

f



 

Leseprobe 

   

        







 

 



         

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

        



espress.





             

                                          

155

  



  

                

f

  

  

  







 

 

 









                   

{ Sample page f

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163

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        ªªªª   Breitkopf EB 9440

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17 171

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Breitkopf EB 9440

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20 19

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Nachwort Die beiden Sonaten op. 120 von Johannes Brahms gelten allgemein als Höhepunkte des Repertoires für Klarinette und Klavier. Ebenso zählen sie in der von Brahms selbst besorgten Ausgabe für Viola und Klavier zu den meistgespielten Werken des 19. Jahrhunderts in dieser Besetzung. An kompositorischer Substanz übertreffen die beiden Brahmsschen Spätwerke bei weitem die relativ wenigen originalen Sonaten, die für beide Besetzungen in diesem Zeitraum entstanden sind.

Brahms komponierte die beiden Sonaten op. 120 im Sommer 1894 in seinem Feriendomizil in Bad Ischl (Salzkammergut), wo er in den Jahren 1889–1896 jeweils die Sommermonate verbrachte. Die Sonaten gehören zu seinen letzten Werken. Mit der Sammlung der Deutschen Volkslieder, die im Mai 1894, vor der Abreise nach Ischl, abgeschlossen wurden, hatte Brahms sein Schaffen beenden wollen. Als kompositorische Coda entstanden dann neben den beiden Klarinettensonaten op. 120 nur noch die Vier ernsten Gesänge op. 121 und die Elf Choralvor­ spiele für Orgel op. 122 (beide 1896).

Angeregt wurde Brahms zu den Sonaten op. 120 durch die Bekanntschaft mit Richard Mühlfeld (1856–1907), dem ersten Klarinettisten und Kammervirtuosen der Hofkapelle in Meiningen (Thüringen). Fasziniert von dem meisterhaften, klanglich überaus vielfältigen Spiel Mühlfelds hatte Brahms 1891 das Klarinettentrio op. 114 und das Klarinettenquintett op. 115 komponiert.

Ihnen folgte 1894 das Sonatenpaar op. 120 als drittes Opus. „[...] in Liebe zerflossenes Gefühl, – so ganz der Ton des empfindsamen Herzens. [...] Der Ton ist so süß, so hinschmachtend“ – so charakterisierte der Musikästhetiker Christian Friedrich Schubart 1806 den Grundausdruck der Klarinette – eine Kennzeichnung, die insbesondere auf den spezifischen Klarinettenklang der Sonate Es-dur op. 120 Nr. 2 zutrifft.

Das erste Vorspiel der beiden Sonaten mit Brahms und Mühlfeld fand am 26. September 1894 in einem privaten Zirkel statt. Öffentlich uraufgeführt wurden die Sonaten im Rahmen von Kammermusikkonzerten im Wiener Bösendorfer-Saal am 8. Januar (Es-dur-Sonate) bzw. am 11. Januar (f-moll-Sonate) 1895.

Brahms und Mühlfeld spielten aus dem Manuskript. Bei den Proben hatte Brahms die beiden Kompositionen kritisch geprüft und dabei diverse Änderungen am Notentext vorgenommen.

Erst Ende Februar 1895 schickte er das Manuskript zum Druck an seinen Verleger Fritz Simrock in Berlin. Wenige Tage später erhielt dieser auch die vom Komponisten erstellte Bratschenstimme. Im März 1895 besorgte Brahms überdies eine Ausgabe für Violine und Klavier. Den Druck der Sonaten zögerte er noch eine Weile hinaus, da Richard Mühlfeld die Werke auf seinen Konzertreisen im Frühjahr 1895 ohne Konkurrenz spielen sollte.

Die Sonaten op. 120 erschienen schließlich in beiden Fassungen im Juni 1895 in Berlin im Verlag Simrock.

Von den beiden Schwesterwerken ist die zweite Sonate in Esdur die eingängigere. Anders als die in den ersten beiden Sätzen herbere f-moll-Sonate kommt sie nach Kalbecks Urteil „dem

­ ublikum auf das liebenswürdigste“ entgegen. Brahms wählt P die Tonart Es-dur hier und auch in zahlreichen anderen Werken in Abweichung von der klassisch-romantischen Tradition nicht zur Entfaltung heroischer bzw. monumentaler, sondern lyrischer, überwiegend verhaltener Charaktere. (Markante Beispiele sind etwa das Intermezzo für Klavier op. 117 Nr. 1 mit dem Herderschen Motto „Schlaf sanft, mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schön / Mich dauert’s sehr, dich weinen sehn“ sowie die Lieder Die Mainacht op. 43 Nr. 2 und Wiegenlied op. 49 Nr. 1.)

Besonders bewundert wurde immer wieder die serenaden­ hafte Schönheit des Hauptthemas, mit dem die Sonate anhebt. ­Eduard Hanslick, der mit Brahms befreundete renommierte Wiener Musikkritiker, nennt es in seiner Besprechung der Uraufführung „wie vom Himmel gefallen, oder richtiger, aus schönster Jugendzeit herüberduftend, voll süßer Schwärmerei und drängendem Liebesglück! Um dieser Melodie willen ist mir dieser Satz der liebste und die Es-dur-Sonate lieber“ als diejenige in f-moll. Auch Max Kalbeck äußerte sich euphorisch über dieses Thema: „Es durchtränkt und beherrscht den ganzen Satz mit seinem Wohllaut.“ Tatsächlich hängen die weiteren Entwicklungen des Satzes strukturell durchweg mit dem wohlgeformten Hauptthema zusammen. In seiner melodischen Intensität steht der Kopfsatz der Es-dur-Sonate demjenigen der Violinsonate A-dur op. 100 nahe, der ebenfalls die Vortragsbezeichnung „Alle­ gro amabile“ trägt.

Der schwärmerische Ton des ersten Satzes und die sanfte Grazie der abschließenden Variationenfolge bewegen sich in dem besagten Ausdrucksradius der Tonart Es-dur. Dagegen setzt der Mittelsatz mit seinen stürmischen Eckteilen in es-moll und dem hymnischen Trio in H-dur (der enharmonisch umgedeuteten Mollparallele Ces-dur) einen leidenschaftlichen und ernsten Kontrast, der die umrahmende Idylle umso eindringlicher zur Geltung kommen lässt.

Das Thema des Schlusssatzes zeigt in seinem rhythmisch­ melodischen Profil (Hanslick spricht von einem „sinnenden, bequem schlendernden Gang“) eine von Kalbeck bemerkte Verwandtschaft mit einem Lied von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Frage op. 9 Nr. 1, „Con moto“, Text von Johann Heinrich Voß; der Beginn des anmutigen Liebesliedes lautet: „Ist es wahr?

Ist es wahr? daß du stets dort in dem Laubgang, an der Weinwand meiner harrst?“). Ein ähnliches Profil begegnet in Ludwig van Beethovens Andante favori für Klavier (WoO 57), dessen Vortrags­anweisung bezeichnenderweise „Andante grazioso con moto“ lautet. Mit arabeskenhaft figurierenden, den Grundcharakter in vielerlei Ausdrucksnuancen ausleuchtenden Variationen, in denen bis hin zur letzten Variation des „Allegro non troppo“ eine progressive Beschleunigung der Bewegung stattfindet, schließt Brahms die Sonate und mit ihm sein gesamtes Kammermusikwerk ab.

Berlin, Herbst 2001

Ulrich Mahlert

Afterword The two sonatas of Johannes Brahms’s op. 120 are widely ­hailed as crowning points of the repertoire for clarinet and piano. Moreover, in the version for viola and piano arranged by Brahms himself, they rank among the most frequently played viola works of the 19th century. These two late works by Brahms far surpass in compositional substance the relatively few original sonatas written for these instrumentations during this period.

Brahms wrote the two Sonatas op. 120 in the summer of 1894 at his vacation residence in Bad Ischl (in Austria’s Salzkammergut), where he spent the summer months between 1889 and 1896. The sonatas are among his last works. The composer had decided to end his creative oeuvre with his collection of Deut­ sche Volkslieder, which he completed in May 1894, before his departure for Ischl. His final musical statement was, ­however, followed by a coda consisting of the two Clarinet Sonatas op. 120, the Vier ernste Gesänge op. 121 and the Eleven Chorale Preludes for Organ op. 122 (the latter two opera both 1896).

It was Brahms’s acquaintanceship with Richard Mühlfeld (1856–1907) that inspired the Sonatas op. 120. Mühlfeld, first clarinetist and chamber virtuoso of the court orchestra in Meiningen (Thuringia), captivated Brahms with his masterful playing and richly colored palette of sounds. The composer had felt inspired to write the Clarinet Trio op. 114 and the Clarinet Quintet op. 115 in 1891, and then the pair of Sonatas op. 120 in 1894. “[…] emotion dissolved in love – exactly the tone of the sensitive heart. […] The tone is so sweet, so yearning …”. This is how the music aesthetician Christian Friedrich Schubart characterized the basic expression of the clarinet in 1806. His words remain eminently applicable today, in particular to the specific clarinet sound of the Sonata in E flat major op. 120 No. 2.

Brahms and Mühlfeld gave the first trial performance of the two sonatas in a private circle on 26 September 1894. The ­pieces were given their first public performance as part of chamber-music concerts held at Vienna’s Bösendorfer Hall on 8 January (Sonata in E flat major) and 11 January (Sonata in F minor) 1895. Brahms and Mühlfeld played from the manuscript. During the rehearsals, Brahms had critically revised the two works and made various changes in the music. He did not send the manuscript to his publisher Fritz Simrock in Berlin until late February 1895. A few days later, the publisher received the viola part prepared by the composer. Brahms also arranged the piece for a violin and piano edition in March 1895. He postponed the printing of the sonatas for a while, since Richard Mühlfeld want­ed the exclusive right to play them on his concert tour in spring 1895. The Sonatas op. 120 were published in both versions by Simrock in Berlin in June 1895.

Of the two fellow works, the Sonata No. 2 in E flat major is the more accessible. Unlike the F minor Sonata, with its more austere first two movements, this work fully reflects Kalbeck’s view

that the piece “gratifies the listener in the most enchanting manner.” Diverging from the classical-romantic tradition, Brahms used the key of E flat major here and in many of his other works not to express the heroic or monumental, but to obtain lyrical, chiefly restrained characterizations. (Other striking examples include the Intermezzo for piano op. 117 No. 1 with the Herder motto “Schlaf sanft, mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schön / Mich dauert’s sehr, dich weinen sehn” as well as the songs Die Mai­ nacht op. 43 No. 2 and Wiegenlied op. 49 No. 1.)

The serenade-like beauty of the principal theme, which opens the sonata, has always been particularly admired. In his review of the world premiere, the renowned Viennese music critic ­Eduard Hanslick, a friend of Brahms’s, rhapsodized that “it was as if it had fallen from the Heavens, or to put it more ­correct­ly, as if it were wafting over from those loveliest days of our youth, full of sweet rapture and the potent happiness of love! This melody alone is enough to make this movement my favorite and the E-flat major Sonata the one I prefer” to the F minor piece. Max Kalbeck also abandoned himself to euphoric praise in writing about this theme: “It suffuses and dominates the entire move­ ment with its euphony.” The exemplarily designed principal ­theme does indeed structurally affect the further developments within the movement. In its melodic intensity, the opening move­ment of the E-flat major Sonata resembles that of the Vio­ lin Sonata in A major op. 100, which also has the performance instruction “Allegro amabile”.

The rapturous tone of the first movement and the gentle gracefulness of the closing set of variations move within the aforementioned expressive radius of the key of E flat major.

By contrast, the middle movement, with its tempestuous outer sections in E flat minor and the hymnic trio in B major (enharmonically, the parallel minor key of C flat major) provides a passionate and serious contrast which allows the flanking idyll to unfold its beau­ties all the more insistently.

In its rhythmic-melodic profile (Hanslick speaks of a “pensive, leisurely sauntering gait”), the theme of the closing movement bears a resemblance – already noted by Kalbeck – to a song by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Frage op. 9 No. 1, “Con moto”, text

by Johann Heinrich Voss; the beginning of the charming love poem reads: “Is it true? Is it true? Do you still wait for me in the arbor at the winecovered wall?”). A similar profile is encountered in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Andante favori for piano (WoO 57), which significantly carries the performance instruction “Andante grazioso con moto”. The variations, with their arabesque-like figurations that depict the basic character of the theme with a variety of expressive nuances, undergo a progressive acceleration up to the final variation, “Allegro non troppo”. This is how Brahms ends the sonata – and with it, his entire chamber-music oeuvre.

Berlin, Fall 2001

Ulrich Mahlert

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