User:Justpatriciathings/Clarinet Trio (Brahms)

The Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 is one of four chamber works composed by Johannes Brahms featuring the clarinet as a primary instrument. The trio was composed in the summer of 1891 and premiered in December of that year. The piece was written for clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, and marked a return to composing for Brahms, who had declared his String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 to be his final work.

General
The Trio is composed for clarinet, piano, and cello, and is one of the few works to employ this instrumentation. Other notable works of clarinet, piano, and cello trios include Beethoven's Trio in B flat, Op. 11 and Johann F. Amberg's Trio in Eb, Op. 11 to name a few. The Brahms Clarinet trio is one that has become a standard repertoire. In addition to the trio, Brahms has created a quintet and two other clarinet solos that have made it to the clarinet standard repertoire.

The overall mood of the piece is somber, but it includes both romantic and introspective qualities. Music historians and scholars admit the trio is "not among the most interesting of his compositions" from lack of interesting material and is often overshadowed by Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, which is another chamber work written for Mühlfeld. [Missing reference] However, the trio does include a considerable amount of arpeggio patterns in the theme, complemented by conversation-like passages in the upper register of the cello. All musicians in the trio must display their virtuosic musical capabilities through the scale patterns in the technique heavy sections, as well as displaying sensitivity and thoughtfulness in the slow and legato sections of the piece. The clarinet displays its wide range and different stylistic techniques that is often presented soloistically or with the cello in conversation-like duet with the piano. Brahms loosely follows the romantic structure of four movements in sonata form, including the third movement which is in ternary, in this trio.

History
On his fifty-eight birthday, Brahms was buusy writing his will to his publisher, initially providing for his siblings and stepmother, and secondly for his landlord and landlady, Celestine "Mandy" Truxa. Shortly afterwards, when visiting Ducal Court in march 1891, he became fascinated by Richard MÜhlfeld's musicianship through his clarinet. The serious mood of his later compositions was made appropriate by the tone of instrument Brahms's heard; to emphasize how much he was adored Mühlfeld's performance, Brahms referred to Mühlfeld as Fräulein Klarinette, or "his dear nightingale." Following the performance, Brahmswrote the score of the Clarint Trio and sent it to his landlady, Truxa. [Missing reference]

The trio was premiered in Berlin December 12, 1891 with Brahms on piano, Mülfeld on clarinet, and Robert Hausmann on cello. Hausmann was a cello professor at the Royal Hochschule and has premiered a few of Brahms' cello works. Following the premiere, Andolf Menzel was present in the audience and was moved by the performance that he created a sketch of Mühfeld as a Greek God, saying to Brahms, "We often think of you here, and often enough, comparing notes, we confess our suspicions that on a certain night the Muse itself appeared in person for the purpose of executing a certain woodwind part. On this page I have tried to capture the sublime vision." In addition to Menzel's emotions during the piece, Eusebius Mandyczewski, a scholar and friend of Brahsm, wrote of the trio that "It is as though the instruments were in love with each other." [Missing reference]

Allegro
The first movement is in sonata form, but departs from some of the traditional sonata form layout. Brahms writes this movement with regards to range of the A clarinet, and he manages to span the entire range of the instrument, reaching as low as a C#, which is not achievable on the standard Bb clarinet. Along. with the extended range, Brahms. uses long and extended melodies using interplay between the cello and clarinet to support the clarinet's large and sonorous range. Brahms uses fragmented rhythms with multiple arpeggios, and pedal points; in doing so, Brahms reveals his inexperience at writing for the clarinet in a chamber setting, yet still strives for clear, continuous writing for cello and piano. The allegro consists of an exposition, the development, recapitulation, and a coda. One of unusual aspect of the movement is that the exposition section, which has modulated to E minor, ends with a plagal half-cadence (I-IV). The primary theme and secondary themes are mirrored in the beginning of the exposition and in the beginning of the recapitulation. The primary theme from the exposition is first introduced by the cello in the first four measures, then passed to the clarinet, and eventually passed to piano. The piano has a prolonging primary theme and finally resolves when the clarinet and cello arrive with their scalular passages.

Adagio
The second movement is written with the clarinet in the clarion register and.chalumeau with minimal leaps in the exposition. But later Brahms turns to his favored leaps and arpeggiation in order to transition to a new theme. Many consider this a weak method of composition; however, it has also been noted that Brahms does this to accentuate the capabilities of the clarinet. [Missing reference - who is "many"?] Similar to the first movement the cello and clarinet have interplay, with the piano mimicking this. interplay throughout. Many criticize this style of composition because it lacks depth that has been achieved with other trio groupings, however, supporters Brahms praise this method because the clarinet and cello voices interact so well, giving the trio certain texture that is not achieved by any other type of chamber ensemble. The interaction between the clarinet and cello lines along with the light accompaniment of the piano give the second movement its own uniqueness from the other movements.

The Adagio contains an exposition, development, recapitulation, and a coda, though it is arguable the recapitulation is underdeveloped and the secondary theme is absent. The Adagio contrasts the Allegro movement and is the shortest in the Trio. The second movement begins in D major, which is the subdominant to the first movement and starts on the same pitch the second movement ended on which is a concert A. What creates a sense of underdevelopment in the recapitulation is the sudden modulation after three measures. The recapitulation starts on G major with the cello and then modulates into D major within the said three measures. Brahms uses interesting harmonic and rhythmic modulations in the latter half of this movement, and combined with the askew format of the movement, creates a unique work and places dignity on the piano, clarinet, and cello trio that was a stark and refreshing interest for this time period.

Andante Grazioso
This movement received the most criticism the most among the four movements. Brahms writes the clarinet in a folk/waltz style that give it an enthusiastic and cheery tone. Brahms also writes the third movement in ternary minuet form. ABA form with the A theme as a smaller ternary form. At the start of the B theme, the theme is written in the style of Ländler, in the clarinet. The harmonies shift abruptly or in linear motion at times to support the folk melody given by the clarinet and cello, which gives some structural instability. The clarinet and cello dialogue are intertwined in such a way where they rely on one another. When the cello is playing, the clarinet must take the opportunity to breathe, and when the clarinet is playing, the cello must change their bowing or adjust positions. Many believe that Brahms experimenting with this format shows challenges he faced writing with this combination of instruments.

Allegro
In this movement, Brahms varies his harmonic modulation drastically, yet, manages to include his signature F-A-F (frei aber froh) chord progression. The allegro has a similar structure to the second movement in respects to an omission of the recapitulation. This movement harnesses and controls the eccentricities of the Trio, and shows how Brahms, even after retirement, is able to include his writing into a chamber ensemble that has little precedent. Brahms plays with rhythm in this movement more than the other movements, utilizing syncopation between the clarinet and cello to transfer to the fourth theme of the movements. Members of the Trio must be able to transition from duple meter to triple meter, as well as being flexible with tempo to exaggerate the rhythmic differences of the primary and secondary theme. He uses canons between the instruments and in combination with syncopation, which in turn added grandness to the finale.