Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms)

No. 2
"Thun"
"Meistersinger"

by Johannes Brahms

The composer around 1885

KeyA majorOpus100Composed1886 (1886)Performed2 December 1886 (1886-12-02): ViennaMovementsthree

The Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 ("Thun" or "Meistersinger"), by Johannes Brahms was written while spending the summer of 1886 in Thun in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

It was a very fertile and refreshing time for Brahms. His friend, the Swiss pastor and poet Josef Victor Widmann [de] (1842–1911), lived in Bern and they visited each other. He was also visited by the poet Klaus Groth and the young German contralto Hermine Spies. Both Groth and Brahms were somewhat enamoured of Spies.^[1] He found himself so invigorated by the genial atmosphere and surroundings that he said the area was "so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any". In a short space of time, he produced, in addition to this violin sonata, the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, the Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, and various songs.

The second Violin Sonata is the shortest^[2] and is considered the most lyrical of Brahms's three violin sonatas. It is also considered the most difficult of the three to bring off successfully, and to exhibit its balance of lyricism and virtuosity.^[3] It maintains a radiant, happy mood throughout.^[2]^[4]

Movements

External audio
Performed by Josef Suk and Julius Katchen
I. Allegro amabile
II. Andante tranquillo
III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante)

The sonata consists of three movements, with the middle movement doing service as both a slow movement and a scherzo:^[1]

Allegro amabile – A major
Andante tranquillo — Vivace — Andante — Vivace di più — Andante — Vivace – F major
Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante) – A major

Commentary

By giving the work the formal title of "Sonata for Piano and Violin", rather than the more usual "Sonata for Violin and Piano", Brahms indicated the piano part was just as important as the violin part.^[2] In keeping with this, he allowed the piano to announce the opening theme. The first three notes of the first movement are very similar in both melody and harmony^[5] to the first three notes of "Walther's Prize Song" (Morgendlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein) from Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Although they were musical rivals, Brahms was a great admirer of Wagner's music,^[5] but whether this was a deliberate quotation on Brahms's part is open to speculation. Nevertheless, the sonata has often been subtitled the "Meistersinger" Sonata.^[3] It is also sometimes called the "Thun" Sonata from the place of its creation.

Motifs from three of the songs Brahms wrote that summer with Hermine Spies's voice in mind^[1] appear fleetingly in the sonata: "Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn", Op. 105/1 ("Like melodies it steals softly through my mind"; words by Klaus Groth) makes an appearance in the second subject of the first movement. "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer", Op. 105/2 ("Ever gentle is my slumber"; words by Hermann Lingg) and "Auf dem Kirchhofe", Op. 105/4 (words by Detlev von Liliencron) are quoted in the final movement.^[1]^[6] The song "Komm bald", Op. 97/5 ("Come soon"; words by Groth) is also said have provided thematic inspiration for the sonata.^[7]

An outstanding quotation of Brahms' own music can also be found at bar 89 in the last movement. Lied Meine liebe ist grün (Op. 63 no 5, poem by Felix Schumann, son of Robert and Clara, died in 1879) provides the dramatic portion of its melody corresponding to die glänzt wohl herab auf den Fliederbusch lyrics ('which gleams down on the lilac bush').

For French musicologist Georges Kan, this is the location of the little phrase in Vinteuil Sonata which Swann listens to in 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust.

The Violin Sonata No. 2 was premiered in Vienna on 2 December 1886 by the violinist Joseph Hellmesberger and Brahms himself at the piano.^[1]^[2]

Brahms's friend the poet Josef Widmann later wrote a poem to be accompanied by the sonata.^[8]

Recordings

Year	Piano	Violin	Label
1990	Daniel Barenboim	Itzhak Perlman	Sony
1985	Vladimir Ashkenazy	Itzhak Perlman	Warner
1960	Arthur Rubinstein	Henryk Szeryng
1962		Yehudi Menuhin
1948	Georg Solti	Georg Kulenkampff	Decca
2009	Lambert Orkis	Anne-Sophie Mutter	Deutsche Grammophon
1983	Alexis Weissenberg	Anne-Sophie Mutter	Warner
1993	Yefim Bronfman	Isaac Stern	Sony
1972		Jascha Heifetz	RCA
1991	Maria João Pires	Augustin Dumay	Deutsche Grammophon
1975	György Sebők	Arthur Grumiaux	Philips
1990	Pascal Rogé	Pierre Amoyal	Decca
1997	Peter Frankl	Kyung-Wha Chung	Warner
2005	Nicholas Angelich	Renaud Capuçon
1998		Ruggiero Ricci
2015	Alexander Melnikov	Isabelle Faust	Harmonia mundi
2013	Yuja Wang	Leonidas Kavakos	Decca
1967	Julius Katchen	Josef Suk	Decca
1960	Carl Seemann	Wolfgang Schneiderhan	Deutsche Grammophon
2001		Zino Francescatti	Sony
1995	Piotr Anderszewski	Viktoria Mullova	Philips
2017		Nathan Milstein
1991		Maxim Vengerov	Teldec
1955	Andrei Mytnik	Leonid Kogan
1997	Roland Pöntinen	Ulf Wallin	Arte Nova
2019	Éric le Sage	Pierre Fouchenneret
2016		Christian Tetzlaff
1996	Peter Serkin	Pamela Frank	Decca
2018		Tasmin Little	Chandos
2002	Frederic Chiu	Pierre Amoyal
2011		Arabella Steinbacher	PentaTone
2002		Ilya Kaler	Naxos
1988		Nils-Erik Sparf	BIS
2015		Szenthelyi Miklós	Hungaroton
1974	Daniel Barenboim	Pinchas Zukerman	Deutsche Grammophon
	Sviatoslav Richter	David Oistrakh	Melodiya
1987	Valery Afanassiev	Gidon Kremer	Deutsche Grammophon
1968	Pierre Barbizet	Christian Ferras	Deutsche Grammophon
2011	Gary Graffman	Berl Senofsky
2019	Nicholas Angelich	Akiko Suwanai
2014	Louise Lortie	Augustin Dumay	Onyx
1932	Rudolf Serkin	Adolf Busch	HMV

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2020)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Deutsche Grammophon". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Classical Archives
^ ^a ^b WolfgangDavid.com
^ Music Web International
^ ^a ^b "Classical TV". Archived from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
^ Naxos Direct
^ Edward Lein, Program Notes
^ The Gramophone, September 1961^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

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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