Ru
EnA. Pokryshkina, E. Shabshaevich
Interpretation of the cycle in J. Brahms’s Violin Sonatas
This article explores the unique artistic content and form of three Sonatas for Violin and Piano by J. Brahms – works that occupy a significant place in the repertoire of contemporary chamber performers and in recent musicological research. The cyclical nature of these sonatas is explored throughout the article from various perspectives. The figurative and semantic dominants of each opus are identified in terms of the interplay of lyric, dramatic, genre, and scherzo elements, as well as the key features of musical dramaturgy (in particular, the relationship between monologue and dialogic principles, and the development of conflicts). The genre and intonational parameters of the thematism, its song-based and symphonic roots, stylistic sources, and various methods of thematic development – motivic, polyphonic, and variational – are analyzed. The functions of the movements in these cycles are examined (a generally classical approach is established, implying the key role of the initial allegri, the intermedia role of the middle movements, and the culmination of the finales, albeit with reservations), as well as the factors of compositional and dramatic unity – common to the aforementioned triad and unique to each of the works under review. Structural patterns are identified, primarily approaches to the basic forms (three-part, sonata, and rondo), and the interactions between sonata form and other compositional principles – poem, variation, and rondo tendencies – are elucidated. Particular attention is paid to the dialogic relationships between the violin and piano parts, characteristic of the aforementioned “duet” cycles. The article emphasizes the deep-seated synthesizing intentions of Brahms’ artistic thinking, outlining his multiple connections with the historical traditions of the chamber genre, predetermining the organic fusion of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic elements within the space of the composer’s individual style.
Key words
Johannes Brahms, chamber ensemble work, sonatas for violin and piano, musical dramaturgy, sonata cycle, synthesizing processes.
For citation
Pokryshkina A., Shabshaevich E. Interpretation of the cycle in J. Brahms’s Violin Sonatas. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 3. Pp. 73–83.
