The Finale of Brahms's Fourth Symphony: The Tale of the Subject

Author(s): Raymond Knapp

Source: 19th-Century Music, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Summer, 1989), pp. 3-17
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746207
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 The Finale of Brahms's Fourth Symphony:
The Tale of the Subject
RAYMOND KNAPP

The interaction in Brahms between composer finale. And thereby hangs a tale of some com-
and scholar profoundly affected his plexity.' workInin fact, the tale of the subject must be
both disciplines. His scholarly pursuits pro-
told from two intersecting perspectives: that of
vided at least a surface rationale for the com- its own compositional history and that of the
plexity of his counterpoint, the frequency and musical drama it helps to complete within the
range of his borrowings from other composers,symphony. The subject embodies not only a
and the general conservativism of his style,multifaceted response to tradition, but also the
while compositional interests lay behind bothintegrative kernel for the symphony as a whole;
his intense study of earlier music and his grudg- only by considering both perspectives can we
ing respect for Wagner. This kind of interactionhope to approach an understanding of Brahms's
is particularly evident in his Fourth Symphony, complicated compositional personality.
where exalted models from the Baroque and Traditionally, the subject has been under-
Classical eras-and the occasional whiff of pre-stood as an altered form of the ostinato subject
tonal modality-merge organically with so-used by Bach in the finale of Cantata No. 150
phisticated harmonies and innovative formal ("Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich"), chosen by
procedures. Brahms because it could be combined easily
The focal point for Brahms's fusion of dispar-
ate traditions is the ostinato subject in the
'I wish to thank R. Larry Todd, who encouraged me to inves-
tigate the historical basis for Brahms's subject and provided
valuable assistance along the way. I also wish to thank Alex-
19th-Century Music XIII/1 (Summer 1989). o by the Re- ander Silbiger for his advice and comments regarding the Ba-
gents of the University of California. roque ostinato tradition.

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19TH
with a pattern of descending thirds similar to
matter for speculation, was apparently revealed
CENTURY
MUSIC those featured in the opening theme of theinfirst
1922, when Siegfried Ochs recounted a story
movement. The double connection, to histori-
involving the composer and Hans von Billow in
cal precedent and to the beginning of the his
sym-autobiographical Geschehenes, Gesehenes.
phony, is correct and pertinent; nevertheless,
Because of the general unavailability of this
neither part of this explanation has a wide
work, his account is given here:
enough focus to illuminate the full extent of
Brahms's aspirations. For this, a more detailed
It is surely well-known that Brahms was, with regard
reading is required, of both the historical deriva-
to Bach's art, one of the greatest experts and most fer-
vent admirers. In this connection a conversation oc-
tion of the subject and its expressed relationship
curred whose subject is noteworthy in relation to a
to the first three movements of the symphony.
certain work of Brahms. As we sat together one day
after dining-namely, Billow, Brahms, Hermann
I
Wolff, and I-Brahms fell upon Hans von Billow
Although the Baroque ostinato tradition was with the reproach that he played much too little
known to the nineteenth century mainly Bach, moreover was not concerned enough with him
through textbook and dictionary descriptions, and knew next to nothing of, as an example of the
most of its conventions were common cur- best of his creations, the church cantatas. Biilow de-
fended himself and claimed to know at least seven or
rency.2 With Bach's conveniently comprehen-
eight cantatas well. "That proves that you know
sive Chaconne for solo violin serving as the
none of them, for there are more than two hundred,"
most familiar exemplar, these could be easilysaid
(if Brahms. In due course of the conversation, he
then began to speak of the final movement of a cer-
imperfectly) summarized: Baroque ostinato
tain cantata, and in order to demonstrate what a
movements tended to be in triple meter with an
work of art this piece was, he went to the piano and
emphasized second beat, featuring paired varia-
played part of it. It was, as I have only now deter-
tions, a middle section in a contrasting key, mined,
and the ciacona that forms the high point and the
conclusion of Cantata 150. Brahms at first played
a subject based on one of a few standard shapes,
of which the descending tetrachord was only the the bass, over which the entire piece is con-
structed. This runs as follows:
most common. Ostinato subjects, which could
be varied, inverted, transposed, or moved to an
14 .IN II
upper voice, were typically four bars in length
and were constructed so that each ending of the
Then he performed the ch
pattern would generate the next variation. The
with cool admiration and ma
resulting cadential repetitions were especially
great intensification, which
ent in the movement, was sc
effective in conclusions to larger works, a favor-
ite setting for ostinato technique. sired mass by voices. "That h
said Brahms. "What would y
In the finale of his Fourth Symphony, Brahms
phony movement written on
followed the above conventions in most partic- But it is too clumsy, too str
ulars, but with two striking departures: his sub-
alter it chromatically in som
ject ascends rather than descends to the domi- tion I immediately made a
nant, and it does not elide with itself.3 The compare the finale of the
Brahms with that of the mentioned cantata.4
source for Brahms's unusual subject, long a

4"DaI Brahms einer der besten Kenner und der gliihendsten

2Because of the controversy surrounding the distinction be- Verehrer Bachscher Kunst gewesen ist, diirfte bekannt sein.
tween the chaconne and the passacaglia, I will here use the In Zusammenhang damit steht eine Unterhaltung, deren In-
more general term "ostinato" to refer to the technique it- halt in bezug auf ein bestimmtes Brahmssches Werk
self. Brahms apparently did not use either term in connec- merkwilrdig ist. Als wir nimlich eines Tages nach Tisch
tion with his symphony and did not trouble himself with beisammen sagfen, Bilow, Brahms, Hermann Wolff und ich,
distinctions between the two designations; in a letter to machte Brahms Hans von Biilow Vorwiirfe dariiber, dai er
Philipp Spitta in January 1874, he referred to Buxtehude's viel zuwenig Bach spiele, sich auch nicht genuigend mit ihm
Passacaglia as a "Ciacona," and seemed in general to prefer beschiftige und zum Beispiel von dem Hbchsten, was dieser
the latter term (Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel [Berlin, geschaffen habe, den Kirchenkantaten, so gut wie nichts
1906-21; rpt. edn. Tutzing, 1974], XVI, 53). kenne. Billow verteidigte sich und meinte, es seien ihm
3The length of Brahms's subject is also somewhat unusual, mindestens sieben oder acht Kantaten genau bekannt. 'Was
but there are many precedents in the Baroque for ostinato beweist, dafB du keine kennst, denn es gibt deren mehr als
subjects longer than four bars. zweihundert,' sagte Brahms. Im weiteren Verlauf des

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a. Bach, Cantata No. 150. phony long before beginning work on the com-
RAYMOND
KNAPP
S . iI position itself, a circumstance apparentlyBrahms's
Fourth
unique in his experience with the genre.6 But we
may also infer from the anecdote that Bach's
b. cantata was not the only
Brahms, source for Brahms's
Fourth
... . . ostinato subject. The specificity of his reactions
'"o i, I I LI - suggests that he already had a symphonic osti-
nato movement in mind and knew what sort of
Example
1: Ostinato subject
subject he would need; Bach's subject came
close, but did not quite match his conception.
Ochs's anecdote provides a re
Moreover, Brahms's well-documented familiar-
one can almost derive not onl
ity with the cantata7 should not distract us from
ject, but also its setting. Of th
matic alterations to Bach's su
alternating inthe
choice produces the roles of soloist and conductor; arrange-
strongest
ments for the concerts were made by Hermann Wolff, an as-
simplest meanssociate of Ochs mentioned in the anecdote. 1).
(see ex. And
Most retellings
ostinato movement at
of the story casually suggest the
possible dates ranging end
from sev- o
eral years before the Fourth Symphony
Brahms was simply honoring to the summer of
1884, at which point the first two movements of the sym-
had already acknowledged
phony were already completed. See J. Peter Burkholder,in h
tions. The anecdote thus accords well with the "Brahms and Twentieth-Century Classical Music" (this
compositional circumstances. Moreover, it es-journal 8 [1984], 78), for an example of the first view and
Siegfried Kross, "Brahms the Symphonist" (in Brahms: Bio-
tablishes a satisfying link to Bach while provid-graphical, Documentary andAnalytical Studies, ed. Robert
ing an attractive image of a man who could Pascall [Cambridge, 19831, p. 143), for an example of the sec-
gracefully combine scholarship with creativeond. Kross's suggestion of late 1884 is oblique: referring to
the appearance of the cantata that year in the Bach edition,
activity. It is, in short, a good story. Its account he states that "it is not clear whether Brahms was ac-
of the origins of the ostinato movement of the quainted with the cantata prior to this. . . . [I]f the detailed
Fourth Symphony, however, is perhaps too fac-dates are correct, as we must presume-[the first move-
ment] was already finished." As will be shown, Kross is mis-
ile to be entirely trustworthy. taken; Brahms knew the cantata long before 1884.
The incident described by Ochs apparently 6The Fourth Symphony was written in the summers of 1884
took place in Berlin between 7 and 12 January and 1885, the first two movements one summer, the last
two (apparently in reverse order) the following summer. See
1882, during the first of Biilow's tours with the Max Kalbeck, Johannes Brahms (Berlin, 1913), III, 445. Al-
Meininger Hofkapelle.s Thus we know thatthough it is possible that he had, from the beginning,
definite ideas about the finales of his D-Minor and C-Minor
Brahms conceived the finale of his Fourth Sym-
Symphonies (the former apparently having been abandoned
when he refashioned the symphony into a concerto), the his-
tory of these works indicates that those ideas were later re-
Gesprichs fing er dann an, von dem Schlulsatz einer be- vised to a large extent.
stimmten Kantate zu sprechen, und um zu zeigen, welches 7Brahms's correspondence with Philipp Spitta shows that
Kunstwerk dieses Stick sei, ging er ans Klavier und spielte he studied the cantata closely, and his manuscript copy of
einen Teil davon. Es handelte sich, wie ich erst jetzt festge- the work (discarded by Brahms, but subsequently rescued
stellt habe, dabei um die Ciaconna, die den Gipfelpunkt und and deposited with the Stadt- und Landesbibliothek in
den SchluI der 150. Kantate bildet. Brahms spielte zunichst Vienna) is well marked with corrections and annotations. In
nur den BaI, fiber den das ganze Stuick aufgebaut ist. Dieser a letter to Spitta of September 1874, Brahms offered an alter-
lautet so: [musical example] Dann trug er die Chaconne vor. native reading of a passage in the cantata (Briefwechsel, XVI,
Billow h6rte in kfihler Bewunderung zu und machte den 62), which Spitta dutifully appended to his discussion of the
Einwand, daI die grote Steigerung, die dem Satz gedanklich work in the first volume of the English edition of his biogra-
innewohne, von Singstimmen kaum in gewiinschtem MaIe phy (on which he collaborated, providing a preface dated
herauszubringen sei. 'Das habe ich mir auch schon gedacht,' "summer 1880"; see Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach: His
sagte Brahms. 'Was meinst du, wenn man iiber dasselbe Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685-1750,
Thema einmal einen Sinfoniesatz schriebe. Aber es ist zu
trans. Clara Bell and J. A. Fuller-Maitland [London, 1899], I,
p. 446). The correction was also incorporated into the edi-
klotzig, zu geradeaus. Man miitte es irgendwie chromatisch
tion of the Bach-Gesellschaft (Johann Sebastian Bachs
verindern.' Diese Unterhaltung habe ich mir sofort aufges-
chrieben, und nun vergleiche man einmal den Schlutsatz Werke, ed. Paul Graf Waldersee, vol. 30 [Berlin, 18841). Vir-
der E-Moll-Sinfonie von Brahms mit demjenigen der ginia Hancock reports that "there are no annotations in the
chaconne" in Brahms's manuscript copy of the cantata
erwihnten Kantate" ([Leipzig, 1922], pp. 299-300). The
(Brahms's Choral Compositions and His Library of Early
subject is given here as it is quoted by Ochs, without the cor-
rect rhythmic articulation (see ex. 1 for comparison). Music [Ann Arbor, 1983], p. 68); even so, there are enough
SThe final two concerts in Berlin included performancesmarkings,
of including slurrings and textual clarifications, to
indicate that Brahms studied the ciacona with some care.
both of Brahms's piano concertos, with Brahms and Billow

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19TH his equal familiarity with a number ofsubtle)
other indications of Brahms's high esteem for
CENTURY
MUSIC Buxtehude
possible models, drawn from his own century as may be found in his two catalogs of
his music
well as from the Baroque period. Of those from library (see n. 9). In the first of these,
the Buxtehude entries are written much larger
the Baroque, the most important is Buxtehude's
E-Minor Ciacona. than the other entries on the page. In the sec-
Buxtehude's ciacona and Bach's cantata ond, Buxtehude is listed at the top of the page,
following Brahms's usual (although possibly
came to Brahms's attention simultaneously,
shortly after he had completed his Haydn unconscious)
Vari- tendency regarding favored com-
posers for whom his holdings did not warrant
ations. In late 1873, Brahms gave the autograph
usingtoa full page."
of his variations (the version for piano duet)8
Brahms thus had both opportunity and mo-
Philipp Spitta. Spitta's enthusiasm for the osti-
nato finale prompted him to have copies tive
made to know the E-Minor Ciacona well. There
for Brahms of several unpublished ostinato is, moreover, persuasive internal evidence that
works, comprising Bach's Cantata No. 150 and figured prominently in his search for
the work
three organ works by Buxtehude.9 After an ostinato subject, even though Buxtehude's
several
subject, derived from a descending tetrachord,
delays, the copies were dispatched (9 February
is more conventional than Brahms's. At the cli-
1874), with a letter in which Spitta discussed
the cantata and expressed his enthusiasm max for
of the ciacona (mm. 86ff.; see ex. 2a), the
the recently completed orchestral versionsubject
of theis inverted, producing a pattern that
Haydn Variations. closely resembles Brahms's subject. Buxtehude
Although Brahms's opinion of the E-Minor
highlights this version of the subject by present-
Ciacona is undocumented, he wrote favorably
ing it in combination with an uninverted chro-
of the D-Minor Passacaglia, and supportedmatic version of the subject (without pedal, so
that the voices are more easily given equal
Spitta in his undertaking to publish an edition
of Buxtehude's organ works.1' Additional (ifAs shown in ex. 2b, the climactic state-
weight).
ment in Brahms's finale is conceived along sim-
ilar lines. Particularly worth noting here are the
8Now in the Stadt- und Landesbibliothek in Vienna.
bracketed passages, which feature chromatic
9Brahms's reply reveals that Buxtehude's D-Minor Passaca-
glia was already known to him; the other works apparently
voice exchanges (9-7 and 7-9) as a means of
were not (see Briefwechsel, XVI, 52, 53, 54, and 60). All four focusing the intensity of the counterpoint.
works are listed in the earlier of Brahms's two catalogs of his
Brahms's borrowing is enriched by yet another
music collection, but not in the later (both catalogs are now
in the Handschriftensammlung of the Wiener Stadt- und point of reference, as he is also evoking a similar
Landesbibliothek), an indication that Brahms discarded the exchange from the first movement (ex. 2c).
manuscripts once the works were published (Buxtehude's in To be sure, Buxtehude's procedure is not in
1876, Bach's in 1884); the manuscript of the cantata was res-
cued, as stated (see n. 7). Brahms knew the D-Minor Passaca- itself unusual. In Bach's cantata, for example,
glia through Nottebohm; it is included, in its entirety, in the an inverted subject completes a modulation
third volume of "Alte Instrumentalkompositionen," col- back to the tonic (mm. 45-52). Even more typi-
lected by the two of them. (There are six volumes in all,
housed in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna; cal are several passages from Bach's Chaconne
many works in the collection are represented only by brief for solo violin, a work that has often been linked
excerpts.) to Brahms's Fourth Symphony.12 Two of these
A description of Brahms's catalogs may be found in Han-
cock (Brahms's Choral Composition, pp. 9-10); a transcrip- passages are shown in ex. 3; other examples
tion of the music portion of the second catalog, reprinted may be found at mm. 96ff. and 216ff.
from Alfred Orel's "Johannes Brahms's Musikbibliothek"
(Hamburg, 1930s), is included in Kurt Hofmann's Die Bi-
bliothek von Johannes Brahms: Biicher- und Musikalien-
verzeichnis (Hamburg, 1974), pp. 146-66. owned only the second volume, it is not clear when or why
10Buxtehude figures no fewer than nine times in the surviv- he would have let go of the first. The correspondence shows,
ing correspondence with Spitta; see Briefwechsel XVI, 50, in any case, that he once owned both volumes.
52, 53, 54-55, 59-60, 70, 73, 74, and 75 for the relevant ex- "That the procedure was deliberate is indicated by the large
changes. The first volume of Spitta's edition, which begins number of incomplete pages; Brahms evidently would begin
with the ostinato works, is missing from Brahms's library. a new page before finishing the last, if the composer to be
The listing in his catalog, however, is somewhat ambigu- listed were one he wished to feature.
ous: "2 Bd. herausgegeben von Spitta." This is neither "2 '1See, for example, Burkholder, "Brahms and Twentieth-
Bde." nor "2. Bd.," Brahms's usual indications for "2 vols." Century Classical Music," p. 78; and Byron Cantrell,
and "2nd vol.," respectively. Although he thus may have "Three B's-Three Chaconnes," Current Musicology 12

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a. Buxtehude, E-Minor Ciacona. ing in its careful preparation, its elevated
RAYMOND
KNAPP
position in the dramatic structure of the Brahms's
work,
86
and its unusually intense setting. It is, further-
Fourth

more, to these features as much as to the tech-

9 7
nique itself that Brahms apparently responded.
IIT Further evidence of Brahms's indebtedness to
Buxtehude includes the following:
b. Brahms,
1. The use of abstract patterns to "spell" the subject.
297 I I Brahms does this with a string of descending thirds
(mm. 233ff. and 241ff.),'14 while Buxtehude does it
with an ascending scale (mm. 93ff.; immediately af-
7 9 ter the inverted subject). Buxtehude's technique was
surely observed by Brahms with appreciation--not
only here, but also in later statements, when the sub-
. . . . I ject is more and more explicitly redefined within
chains of descending thirds (see particularly the
c. Brahms, Fourth lower voice in mm. 109ff.).15
Symphony, movt. I.

2. The preparation of the chromatic version of the

28
subject. As in Brahms, the chromaticism is intro-
duced in an auxiliary role before being allowed a
stronger voice (compare Brahms mm. 121ff./169ff. to
7 9 Buxtehude mm. 69ff./77ff.).
T1 OLT

3. The contrast between paired statements and sin-

gle statements. The feeling of compression resulting
from such contrasts is used to great effect by both
Example 2 Buxtehude and Brahms. See, for example, mm. 93ff.
and 101ff. in the Ciacona; the latter passage, in its
recollection of previous material, closely anticipates
Brahms's procedure in mm. 193ff.
A specific connection to Brahms's finale is,
4. The prominent use of contrapuntally justified dis-
however, less credible here than in the case of sonance. The dissonant sonorities indicated in ex. 4
Buxtehude's inverted subject. While Bach's in- are almost gratuitously harsh; their principal justi-
versions do serve a structural function-the fication is not harmonic, nor even contrapuntal
(which is their immediate rationale), but simply dra-
two given in ex. 3 come near the ends of the first
D-minor section and the D-major section, matic: re- they are used to enhance the effect of the ap-
proaching cadence by means of a rhythmically em-
spectively-Bach does not highlight them phasized in dissonance. As discussed above (ex. 2), both
the same way that Buxtehude and Brahmspassages do. represent structural climaxes.
Nor, for that matter, does Bach's treatment of
the inversions-even when combined with a 5. The number of statements (thirty-one). The
ciacona from Bach's Cantata No. 150 has only
version of the original subject, as in mm.
twenty-two statements; his Chaconne, however, has
196ff. -support a connection to the derivation
sixty-four statements, indicating a possible relation-
and treatment of Brahms's subject.'3 There are
simply too many examples of this device in
Bach's Chaconne to attach significance to a par-
14Note also the simultaneous melodic progression of as-
ticular instance in the present context. Buxte-
cending fourths in mm. 233ff. (in the flutes).
'5The larger organization of the work derives directly from
hude's application, on the other hand, is strik-
this feature. The return to a nonchromatic version of the
subject, after the climactic chromatic inversions and the
statement derived from an ascending scale, is not to
the original subject, which never returns, but to a version in
(1971), 69-72. Brahms knew Bach's Chaconne well, having which descending thirds are prominent. The progress of the
heard Joachim perform the work often and having himself final section is also shaped by this feature, as the most ex-
written a transcription of the work for piano, left hand. plicit derivations of the subject from chains of thirds are
B3As has been observed, parallels do exist between the works found at its approximate midpoint. The resulting archlike
on a structural level; see Burkholder, "Brahms," p. 78. structure echoes the larger shape of the work.

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19TH a.
CENTURY
MUSIC 108 (arpeg.)

b.
192

Example 3: Bach, Chaconne for solo violin.

ship to Brahms's finale, since Bach's subject is half as a. Buxtehude, E-Minor Ciacona.
long as that of Brahms. Other points of reference are 86
Bach's Passacaglia for organ, which has twenty-one
statements before it dissolves into a fugue; Buxte-
hude's Passacaglia, with twenty-eight statements;
and his C-Minor Ciacona, with thirty-seven state-
ments. In the latter two works, the succession of osti-
nato statements is frequently interrupted with tran-
sitional material. Another promising point of
reference, Beethoven's 32 Variations in C Minor, will b. Brahms, Fourth Symphony, movt. IV.
be taken up below; its statements actually number 297
thirty-three, since there is a preliminary statement of
the theme.

6. The key (E minor). The key is an unusual one for a

symphony; Brahms's choice may well represent an
acknowledgement of his debt to Buxtehude.16

II
Example 4
Once we affirm that Buxtehude's Ciacona is,
in musical terms, more relevant to Brahms's
Symphony than Bach's cantata, we may also
consider other possible models as part of a gen- these, the most important is the theme of Beet-
eral background. Thus, the inverted passages in hoven's C-Minor Variations (ex. 5).18
Bach's Chaconne should probably be under- Beethoven's theme, like Brahms's subject, is
stood as a point of reference, along with Fran- eight bars long, and does not elide with itself.
qois Couperin's B-Minor Passacaille, which Except for the raised third degree (m. 3) and the
features a rising, chromatic subject.17 Even emphasis on the sixth degree (m. 6), the shape of
more significant, however, are a number of Beethoven's melody is nearly identical to that
sources from outside the Baroque ostinato tradi- of Brahms's subject; in particular, the raised
tion that were nevertheless vital components of
Brahms's ambitious historical conception. Of
18Cantrell also considers the relationship between Brahms's
finale and Beethoven's C-Minor Variations, apparently un-
aware of the traditional claim that the subject was derived
16For a more extensive discussion of Brahms's choice of key, from Bach's cantata. Surprisingly, he glosses over the simi-
see my Brahms and the Problem of the Symphony: Roman- larity to Beethoven's theme, suggesting instead that
tic Image, Generic Conception, and Compositional Chal- Brahms's subject was derived directly from Bach's Cha-
lenge (Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 1987), pp. 268-72, and conne: "The theme seems to have been borrowed from Bach
367-68. [the Chaconne, not the cantata] but also greatly resembles
'7Brahms assisted Chrysander in an edition of Couperin's
the soprano theme of the Beethoven Thirty-Two" (Cantrell,
keyboard music, published in 1888. "Three B's," p. 70).

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 RAYMOND
KNAPP
Brahms's
I i 1 I I . .... i Fourth

.TI

f f . iv i

Example 5: Be

fourth degree--the chromatic addition Brahms the C-Minor Variations, Beethoven's theme in
purportedly made to the ostinato subject in this case has the binary structure typical of
Bach's Cantata No. 150-occurs at the exact Classical themes; nevertheless, it is essentially
a bass line, and Beethoven underscores the osti-
midpoint in each. To be sure, Beethoven's
nato basis for his variation technique by first
theme is designed for sectional rather than con-
giving the theme in unharmonized octaves and
tinuous variations, and is a more elaborate com-
plex composed of bass line, harmony, and mel- only gradually allowing it to serve its more nat-
ody; in the absence of important points of function. Brahms also introduces his bass
ural
line as a melody, transferring it to the bass in a
reference within the Baroque tradition, it could
similarly gradual progression.20 In fact, both
scarcely have served as a model for Brahms's
transitions follow the same route: from treble
subject.19 Nevertheless, the rationale that sup-
ports Brahms's drawing upon Beethoven for toainner voice to treble to bass, with the arrival
secondary model is persuasive and has specific in the bass coinciding with the introduction of a
application to the C-Minor Variations. more definitive melody in the treble (m. 33 in
In being the first to base a symphony move- Brahms; m. 76 in Beethoven).
ment on strict ostinato technique, BrahmsThe structural connection to Beethoven's
would have been intensely concerned with the Third Symphony is supported, if obliquely, by
the thematic connection to the C-Minor Varia-
historical logic of doing so. There were at least
two approaches, based either on Beethoven's tions. Beethoven, who borrowed his symphonic
use of strict variation in the finales of his Third
theme from his Variations for Piano, op. 35, in
and Ninth Symphonies or on the growing popu- the process provided Brahms with a precompo-
larity of ostinato technique in nineteenth- sitional model: if Brahms indeed used the
century orchestral music. Of these possible jus-theme of the C-Minor Variations in deriving his
subject, he was simply adapting Beethoven's
tifications, Brahms chose the finale of Beet-
hoven's Third Symphony to occupy the fore- strategy to his own needs. The symmetrical
logic of the gesture would have been especially
ground in his conception. Unlike the theme of
compelling to Brahms, who thought highly
enough of both the op. 35 Variations and the C-
Minor Variations to have featured them in his
19Despite the ostinato elements at work in Beethoven's vari-
performing repertoire of the 1850s.
ations, largely stemming from the brevity of the theme and
the descending tetrachord of its bass line, the work is more
an extension of classical variation technique than a re-crea-
tion of the Baroque ostinato tradition. See, however, May-
nard Solomon, Beethoven (New York, 1977), who refers to it
as Beethoven's "first use of passacaglia form" (p. 203), and 20In giving the initial statement of the ostinato subject to
Cantrell ("Three B's," p. 67), who reviews the tradition for the treble, Brahms places his finale at odds with the Baroque
calling the work a chaconne. An early reference to the work ostinato tradition, a circumstance that is rarely acknowl-
as a chaconne may be found in Ebenezer Prout's "Cha- edged. Significantly, however, Brahms did not provide the
conne" entry for George Grove's A Dictionary of Music and treble statements of his subject with an independently
Musicians by Eminent Writers, English and Foreign (Lon- memorable bass line such as the one Beethoven provided
don, 1879; rpt. 1900), vol. 1, pp. 331-32. the theme of his C-Minor Variations.

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19TH The double connection to Beethoven in a. Brahms, Fourth Symphony, movt. I.
CENTURY
MUSIC Brahms's finale has a parallel in the very open-
ing of the symphony, underscored by the rela-
tionship between the opening theme of the Vn.
first
II

movement and the ostinato subject of the

finale. As is well known, Brahms presents
b. Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, movt. I, transposed.
the two together at mm. 233ff. in the finale; the
larger context for this combination, which will
be taken up below, represents a compositional Vn.I

echo of the allusive parallel. In effect, the dou-

ble set of allusions to Beethoven creates a c.
sup-
Sketch for Beethoven, transposed from No
porting pedestal, strongly rooted within the
symphonic tradition, for the otherwise incon-
gruous inclusion of a Baroque ostinato move-
v"
ment in a symphony.
Like the finale, the beginning of the sym-
phony alludes to both a symphony and a major
piano work of Beethoven. The latter allusion Example 6
has been noted before:21 in the third movement
of his Hammerklavier Sonata (mm. 78ff.), Beet-
hoven closely anticipates Brahms's opening
theme as part of a general exploration of the gen- (bracketed in ex. 6a) within the structural thirds
erative power of descending thirds. The sym- of the sketches. The complex allusion is rein-
phonic allusion, however, is considerably more forced by the anacrusis beginning, which
subtle. Brahms retained against the advice of Joa-
As Brahms would have known from the work chim,23 and despite his having himself com-
of his friend Gustav Nottebohm, it was once posed an alternative opening.24
Beethoven's intention to make of the opening 'The nested allusions to Beethoven at the be-
theme of his Fifth Symphony an unbroken ginning of Brahms's symphony do not complete
chain of descending thirds.22 Example 6 shows the story, for Brahms may well have used yet an-
how Brahms's theme compares to both Beet- other symphonic model in constructing his
hoven's opening and his earlier conception of opening. Mozart's G-Minor Symphony begins,
that opening as transcribed by Nottebohm. like Brahms's symphony, with a theme based
Brahms preserves the essence of each, setting on a descending chain of thirds; in fact, the mu-
off the paired descents of the final version sical parallels between the two openings are suf-
ficiently numerous that a single description
may be devised to fit both. An opening melody
21See Charles Rosen, The Classical Style (New York, 1971), based on a chain of descending thirds and em-
pp. 407 and 424-26. phasizing the upper neighbor of the dominant
22See Nottebohm, Beethoveniana. Aufsiitze und Mit- (Mozart mm. 1-9, Brahms mm. 1-4) yields to
theilungen (Leipzig, 1872), p. 11; Brahms, of course, owned a
copy of this work (see Hoffmann, Die Bibliothek, p. 159), an answering melody based on rising thirds
which was published ten years before he began work on the (Mozart mm. 30-33, Brahms mm. 5-8). The
Fourth Symphony. (The relevant sketch is also reproduced
in the Norton Critical Score of Beethoven's Fifth Sym-
phony, ed. Elliot Forbes [New York, 1971], p. 119.) Although
Beethoven abandoned his plan to base the theme of the23Briefwechsel VI, 221-22.
opening movement on a chain of descending thirds, he did 24The autograph (now in the Zentralbibliothek in Zdirich;
use such a chain in constructing both the opening theme of facs. publ. Zilrich, 1974) includes, at the end of the first
the second movement (mm. 1-5) and the trio theme in the movement, a four-bar introduction to the movement that
third movement (mm. 143-47). The main theme of thewas eventually discarded. For a recent discussion of this
finale, with its assertive ascending thirds, was no doubt abandoned revision, see Louise Litterick, "Brahms the Inde-
originally conceived as a direct response to the earlier plan cisive: Notes on the First Movement of the Fourth Sym-
for the opening; this interpretation is confirmed by other phony, " in Brahms 2: Biographical, Documentary andAna-
motivic reversals in the finale (compare the larger shape oflytical Studies, ed. Michael Musgrave (Cambridge, 1987),
mm. 34ff. with mm. 407ff. of the first movement). pp. 223-35.

10

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two melodies evoke contrasting Baroque topics The referential web that supports the osti- RAYMOND
KNAPP
in turn: an incomplete descending tetrachord nato finale of the Fourth Symphony also in- Brahms's
(Mozart mm. 2-9, Brahms mm. 5-9) and a fifth cludes a number of less rigorous ostinato treat- Fourth

expanding to a diminished seventh (Mozart ments by other nineteenth-century composers,

mm. 34-42, Brahms mm. 1-5). A new theme ranging from Anton Rubinstein to Schubert.
featuring a chromatic line (Mozart mm. 44-61, Rubinstein's Ocean Symphony (op. 42, 1851),
Brahms mm. 9-14), which is eventually an- which Brahms owned, uses chromatic ostinato
swered by a chromatic line in the opposite di- figures in all seven movements (presumably
rection (Mozart mm. 62-68, Brahms mm. 27- one each for the seven seas).27 And the second
31), then gives way to scalar passages that movement of Schubert's B-Minor Symphony,
culminate in a major cadential articulation which has an ostinato-like central section (mm.
(Mozart mm. 70-99, Brahms mm. 13-19 and 96ff.), suggests a connection not only because
mm. 31-53). Although the description corres- Schubert's ascending bass pattern resembles
ponds to the entire exposition in Mozart and Brahms's subject, but also because, like
only to the opening group in Brahms, the abun- Brahms, Schubert first introduces the figure in a
dance of similarities and the supporting ration- melodic context (mm. 66ff. ).28
ale25 suggest a deliberate (if subtle) allusion.26
III
The wealth of supporting connections to
25The G-Minor Symphony was an important work for
Brahms, who owned the autograph score, and who used the
post-Baroque traditions sheds considerable
work as a point of reference when discussing the orchestra- light on Brahms's reactions to Bach's cantata.
tion of Schumann's D-Minor Symphony with the Herzogen- According to Ochs, Brahms found Bach's sub-
bergs (Briefwechsel II, 127-28). Joachim, in his unsuccess-
ful attempt to persuade Brahms to add an introduction to his
ject "too clumsy, too straightforward"-an odd
Fourth Symphony, revealed a subtle flair for strategy in us- judgement considered in the abstract. Bach's
ing Mozart's opening as a point of reference (Briefwechsel subject, with its effortless elisions, is certainly
VI, 221-22). Other possible allusions to the G-Minor Sym-
phony may be found in Brahms's First Symphony, in the ex-
more graceful than Brahms's, and nothing could
tended chain of descending thirds in the development sec- be more "straightforward" than the rhythmic
tion of the finale-which addresses the development regularity of Brahms's subject. Considered from
sections in the first movements of Mozart's G-Minor Sym-
phony and Beethoven's Hammerklavier with equal preci-
within the nineteenth-century symphonic tra-
sion-and in the repeated eighth-note horn fillers near the dition, however, the quickened pace of the
beginning of the second movement. The cited passage in the fourth measure of Bach's subject does appear
Hammerklavier may itself be an allusion to Mozart, as sug-
gested by the sequence that begins in m. 140.
26The possibility of a Mozartian allusion here cannot be ad-
vanced without responding to John Rothgeb's recent claim the neighbor-note C in the opening theme, he clearly con-
that Brahms's opening theme "is no more derived from so tradicts Heinrich Schenker's analysis of the passage, which
sterile and schematic an idea as a long series of descending traces an opening G-F#-E descent as the beginning of a
thirds than is the theme of the D-Minor Prelude from Book I gradual descent by thirds that spans mm. 1-18 (Free Compo-
of the Well-Tempered Clavier" (rev. of Walter Frisch, sition, trans. Ernst Oster [New York, 1979], pp. 73-74 and
Brahms and the Principle of Developing Variation [Berke- supplement, fig. 81); Schenker's reading both discounts the
ley and Los Angeles, 1984], in Music Theory Spectrum 9 significance of the anacrusis B (cf. Rothgeb's ex. 6, p. 209)
[1987], 210). In dismissing this cornerstone of post-Schoen- and suggests a link between the underlying pattern of de-
berg thought about the opening theme of the Fourth - actu- scending thirds and that which defines the opening melody.
ally, as noted by Litterick ("Brahms the Indecisive," p. Further, Rothgeb, in attacking a parenthetical reference to
227n), Schoenberg's observation was anticipated by Walther the descending thirds of the opening theme, fails to ac-
Vetter in 1914-Rothgeb points out that the technique of knowledge Frisch's later, more extensive discussion of that
generating themes through arpeggiations (with longer pat- theme (pp. 142-43), wherein the prominence of C-more
terns of descending thirds representing an extension of that precisely, the harmonic prominence of C-is duly noted.
technique) is "as old as instrumental music itself." Which is 27Brahms also owned Rubinstein's Symphonie dramatique
exactly the point. Brahms was especially fond of alluding to (op. 95, 1874), which features a less pervasive use of ostinato
material that was itself either allusive or part of an extended technique. Brahms's opinion of Rubinstein, like his opinion
tradition. Certainly there is a good deal more than a chain of of Wagner, is considerably less negative than has been gen-
thirds in Brahms's opening, but to deny the importance (or erally assumed; see, for example, Briefwechsel II, 114, and
even the existence!) of such a chain, in view of the abun- Clara Schumann: Ein Kiinstlerleben nach Tagebiichern
dance of similar chains throughout both outer movements, und Briefen, ed. Berthold Litzmann (Leipzig, 1923), III, 154.
is as inappropriate as the adjective "sterile" applied to a 28When Schubert reprises the melody (mm. 207ff.), it re-
technique "as old as instrumental music itself." mains in the treble. I wish to thank R. Larry Todd for bring-
The context for Rothgeb's curious claim also warrants ing this possible model for Brahms's subject to my atten-
scrutiny, on two counts. In underscoring the importance of tion.

11

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19TH somewhat clumsy, and the absence of a chro-
CENTURY
MUSIC He
matic element might easily seem a weakness. m - I I .
The need for a subject with strong points of ref-
erence within the symphonic tradition, which Example 7: Alternative o
led Brahms to use somewhat atypical Baroque following Buxtehude
models in the first place, also led him to adapt
those models along certain lines. Thus, as sug-
gested by the anecdote, Brahms wanted his a. sub-
ject to proceed with rhythmic regularity, and to
have built into it an element of potential con-
flict. In the latter particular, Brahms's subject is
especially effective, and not just because of its
chromaticism.
b.,
In the first place, the upward direction of the .'
subject--probably the feature of Bach's subject
that most attracted Brahms-is central to its
Example 8: Brahms's ostinato subject described
dramatic effect and greatly heightens the im- in falling thirds.
pact of the added chromaticism. Beyond this,
the inability of the subject to elide with itself,
combined with its extended length, further em-
phasizes the drama of each chromatic ascent. In
all of these features, the guiding aesthetic is that ostinato subject could have been used-includ-
of the nineteenth-century symphony rather ing the descending tetrachord, as Buxtehude
than the Baroque ostinato tradition. demonstrated in his E-Minor Ciacona.29
Also reflecting a nineteenth-century aes- What is unusual about Brahms's subject is
thetic-and brought into focus by the parallel not that it combines well with a melodic pat-
to the theme of Beethoven's C-Minor Varia- tern of descending thirds, but that, ultimately,
tions-is the placement of the chromatic ele- it does not. As shown in ex. 8b, the regularity of
ment at the exact midpoint of the subject. After the pattern of descending thirds necessitates a
all, Brahms might easily have taken Buxte- harsh clash with the A# at the beginning of the
hude's version of the subject and presented it in fifth measure, forcing the pattern to break off at
even increments (ex. 7); the resulting balance this point. Thus, the very changes that Brahms
between self-eliding grace and disruptive chro- supposedly made in Bach's subject prohibit him
maticism, however, was apparently not what from combining the full subject with a descend-
Brahms had in mind. The removal of the G# ing chain of thirds, and his treatment speci-
both emphasizes and focuses the chromaticism, fically calls attention to this.30
transferring the rhythmic emphasis to the A# Paradoxically, then, Brahms fashioned an
and, at the same time, eliminating a potential ostinato subject apparently at odds with his
rival and/or herald. central concerns in the finale of the Fourth
The full effect of the chromaticism becomes Symphony. Wanting to forge a link between the
apparent, however, only when we consider subject and the thematic matter of the first
what has traditionally been seen as the most movement, he nevertheless devised a subject
important precompositional aspect of the sub-
ject: its ability to combine with, and even to be
generated by, descending chains of thirds. This 29Moreover, Brahms could have found a model for this treat-
capacity is what allows Brahms to forge a link ment even closer at hand; in mm. 121ff. in the finale of
between the subject and the melodic material ofSchumann's Fourth Symphony, a pattern of descending
thirds is used to generate a rising scale. A similar effect may
the first movement, as shown in ex. 8a. Butbe found in the development section of the first movement
Brahms's subject is scarcely unique in this re-of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata (mm. 139ff.).
gard. Typical ostinato subjects consist primar- 300f the many analyses of the ostinato finale, only Rudolf
ily of scales, which are easily combined with de- Klein's "Die Doppelgeriisttechnik in der Passacaglia der IV.
Symphonie von Brahms" ( Osterreichische Musikzeitschrift
scending chains of thirds; thus, almost any 27 [1972], 641-48) makes note of this effect.
12

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with a built-in obstruction to such a linkage.
4 ~IT m = ,-
RAYMOND
KNAPP
And, wishing to evoke the tradition of the Ba- (AI Brahms's
roque ostinato genres, he nevertheless set aside Fourth

one of the most attractive features of that tradi-

tion-the graceful capacity to join seamlessly
Example 9: Brahms, Fourth Sympho
each phrase to the next-in favor of a subject movt. I, mm. 1-9, reduction with
with a closed-off phrase structure.
implied continuation.
What Brahms apparently wanted from the
ostinato tradition was not its characteristic
gracefulness, but the severity that the repetitive
format allowed him to build into the structure. But the immediate link to the first move-
Underscoring this severity-in collaboration ment, implicit in the minor-mode setting of the
with the upward direction, chromaticism, and finale, alerts us to the possible existence of
closed phrase structure of the subject-was the other connections; upon examination, a sub-
minor-key orientation of his finale, unusual for stantial network of thematic relationships link-
a minor-key symphony in the nineteenth cen- ing all the movements of the symphony is re-
tury.31 In placing his ostinato movement in the vealed, a network that is not fully elaborated
minor-after two inner movements in the ma- until the finale. The most important thematic
jor-Brahms forged an immediate link to therelationship, between the main theme of the
first movement, which had itself been con-first movement and the first half of the ostinato
structed around a strongly articulated element subject, is, indeed, the most obvious. Even this
of repetition (the pattern of descending thirdsrelationship, however, is more complex than it
introduced in the principal theme). first appears.
Brahms's general requirements for the finale
thus determined the nature of his subject with IV

some precision, generating a minor-mode pat- The opposing chains of thirds in the opening
tern that begins with an assertive upwardtheme of the first movement are shaped so as to
thrust, features a rhythmically stressed chro- evoke familiar Baroque topics, one of which-
maticism designed in part to color the arrival the (incomplete) descending tetrachord-is im-
point of that ascent, and ends with a full ca- mediately suggestive of the ostinato tradition
dence that prevents graceful elision even as it (see ex. 9).32 The descending tetrachord is subse-
articulates the unusual length of the subject. Ifquently transformed into a separate motive (m.
we were to begin with this description, further 13) and, as shown in ex. 10, brought to a delayed
stipulating that the subject should proceed inconclusion with the arrival on B in m. 17. But
even note values as befits the seriousness of its the full connection to the ostinato subject of the
conception, it would prove difficult indeed for finale is revealed at this point only in imagina-
us to produce anything other than the subject tion. As shown in ex. 11, Brahms's original pre-
Brahms used. sentation of the descending tetrachord is an in-
version of his later combination of the opening
theme with his ostinato subject (compare with
exs. 8a and b); one has only to unite ex. 11 with
31The minor-key symphonic ending was largely a legacy
the conclusion of Brahms's opening thematic
from the eighteenth century, as overwhelmingly estab- statement (mm. 15ff.; see ex. 10) to produce the
lished by the mainstream composers in the genre. Haydn ostinato subject.
symphonies with minor-key endings include Nos. 26 (La-
mentatione), 39, 44 (Trauersymphonie), 49 (La Passione), A considerably less oblique (but no less sub-
and 52; Mozart, who wrote only two minor-key symphonies tle) preparation for the subject takes place in the
(both in G minor, K. 183 and K. 550), ended each in the mi-
nor; Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, on
the other hand, ended their minor-key symphonies in the
major. To be sure, the evidence here is open to interpreta- 32Examples labeled "reduction" are designed to illustrate
tion, for the sampling from the nineteenth century is con- specific musical relationships whose significance is defined
siderably smaller than that provided by Haydn and Mozart; by the immediate textual context; the reductions are not in-
also, minor-mode endings continued to be fairly common in tended as independent analyses and should not be "read"
less weighty- and less public--genres. separately from the text.

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19TH A B C
CENTURY
MUSIC

Exampl

flected arrival point.34

senting the ostinato subje
come, Brahms thus mana
Exampl image of that subject and
(mm. 4-9). vent our hearing its expe
pletion. And when, at
finale, the ostinato sub
plied melodic progression
_ - , 4 - , L ble setting is given at lea
The link thus forged bet
mm. 4-6: x
ment and the finale all
mm. 38-40: x
fically, the ostinato su
mm. 92-108: x x x x x
general function of clarif
mm. 316-25: x x x x x sential to one of Brahms's central tasks in the
finale: to establish a network of thematic rela-
Example 12: Partial tionships
ostinato anticipations
that will retroactively link the move- in
Brahms, Fourth Symphony,
ments of the symphony. movt. III.
In the first stage of this
process, which takes place in the first half of the
movement, Brahms works backward through
the third and second movements to re-establish
third movement, the thematic a
within structure of the first
series
th of movement.
events
represents the most The second stage occupies
extreme the coda; here,
textural the
gesture
in the movement. The last
ostinato subjectin this
is taken apart toseries,
reveal that thethe a
ticipation of the firstthematic
five matter
notesof the symphony
of the is implicit
subject
mm. 316-25, has been within noted before.33
the subject itself. The two stages may beMore
involved here, however,defined in than
terms of thearelationship
relativelybetween the loca
subject and theIn
anticipation of the subject. thematic matter of the the
concert, sym- com
plete series establishes
phony:anthe first
increasingly
stage relates the various the-
comple
harmonic progression to
matic types support
of the symphony through aexterior
comple
melodic presentation variations
of the of the ostinato
subject, while the second
subjectsys- (e
12). Although the entire progression
tematically reveals is nev
an interior source for them.
stated explicitly, it isThe various steps of the first stage
unmistakably may be
evoked: t
first two gestures (mm.enumerated as 4-6
follows: and 38-40) defi
the end-points, the third (mm. 92-108) presen
the second half of the 1. The progression, and
ambiguous opening, hovering between the la
A mi-
presents the complete nor and E minor, both acknowledges thewith
progression A-minor a d
setting of the anticipation of the subject in the coda

33See, for example, Alan Walker, A Study in Musical Analy- 34Two further members of the series, at mm. 170-72 and
sis (London, 1962), pp. 76-77; and Frisch, Brahms, pp. 142-231-33, simply recall the first two gestures (with the first
43. placed a half step higher).

14

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of the previous movement, and, in the cadences in to impose a loosely conceived theme-and-varia- RAYMOND
KNAPP
mm. 7-8 and 15-16, suggests the Phrygian quality tions structure over the larger sonata-form de- Brahms's
introduced in the introduction and coda of the sec-
ond movement.
sign.37 The progression from chains of thirds to Fourth
chromatic lines to cadential gestures traced in
2. The third statement (mm. 16ff.) recalls the oppos- steps 3 and 4 above thus parallels (and, to some
ing three-note scale fragments that defined the open- extent, redefines) the structure of the opening
ing theme of the second movement and subsequently theme of the first movement.
formed the basis for the parody of that theme in the
third movement.35 The scale fragments are gradually V
freed from the stabilizing central pitch always
present in the inner movements, a process initiated When Brahms re-establishes the three-part
by the chromatic slide (CO -C-B) in mm. 16-19. thematic structure of the first movement in the
finale, he reverses the order of the thirds-chains,
3. Once the scalar thirds have been isolated, a series with ascending thirds representing an opening
of rising thirds (mm. 34, 36, and 37) is answered by a
descending chain of thirds (mm. 38-40) in the first
gesture to be answered by descending thirds.
statement both to begin and to end unambiguously The new ordering is informed by the character-
in E minor.36 The thematic structure recalls the istic thematic patterns in the second move-
opening theme of the first movement in the opposi-ment, a relationship clarified by the gradual
tion of patterns of ascending and descending thirds, a
transformation, in mm. 16-40, of an allusion to
constructive principle that is thus implicitly linked
the second movement into an allusion to the
with the opposing three-note scale fragments in the
middle movements. first movement. The second half of the finale,
after the slower middle section, confirms the
4. As this constructive principle is developed further, new order, as both subsections (a false reprise
chromaticism is introduced, at first ornamentallyfollowed by a genuine reprise, mm. 129ff. and
(mm. 65ff.), then replacing opposed thirds-patterns as
193ff., respectively) conclude with paired state-
a constructive principle (mm. 73ff.). The final two
statements before the change in meter (mm. 81-96) ments featuring descending chains of thirds. It
combine chromatic lines with overlapping cadential is with the conclusion of the second subsection
gestures. that Brahms enters the second stage of his the-
matic manipulations.
The last of these steps requires explanation. At m. 233, for the first time in the movement,
As indicated in ex. 10 (and also by the parallels the first half of the subject is generated from a
with the exposition of Mozart's G-Minor Sym- single chain of thirds, presented in even rhyth-
phony, discussed above), the opening theme of mic values.38 The mode of expression here
the symphony divides into three parts, the first needs to be stressed: before, Brahms had been
based on chains of thirds, the second on chro- able to distract from the difficulty caused by the
matic lines, and the third on cadential gestures. A# in the subject by using irregular chains of
The importance of this three-part structure is
maintained throughout the first movement, as
its components provide the means for Brahms 37The variation processes in the first movement have been
treated by various authors, notably Jonathan Dunsby (in
Structural Ambiguity in Brahms [Ann Arbor, 1981j, pp. 41-
83), Donald Tovey (Essays in Musical Analysis [London,
35Both the themes and the harmonic devices of the second 1981; orig. publ. 1935-39], I, 118-20), and David Osmond-
movement are parodied in the third. Startling juxtaposi- Smith ("The Retreat from Dynamism: A Study of Brahms's
tions of major chords a major third apart occur without ei- Fourth Symphony," in Brahms: Biographical, Documen-
ther the Phrygian or thematic rationales of the second tary and Analytical Studies, pp. 147-65). Dunsby's discus-
movement (mm. 10, 14, 199, 203, and 337 of the third move- sion is concerned principally with the exposition, while the
ment; compare to the seven-faceted shifts in mm. 80-83 of others deal mainly with the development section. For a dis-
the second movement, and to the beginning and ending pro- cussion of the interaction of variation and sonata form in
gressions of that movement). The more gradual replace- the movement as a whole, see my Brahms and the Problem
ment of thematic third-spans with tetrachords in the second of the Symphony, pp. 295-314. The three-part structure of
movement is repeatedly evoked-and trivialized-in the the opening theme is discussed by both Dunsby (pp. 47-49)
third movement, in passages preparing for the return of the and Osmond-Smith (pp. 152-53).
tetrachord-based opening theme (mm. 24ff., 282ff., and 38This is a normalized reprise of mm. 177ff., where the chain
294ff.; in the latter, the parody is intensified by harmonic of descending thirds was not strictly carried out. The state-
oscillations between Eb and G). ment beginning in m. 57 also begins with descending chains
36This is also the first statement to present the subject in the of thirds, but in a less stylized context and with interlocking
bass, as noted above. chains.

15

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19TH thirds, or interlocking chains of thirds, or par- A C
CENTURY
MUSIC tial chains of thirds. Here, however, the very
simplicity of the presentation compels him to
confront the problem head-on; this he does in
the final complete statement (mm. 241ff.) and, B

in so doing, he derails the ostinato subject for

good. A B C

The task Brahms has set for himself in the en-

pW
suing coda is apparently daunting: to reveal the
thematic basis for the ostinato subject by, in ef-
fect, taking it apart and reassembling it. Brahms Example 13: Ostinato subject as first-
is, however, uniquely prepared to perform this movement thematic pattern.
task, having already fashioned the ideal tool.
As indicated above, the attempt to combine a
descending chain of thirds with the head of the
ostinato subject breaks down at the midpoint. tern, two things were necessary: the first part of
This is acknowledged in m. 237, when there is the subject had to be linked to the descending
no attempt to continue the chain past this chain of thirds so that the connection to the first
point.39 In mm. 241ff., on the other hand, the at- movement would be clear, and the subject had
tempt is made, and forcefully; it is here that the to be separated into the three referential compo-
magnitude of the difficulty becomes apparent. nents so that the structural link would be re-
Specifically, the melodic progression in mm. vealed. In a masterful fusion of means and ends,
245-46, from A# to B, is made to sound like a Brahms fashioned his subject in such a way that
correction. The effect is cataclysmic, as the de- the first step (introducing the descending thirds)
scending chain of thirds is thus heard to leads inexorably to the second (dismantling the
threaten the authority of the ostinato subject. subject).
The canonic treatment of the passage, which is The structure of the coda confirms this inter-
continued throughout, emphasizes--almost pretation. The first statement moves quickly to
personifies-the element of antagonism be- the point at which the subject becomes chro-
tween the two elements. For the first time in matic. After a brief hiatus, an intensely chro-
the movement, the music is forced out of its es- matic section ensues (mm. 261ff.), directly
tablished ostinato format. evocative of those passages in the first move-
The ensuing dismemberment of the subject ment wherein a chromatic line supported a se-
entails two vital points of reference. When the ries of dominant-seventh chords resolving de-
subject was first presented, in the third move- ceptively. The passage from m. 261 to m. 272 is
ment, it was literally in pieces-and its assem- thus a working out of the chromatic part of the
bly, in the coda of that movement, was broken subject according to procedures established in
off. More significant, however, is the fact that the first movement.40
Brahms breaks the subject, not just into two, The passage has an additional harmonic jus-
but into three pieces, corresponding to the three tification. After a cadence on F (m. 273), the
parts of the thematic pattern of the first move- coda of the preceding movement, already
ment (see ex. 13, cf. ex. 10). The subject is thus evoked in mm. 209ff., is recalled in a more in-
"read" as a thematic pattern identical to that of tense setting--and for good reason, as the focus,
the first movement. from this point on, will be on the conclusion of
In order for Brahms to bring out the relation- the subject, which was withheld in the third
ship between the subject and this thematic pat- movement. The reference to the preceding coda
is nearly exact; even the tonal orientation is the
same. This time, however, there is no deflection
39An implicit acknowledgement of the difficulty may be
found in the referential statement beginning in m. 177;
here, Brahms moves the subject to the bass at the midpoint
(m. 181) and breaks his descending thirds into two inter- 400smond-Smith ("The Retreat," p. 165) also hears this
locking chains. chromatic passage as a reference to the first movement.

16

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of
of the
theaugmented-sixth
augmented-sixthchord
chord
(although
(although
a de- a de-
281
RAYMOND
KNAPP
ceptive
ceptiveresolution
resolutionis required
is required
in order
in order
to return
to return Brahms's
to E minor). Fourth
The cadential matter that concludes the
movement
movement represents
represents aa working
working out
outof
ofthe
thelast
last
segment
segment of
of the
the subject.
subject. The
The passage
passagefrom
fromm.
m.301
301
to the
the end
end functions
functions as
as the
the cadential
cadentialcomple-
comple-
tion
tion of
of the
the contrapuntal
contrapuntal statement
statementofofmm.
mm.297-
297- i * *
300 (ex.
(ex. 2),
2), wherein
wherein the
the chromatic
chromatic element 1 7K
elementcar-
car- : I dd
ries through
through to
to the
the conclusion
conclusion of
of the
thesubject.
subject.
The preparation for this statement also plays an
essential
essential role
role here,
here, as
as the
the versions
versionsof
ofthe
thesubject
subject
between mm. 281 and 297 all stress the caden-
Example 14: Brahms, Ex Fourth Symphony,
tial part
part of
of the
the subject,
subject, heard
heard as as aaresponse
responsetotothe
the
movt. IV, coda. m
first
first part
part (or
(or parts).
parts). Furthermore,
Furthermore,the thecadences
cadences
throughout
throughout this this passage
passage are
are entrusted
entrustedwith withan an
additional
additional role
role ofof clarification;
clarification; in in mm.
mm.281-89,
281-89,
in particular
particular (see
(see ex.
ex. 14),
14), the
the disjointed
disjointedpresen-
presen- ment itself can be understood. The movement
tation
tation of
of the
the subject
subject suggests
suggests aa stronger
strongerconnec-
connec- is, first of all, an ostinato movement-a cha-
tion
tion to
to the
the inner
inner movements
movements of of the
thesymphony
symphony conne or a passacaglia, depending on one's per-
than
than toto the
the outer,
outer, andand itit is
is the
the cadence
cadencethat
that sonal preference- and must therefore meet cer-
transforms
transforms the the phrase
phrase into
into anan entity
entitythat
thatcan
canbe tain generic requirements. The movement is
be
taken
taken for
for aa variation
variation of of the
the subject.
subject. also a movement in a symphony, entrusted to
The net
net effect,
effect, then,
then, is
is aa re-creation
re-creationof ofthe
thebear the weight of powerfully expressed emo-
thematic
thematic pattern
pattern of of the
the first
first movement
movementusingusingtions. But the movement is also a finale, and so
the materials
materials of of the
the finale.
finale. Descending
Descendingchains
chainsof must address and complete what comes before.
of
thirds
thirds grew
grew naturally
naturally out out ofof the
the cadential
cadentialcon-
con- The difficult task of producing
producing aa movement
movement that
that
clusion
clusion ofof the
the subject
subject (mm.
(mm. 38-4138-41 and
and46-48),
46-48),might be understood equally well from all three
and were not not simply
simply borrowed
borrowed from fromthethefirst
firstperspectives could not have been managed managed had
had
movement. The chromatic and cadential ele- Brahms approached the task in terms of a sim-
ments are even more obviously present in plistic the homage to Bach, or if he had simply built
subject itself. Once the chain of descending upon a rather commonplace thematic relation-
thirds was transferred to the head of the subject, ship.
as a closing gesture, the structure of the subject While Brahms'scompositional
While Brahms's compositionalprocesses
processes
was transmuted into a parallel of the thematic must ultimately remain somewhat of aa mys- mys-
pattern of the first movement. Brahms's pur- tery-for he was certainly not not one
one to
to leave
leave be-
be-
pose in the coda is to dramatize a fact, not to cre- hind sketches of possible ostinato subjects-he
subjects-he
ate a new fact. In the sequence of events encom- clearly began with the careful construction
construction ofof
passing mm. 241-44, 261-72, and 301-10, the the subject itself. That this may have
have literally
literally
implicit connection becomes explicit-the been es- the case is indicated by the
the complexity
complexity of of
sence of expressed organicism. the thematic relationships revealed inin the
the coda
coda
of the finale, for it would surely have been
been aa
In effect, there are three separate tales of much simpler task to exploit thematic possibil-
possibil-
Brahms's subject, any one of which appearsities tolatent within an ostinato subject than
than to
to
yield aa satisfactory
yield satisfactoryaccounting
accountingofof
itsits
origins.
origins.
devise a subject so as to embody already elabo-
elabo-
The first involves the rich tradition of the osti- rated thematic material. From this perspective,
perspective,
nato bass;
nato bass; the
the second
secondconcerns
concernsthe
thetype
typeofof the multiple points of reference
reference for
for the
the very
very be-
be-
movement Brahms envisaged; and the third fo- ginning of the symphony speak even moremore elo-
elo-
cuses on specific thematic relationships within quently to the formidable difficulties engen-
engen-
the symphony as a whole. The three tales may dered by Brahms's ambitions, and to the grace-
grace-
be understood in another way- that is, in terms ful mastery
mastery with
with which
which
of three quite different ways in which the move- he
he overcame
overcamethem.
them.

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