Brian O'Neill - Brahms' Symphony No. 4 1st Movement

          A detailed synopsis of this movement of Brahms' 4th Symphony could take probably take hundreds of pages if one was to cover all of the possible aspects and/or opinions. Considering the profundity of Brahms' use of thematic transformation, it is no wonder that multiple opinions manifest themselves when his music is discussed. Its lack of coventional style and perfect symmetry [as in early symphonies] clearly adds to the many opinions that exist. In fact, simply trying to be analytical and "square" with this music is a challenge in itself, in fact inappropriate even. At any rate, one opinion on the form of this piece has been given in this web site-analysis.
          Although not common, Brahms' use of [2] theme sets is not totally unorthodox either. Each set has three themes in it, and usually some transitional material as well. The two sets have key signatures that are all somewhat related to the tonic of e-minor. Actually, the second set is a secondary dominant which in turn yields a V-I relationship in the recapitulation. This is not surprising, and Brahms tends to strive towards the more conventional compositional style in this respect.
          One of the most fascinating aspects of this symphony is its use of transitions as the key, fundamental musical element in the work. Instead of spending most of the development transforming his themes, Brahms chooses to develop his transitional material. In fact, transitional content is even being molded in the exposition where one example actually becomes the last theme of the second theme set (Theme 2c).
          In the development, it should be noted that some of the most well-known traits of Brahms are shown, specifically his rhythmic style, and his chromaticism. The keys in this piece can be misleading, partially due to inconclusive cadences, or non-existent ones. Many times, chromaticism is used to create tension-release ideas which facilitate Brahms' frequent modulations. The development is also the playground for some of the major rhythmic events in this piece. This link provides the listener with an example of some of Brahms' rhythmic spice. It may help the listener to "conduct" in his/her mind if he/she has trouble finding the "real" downbeats. In addition, listen to the bass section (which may help, or hinder some listeners!).
          Although this synopsis is not thorough enough to cover all aspects of the piece, it does provide some wonderful examples of "Brahmsian" traits. It also shows the development of a conservative form (sonata-allegro) into a form which still holds [the sonata-allegro] structure, but is riddled with contemporary ideas like melodic displacement, and chromaticism. This movement is a fascinating look at how traditional musical ideas can function in symbiosis with more contemporary compositional trends without the two [ideas] colliding.