Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1

Quick Facts

• Composed between 1852-53 when the composer was around 19/20 years old
• Premiered at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in December 1853 performed by the composer and dedicated to Joseph Joachim
• 4 movements:
  • Allegro
  • Andante
  • Scherzo. Allegro molto e con fuoco — Più mosso
  • Finale. Allegro con fuoco¹

About the Piece

• Piano Sonata No. 1 serves as Brahms’s introduction to the musical world. New acquaintance (and future close friend) Clara Schumann wrote about the piece,

“… the whole is full of exuberant fantasy, intimacy of expression and mastery of form.”

• Listen for –
  • In the slow movement (2nd movement, “Andante”), the melody is based on an old German folksong, a Minnelied.² Brahms included the words of the folksong in the opening bars of the score:

Verstohlen geht der Mond auf.
Blau, blau Blümelein!
Durch Silberwölkchen führt sein Lauf.
Blau, blau Blümelein!
Rosen im Thal,
Mädel im Saal,
O schönste Rosa!

Stealthily rises the moon.
Blue, blue flower!
Its way leads through silver cloudlets.
Blue, blue flower!
Roses in the dale,
maiden in the hall,
O most beautiful Rosa!³

1. “Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1 (Brahms, Johannes),” IMSLP, accessed February 16, 2023, https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No.1,Op.1(Brahms,_Johannes).
2. George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch, “Brahms, Johannes,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 16, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051879.
3. Misha Donat, Notes in accompanying booklet, Brahms: Piano Sonatas & Rhapsodies performed by Garrick Ohlsson, Hyperion68334, 2021, compact disc.