String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36

Composer: BRAHMS, Johannes
  • Scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos
  • Written between 1864-65
  • Four movements:
    • Allegro non troppo
    • Scherzo. Allegro non troppo — Presto giocoso
    • Poco Adagio
    • Poco Allegro
  • *Shortly after completing his String Sextet No. 2, Brahms arranged the piece for piano (4 hands).1
  • Brahms’s second string sextet is known for exhibiting the composer’s mastery of counterpoint, particularly in the first movement.
  • Listen for – a motif in the development of the first movement based on the name “Agathe” (Agathe von Siebold, a soprano and former fiancé of Brahms) – known as the “Agathe Motive.”2

Sources

  1. “String Sextet No.2, Op.36 (Brahms, Johannes),” IMSLP, accessed October 4, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/String_Sextet_No.2%2C_Op.36_(Brahms%2C_Johannes).
  2. Peter Lamb, Notes in accompanying booklet, Brahms: The Complete Chamber Music performed by The Raphael Ensemble, Hyperion 44331, 2008, compact disc.

Cut IDs

21575 41164 19688 16226