About this Piece

The String Sextet in B-flat, following hard on the heels of the vehemently dramatic First Piano Concerto of 1858, was the first of Brahms’ works to be enthusiastically received by a public that had met his earlier efforts with a coolness bordering on contempt. The sextet was only the second chamber composition Brahms had produced, the Piano Trio in B major having preceded it by a few years, and the public’s acceptance of it is understandable. Mellowed by the warmly sonorous combination of two violins, two violas, and two cellos—Brahms virtually invented the form of string sextet—and imbued with an irresistible brightness of spirit, the piece is immediately appealing.

The first movement opens with a lovely, songful, asymmetrical main theme sung expansively by cello one, then by violin one and viola one. The materials that follow, enforcing this opening warm ebullience, include a minor-keyed triplet idea that is only serious enough to provide wanted contrast; a genial, serenade-like tune in the unexpected key of A major; and a far-reaching subordinate theme that duplicates the main theme’s instrumental scheme. All these materials are further illuminated in the development, making a fine preparation for the return of the main theme played forte in the two violas and first cello, which achieves grandeur.

The second movement, a theme in D minor with six variations, is an adaptation of an earlier piano piece. This self-plagiarism proves to be more than mere expedience. The classically conceived variations seem ideally suited to the sextet, attaining a clarity of texture and brilliance in the figurations beyond the capabilities of the keyboard. The stately theme and rich variations are Brahms all the way, even while synthesizing the methods of Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven, and briefly but strongly calling Schubert to mind. The Scherzo, rustic and Beethovenish in the manner of the older composer’s “Pastoral” Symphony, has an animated trio that returns as coda after the repeat of the main section.

The final movement’s easy melodiousness, amiable tempo, and gracious bearing enforce the serenade character of a work that revels in an air of simplicity that may seem to veil but cannot hide the high level of compositional art the 26-year-old Brahms had at his command. —Orrin Howard