Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor

Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 3, composed between 1886 and 1888, was dedicated to the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow. Its first performance took place in Budapest in 1888, with the Hungarian virtuoso Jenö Hubay partnering with Brahms at the piano. Although there are a few explosive outbursts in the first movement, its overriding mood is one of suppressed tension. This is already evident at the opening, where Brahms requests that the lyrically intense main theme in the violin be performed sotto voce. Even more unsettling are two remarkable passages in the middle and near the close of the movement where the violin quietly plays the same notes, rapidly alternating between open and stopped strings, over a static accompaniment with ominous timpani-like strokes in the lower register of the piano. Brahms momentarily dispels any sense of unease with the “Adagio” movement, which presents a gloriously warm-hearted outpouring of melody in the violin. But despite playful dialogue between both instruments, darker shadows are never far from the surface in the ensuing “Scherzo”, and tensions reach the breaking point in the finale, a movement containing some of Brahms’ most tempestuous music.