Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major

There are few more spontaneously lyrical works by Brahms than his Violin Sonata No. 1, completed in the summer of 1879 when the composer was enjoying an idyllic summer holiday at the Wörthersee, in Austria. The Sonata begins almost unassumingly with a lilting, waltz-like melody on the violin over placid chords on the piano. A striking characteristic of this opening idea is its dotted rhythm (long-short-long)—a melodic pattern that reappears in many of the other themes in the work. After an initial mood of calm, the first movement unfolds with more passionate musical arguments between the two instruments. The “Adagio” second movement is tender and intimate with a darker middle section in which the piano’s dotted rhythms momentarily evoke a more threatening pose. For the finale, Brahms quotes extensively from his earlier “Regenlied” (“Rain Song”) with its long, winding violin melody accompanied by the incessant patter of semiquavers in the piano. Eventually the raindrops disappear, and the Sonata concludes with a gloriously reflective passage that brings the work back to the tranquility of the opening of the first movement.