Violin Sonata No. 3 (Brahms) - Fourth Movement: Presto Agitato

Fourth Movement: Presto Agitato

The fourth and final movement returns to the sonata's home key of D minor. It is the most virtuosic of all four movements, and the frenzied, passionate character, along with the meter of 6/8, are suggestive of a tarantella. The structure is similar to the first movement, with two contrasting subjects linked together by interludes of melodic fragments and modulations. After a four-measure introduction in which the piano states the beginning of the first subject accompanied by the violin with a virtuosic series of broken chords, the two instruments switch roles and the violin states the first subject in its entirety, a lyrical but stormy, impassioned melody, accompanied in the piano by the same broken-chord figure originally seen in the violin. The second part of the first subject is a nervous, stammering series of melodic fragments, full of sharp dynamic contrasts. The piano then states, unaccompanied, the second subject. This is an elegant, stately and calm melody, played simply and straightforwardly. The violin then plays the melody and the piano adds some syncopated rhythms to the accompaniment, bringing back an echo of the movement's overall agitated character. Soon enough, right as the violin finishes playing the melody, the development section begins with tarantella material in the piano, played pianissimo and una corda. The violin echoes the piano, and the piece moves through several modulations. A brief restatement of the first subject then ensues, followed by a remarkable interlude: the piano plays a stripped-bare, simplified version of the first subject pianissimo in the slower tempo of the second subjet, accompanied by a chromatic, understated syncopated figure in the violin. It builds to a climactic restatement of the beginning of the first subject in F minor, which then leads into a virtuosic development of the tarantella-like material of the first subject. After a return to the second part of the first subject, the second subject is restated in F major, again unaccompanied in the piano, and then again taken up by the violin. As in the exposition, it leads directly into a recapitulation of the first subject material. A full-blown return to the first subject leads to a thundering conclusion.