Piano Trio No. 1 (Brahms) - Fourth Movement

Fourth Movement

Back in B minor, the first theme of this movement is highly chromatic and slightly ambiguous tonally, with a very agitated dotted rhythm. This is perhaps the movement Brahms altered the most between the two versions, with the cello's original smooth second theme in F sharp major being replaced by a more vigorous arpeggiated piano theme in D major which bears a striking resemblance to "The Star-Spangled Banner"—perhaps a tribute to the fact that the work had been premiered in 1855 not in Europe but in Dodsworth's Hall, New York City. After a B major episode recalling the mood of the first movement, the music returns to minor and ends very turbulently.

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