Klarinet Archive - Posting 000434.txt from 1997/09

From: fgarcia@-----.edu (Frank Garcia)
Subj: Brahms 2nd Sonata question
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 06:14:14 -0400

I have a question regarding the 2nd movement of the Brahms 2nd Sonata.

The first third of the movement is marked Allegro appassionato. The middle
section is marked Sostenuto. Then back to Tempo I. In rehearsing this
movement with my pianist, she had posed a question that I could not answer.
She wished to know if there is as relationship between the Allegro tempo
and the Sostenuto tempo.

Her interpretation of the Sostenuto section is a little faster than usually
performed, but I like the way she plays it. The problem is, she wishes to
relate the two different tempos somehow. I have always thought (prehaps
nievely) that the Sostenuto was completely new music and should be treated
as such. But, it is the piano alone that establishes the tempo in the
Sostenuto section. Any thoughts on this subject would be very much
appreciated by both of us.

Thanks in advance. I hope those of us who are "back to school" are having a
stress-free time getting into the swing of things.

Frank