Brahms - Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2 (Stephen Kovacevich) - 1981
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2015
- Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 No. 2 - Intermezzo in A Major (Andante teneramente) (Stephen Kovacevich) (1981)
There are some errors in the score I got from Mutopia Project (I don't have a scanner to scan my copy) and I don't know the existence of IMSLP at that time. For a correct version of the score, please head to IMSLP and search for Brahms Intermezzo Op. 118.
** To all the too fast comments, the tempo marking is Adante teneramente - not Largo. To me this is just right as Andante should be. Thank you. **
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Brahms must have been a beautiful human being to write something this glorious
He ravaged composers like Liszt and Wagner publicly due to jealousy
Franz Liszt-Chopin how do you know it’s “jealousy”, not artistic differences. It’s normal for composers to criticize each other. Wagner himself publicly criticized Mendelssohn and Brahms.
@@yihanwu1126 Liszt criticised nobody, aside from a few fleeting remarks about Thalberg in a duel. He understood the true meaning of a composer, and didn't let petty jealously disparage new music of his era. Other composers didn't have the same moral code.
He was quite grumpy, there are so many anecdotes where he is told to be mean to someone, sleeping during Liszt playing his sonata, wearing ties as belts on important occasions, leaving a place saying "and if I didn't insult someone, I apologize to him!", and similar, all of them quite hilarious.
But to write some beautiful music like his, he must've been a pretty sensible man.
So ig I look like yoda lol
Watching a Jesse Stone movie with my wife, I heard this achingly beautiful piano music as Stone sat in his home. I had to hear the whole thing; a little research disclosed that the song was this Brahms intermezzo. I have listened to it many times, and I am often moved to tears. My wife died of cancer five years ago. I always think of her when I hear this sweet song. Thank you, Johannes Brahms.
I'm so very sorry for the loss of your wife. I could never imagine that type of loss. Brahms definitely has a way of soothing the soul. I hope his music helps you in times of need 🙏
I am sorry for loss💕. I hope now you are happy wherever you are. And always remember that ur wife is in a place much better and is happy and all she wants you is to be happy for her until you meet her again. Sending you my positive energy❤ May she rest in peace.
I dont think anyone gets brahms til they are older or have suffered
❤️
We too first heard it watching that same Jessie Stone episode. I had to play it, and
I searched and listened and practiced and finally it was like touching eternity. And
there's always some nuance to discover. It has helped me move from fast and showy
to soft and velvety tones. What a gift that chance find has been. At 80, I'm so grateful
that I found it just in time.
Time for some confession: I've never been able to understand Brahms, there, I've said it! But I have to say, this piece goes a long way to giving me a glimpse into his soul. Of all the major composers, Brahms has been the most elusive to me. But this piece is a start...
I respect your view. On my part, I haven’t appreciated Beethoven in all his works. Brahms for that matter came rather natural to me, but without having encountered favourite pieces like the 2nd movt of the violin concerto and the 4th movt of Symphony No. 1, I wouldn’t know where I would be. I hope you start to like his compositions.
Brahms is/was a FAR, FAR more thoughtful, reflective, nostalgic, sensitive, emotional sort of person than most people realize... Esp. the thoughtful, ponderous, poignant/DEEP feeling sorts of qualities... Its just that he tended to never SHOW these sorts of emotions in public, or very rarely. (The more poker faced German facial features/expressions, etc.) You hear his Hungarian Dances, and they are brisk and lively, etc. But they are not really straight from his heart, though I'm sure that they were fun to write/play, etc. And Brahms really had no patience for music with weaker melodies, too much ornamentations and non-melodic stuff, etc. (He wasn't too crazy about Liszt, etc.) But yeah, Symphony #1 4th Mvmt., the Intermezzo in A, etc., these sorts of pieces do give you little glimpses into the soul of Brahms, who, although he had the absolute highest admiration for Beethoven, was prob. more of a sensitive or slightly reserved type than Beethoven in some respects... 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
I guess Im randomly asking but does someone know a tool to log back into an instagram account??
I stupidly lost the password. I would love any assistance you can offer me!
@Blaze Marshall instablaster ;)
2nd movement, 2nd Piano concerto - that’s him
I didn't understand Brahms until I heard his Intermezzo. Have you ever imagined the end of the universe? Well, Brahms, Rachamaninoff, and Chopin knew it. They composed in a very dark place but full of love. A place, there at the end, where the light has not yet arrived. They came, took the greatest love and died. Geniuses for ever and ever.
Beautifully said. Thanks.
I love this comment!
brahms yes, chopin Rachmaninoff mehhh
I always feel that Satie’s music plays right before the end of “the world” but it ends with Debussy’s Claire de lune. Brahms endlessly surprises and hurts me 😔
@@stravinskyfan hahaha someone named stravinskyfan saying that Rachmaninoff is "meh" is extraordinarily amusing
My harmony teacher told me the story of this piece while she was playing it. She said that Branhms was in love with his teacher's wife Clara Schumann, but it was a forbidden love and one-way, that's why we can feel in the piece that sometimes he's fine but then no.
He was in love with his wife's teacher? So I understand that he was an immoral person.. Even though he understands that it was forbidden, even thinking about it shows a mental and moral problem. Thanks for this news.

@Aurieljo he was in love with his teacher's wife*
My piano teacher told me the same thing when i started some brahms! Although he only said that Schumann was his friend, not his teacher
@@Aurieljowhat a silly comment
@@TodayAllNews I understand that for you cheating is not terrible..
@@TodayAllNews Or because it's Brahms then that makes it a legit thing?
Simply stunning. I am moved to tears....
I don't know why but the part that starts at 1:58 always makes me think of falling snow.
Agreeed! I’m obsessed with the part which starts at 1:58. It’s nice to meet someone who likes the same piece of a great puzzle.
Or falling autumn leaves for me….
This piece is underrated ! It’s a masterpiece and it’s so beautiful! Thank you Brahms for writing such a piece, you’re awesome !
Yes it's a masterpiece but no it's not underrated.
3:50 That chromatic descent into the harmonic resolve at 3:57 is just so good. The resolve is quite Rachmaninov-esque, but then is followed by something very Brahms-y and more classical sounding.
Listening to this lovely piano music moves me to tears. I can't explain it, but I always feel good when I listen to this soothing music. Thank you, Johannes Brahms. Your music is so wonderful
Solo una persona altamente sensibile può scrivere una musica tanto dolce e toccante il cuore. I love Brahms da sempre e per sempre.
Sometimes several years pass before I hear the great Intermezzo. It never fails to fold its arms around me, entrance me, make me understand more of my humanity
Brahms was perfect. Never a note more, never a note less. This piece is incredibly beautiful
In my older years I"ve come to know and love all Brahms; piano pieces. he really is one of the great romantics. Heartfelt genuine emotions, and so wonderfully eloquent.
I love this performance. The tempo is perfect to me, the passion at 2:59 is perfect. Just captures all the moods.
Playing this in a concert today, this recording helped me re-think especially 2:56
LanYarD It’s hard to pick with melody to bring out. Is the top part the icing on the cake? Or does it deserve its own emphasis. I wonder how Brahms would have played it.
@@amandawatts2223 yea its soo interesting
I have been playing this piece since 1977. My college teacher gave it to me, and I finally understood what music was about! This sealed my love for Brahms (which eventually got me to a conversation with the great Andre Watts, RIP). There are some very nice things in this reading.
Have you recorded it for us to hear? I’ve just heard it the first time and straight away ordered the music which I found in a marvellous book of 65 classical pieces for less than a tenner. Of which there’s two volumes so I got both. (Many repeats I already have of course but many more others I do not. This is one of those)
@@FoxyJohn I have not yet, but perhaps I will!
@@juditherwinneville7797 yes please do and let me know when. I’d like to hear you play it!
There are so many fine recordings of this longing, delicate, aching, melancholy music, one of Brahms's most beautiful creations. Stephen Kovacevich's is my favorite though. Thank you for posting it.
+Steve Berlin You're most welcome. Kovacevich's is my favourite also. Fell in love with this piece immediately first time when I heard Kovacevich plays it.
Totally agree ! From bar 64 is incredible how he remark the inner voices with such an elegance and perfect control of rubato. I bought the cd more than 20 years ago. The sound is incredible. Thank you. best regards
Kovacevich is also my favorite interpreter of Brahms piano music. Thoughtful, well-considered.
Steve Berlin please see rubinstein and gould .. my preferred
This reminds me of the summer nights i spent playing minecraft with my friends, boy i sure miss those guys...
How ?
Go out and find them! Play Minecraft with them again! It is never too late for friendship, as long as you are willing. That being said...something's are better left as a memory. It is up to you to decide my friend. One last thing, if you do choose to take the risk don't let the present steal the past from you ok? Don't let it. The past is yours forever unless you let it be taken from you and ruined. This might not make much sense, and for that I apologise. I cannot contain my rambling nature. Good luck.
Lottie X ok
@@TillyLucas12 😘😉🤠🌵🐴🌛🌜🤸
Stunning, my favorite part would have to be 3:00❤️
4:22 If you listen from here you can sense the piece is coming to an end, the transition out of the pieces is SO GOOD
Just love the score flipping for me every few bars - great job ... thank you for putting the work in - really appreciated.
I affectionately refer to this piece as “THE intermezzo” because it holds such a place in my heart. (It confuses a lot of colleagues that don’t know me as well, though.) It reflects a period of deep love and painful loss that affected me greatly and I still come back to listen.
hooray for brahms!
The other intermezzos in op 118 are awesome too
This is a marvelous performance because all I hear is Brahms. Thank you Stephen Kovacevich, for removing yourself in this presentation. You are a great pianist.
The harmony between 2:56 and 3:06 is exquisite.
I hear what you mean.
It’s actually not that complicated it’s just written beautifully
@@extras5164it’s just 2 or rather 4 against 3
Surely you meant between 0:00 and 5:11?
Yes! Absolutely marvelous!
This piece is just heavenly! I really like to follow the music as I'm listening so thank you for posting this video :)
+Joe Flanagan Glad you like this. This piece is one that I love most of all Brahms' works that I know.
Can be f
Perform more colorful , and rubato, more expressively..
There is no way to hold your emotions back with Brahms! Eternal!
INDEED!!!!!! I wonder if "intermezzo" (ie, in the middle) had anything to do with Robert & Clara Schumann...
Who knows...but I think that Brahms was holding his emotions back.
@@zuzanaSimurdova He was a very emotional guy.......... but he managed to keep it all together somehow.... to compose and love Clara and her family and help with Robert when he got sick..........
This piece is so deep and I love it.
Beautiful. Just beautiful. My friend and former mentor played this days before dying of brain cancer.
I’m so sorry for your loss, I hope you’re doing well❤️
@@Dirtluvr3779 Not so well. He was my friend, former mentor and the very first performer of my four concert etudes, which I now have recorded. I am devastated by his demise. But I thank you so much for your words. Marco Giovanetti playing my concert etude Nr.2: gabykappsclassicalcontemporarycomposer.bandcamp.com/track/concert-etude-for-solo-piano-in-d-minor-diluvium He was a marvellous artist.
❤
No one Should Disrespect Such Masterpieces.
Ever.
Beautifully rendered. My heart is touched.
Through his life, Brahms had a correspondence with Clara Schumann that was what can only be called a love affair in thoughts and words. They've been published and they are beautiful glimpses of life and process. Brahms writes about opus 118 and it's clear that she is very much in his mind at the time he wrote this.
She was married to Robert Schumann, Brahms was very close. They shared a world that was theirs in and through music.
My understanding from my piano teacher when I was learning this in my teens is that the melody is a series of “I Love You” over and over again.
True or not, once you hear it in these three-note melodies, you’ll never hear anything but.
@@Chickibidi What a beautiful way to learn about motif and a really nice story. Though it's unlikely to be true because those words, when spoken in German, Brahms' (and Clara's) native language would not work.
Well the important thing is the message is there, in a universal language, and that speaks loud and clear.
Thank you for your explanation!
1:56 is probably some of my favorite writing from brahms
I use to volunteer through a catholic church, St.Malachy on 49th st. in NYC, to visit and sit with the elderly to keep them company. I was assigned to an ex Opera singer from The Met who suffered from Agoraphobia. I would go on Sundays. He would have the radio playing on the classical channel to create a pleasant atmosphere. 6 piano pieces by Brahms played one day, and I was absolutely swept away by this Intermezzo 118!!! I had the same internal effect with Romanze 118 which is a part of the suite ( I highly recommend a listen).
Anyway, this Intermezzo was one of the many amazing gifts I received by volunteering my time and energy to needy souls. I think fondly of him in a sad way every time I hear this beautiful piece. That was May 2010 on the upper west side, in NYC. The 4:08-4:31 section grips my soul every time throughout this piece. 🙏🏽🔥✨️
All I want to do is play this over and over again. I love this Intermezzo no 2
One the most beautiful pieces by Brahms - this is what the Portuguese feel as their "saudade" the longing,aching,melancholy,nostalgia and the sadness...
Totally agree. :-)
it wasn't intended to be attached to a particular emotion however - it was written as absolute music - or music for music's sake - beautiful piece full of feeling yet no particular emotion
@@harrysargent9889 That's nonsense. Being absolute music means it's not programmatic, not that it's devoid of emotion. It's obviously romantic music.
Actually its major so it should sound "happy"
lalala like this Many major songs don’t sound happy.
I actually really like the tempo in this, I'm sually picky when it comes to tempo, because it's really important especially in piano music to put emphasis on certain harmonies and lines in music, and tempo works as a tool to convey that feeling and emotion that the composer intended the piece to have when performed. This is a lovely piece... so romantic and sad at the same time. Wonderful performance, played with feeling. Thank you so much for uploading, I am your humble subscriber :)
Thanks for calming my soul Brahms! The sound of muzak
This piece makes my soul fly! Thanks Kovacevich, thanks Brahms, THANKS GOD!!!
I think that Mr Kovacevich is the finest of all interpreters of Brahms - and of late Beethoven, for that matter. Thank you for posting this.
E' tra le più belle esecuzioni di questo intermezzo!
This one is breath taking
I LOVE THIS INTERMEZZO. IT IS LIKE A PIECE OF TREASURE IN MY HEART NEXT TO THE HOLY GHOST.
A lovely performance. Congratulations! And I agree with you about the tempo... not largo, but andante. Playing it much slower turns the “teneramente” into schmalz! I wonder if Brahms was thinking about Clara when he wrote this...
This music takes me away to my childhood.
I was looking for a video of this with the notation displayed so l could satisfy myself on how Brahms created the implied metric modulation in spots and was enormously happy to find this one which happens to feature my all time favorite recording of the piece.
Impresionante interpretación.!!!!
So beautifully played!
This is a very expressive interpretation. Me likey.
I became very interested in the music Jesse Stone played at his home in that series... now, I just love listening to this.
가을되면 무조건 듣는 브람스~
오늘처럼 흐리거나 비오는 날에도 잘 녹아드는 음악이죠.
Yes this hauntingly beautiful melody I heard in a Jesse Stone movie. It took me a while to find it. I play it often. Always so wistful
I can't wait to learn this beautiful piece!
It's very satisfying :-)
Thank you for uploading this.
So this is what a crying broken heart sounds like.
You have nailed it. Thank you.
Better than perfection.
This is the gem of the collection to me. Like a dream.
Had to sell off all my Brahms sheet music, but always loved teaching/playing the Intermezzi. Never again.
Why did you have to sell your music!?
this is like a "poem"...it's just sooooo peaceful and lovely ~ ♥
Happy Birthday Brahms. This a favorite piece-as another listener said it sounds like a crying broken heart.
She said: How are you?...Where are you? ...There seemed no answer but he answered quietly in his heart: ...I love you... He was always there and never left. But she didn’t know and would never know.
Wonderful!
I'm in love with this masterpiece from Brahms.❤
So, I'm going to say it: There once was a time where I didn't think much of Brahms. That time was pretty intriguing, and strange for me and my life. However, after having listened to his later works (partucularly his Clarinet sonata in Eb from the op. 120 set), I became somewhat enamoured. However, I needed more. It was after listening to his piano works and symphonies that I began to truly understand his works and their meaning. Finally, I came across this piece and I truly have been cemented in my love for Brahms.
Brahms is incapable of making music. The love for him comes through decades of dogma, and hundreds of deluded listeners, who listened attentively """"with an open mind"""" to his noise.
@Whatismusic123 Well then, agree to disagree.
Just sublime.
Classical music is underrated
This is just beautiful.
2:52-3:20 it’s just amazing
Yes.
Such heartbreaking and exquisite loveliness.
I like his piano pieces, very personal and unique, some are dance- or scherzo-like (such as the Capriccios) and others are full of emotion and lyrical, just like this piece.
I played one of his intermezzi in A minor (Op.76 no.7) for my LTCL Pianoforte exam - thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a slow piece with a suppressive melancholic mood.
I wish one day I would be able to play all of his miniature piano pieces.
This piece transcends and soothes us especially in this difficult time .
TH-cam critics' favourite comments 1) way too fast 2) way too slow.......hahahaha
Tragically, couldn't agree more. Instead of appreciating wonderful music making, all they can say is too fast or too slow.
Double thumbs up!! I like what Beethoven once said to Haydn "Every artist must find his/her own path". That's why I never listen to any Lang Lang's master class.
Yeah they should listen to military march
@@ramonchan9732 It's better not to listen to any Lang Lang masterclass anyway
You forgot the too many wrong notes comments, because obviously hitting every note correctly is how we should play music. Forget dynamics, phrasing, ETC, all of that isn’t as important as hitting every note correctly. This is why the best musicians are MIDI players.
My favourite piano piece :)
Beautiful piece + great pianist = BLISS
4:20 is heaven 😍
An amazing song! Like a few others, I first heard this in the Jesse Stone series. Incredible emotional transitions through the piece. Brahms is remarkable!!
MARAVILHOSO
I cry with this
Magna obra!!!
This piece is beautiful.
3:37 for some reason those string of chords are extremely beautiful, but no one really talks about them. But of course the entire piece is though. :)
I agree. The bass line is incredibly beautiful.
정말정말 아름답다ㅠㅠ 가을과 잘 어울리고..찬바람나면 역시 브람스
Very nice playing. Flows well
Beautiful! 😭♥
Very nice. Actually, I like the tempo. It's NOT too fast. This tempo make the "4 vs 6" (right and left hands) sound just right. It's the same with Chopin Etudes (IMHO).
Sara Shain I agree. The tempo was good.
Thank you
This piece may get me back into learning piano again (2 years for my music degree and it was the first instrument I played back when I was younger) and I don't know if I should be thankful or angry for that. But Brahms wrote something almost perfect here.
This song was mentioned in a book i recently finished. A Strange Sweet Song. Its a wonderful book and this piece is 'played' in it. Wanting to know what it was i went to find it and it fits the situation in the book so well and it made me cry. Thank you so much!!!!!
Kitten Gamer7017 what is the book about??
I love this song so much
Such a great piece
Exelente !!!!! Intermezo tan olvidada. Divina.
Simplemente genial.
Poca delicadeza , muy apresurado esto es mucho más poético!
When you play this its like Debussy- your hands take over and go without you in deep yearning
While listening to this song, I want to walk in Central Park (New York) in autumn.
This is what falling in love sounds like
to me, this piece sounds like longing. the melody at 0:39 repeats in new ways throughout the piece. (sorry if there is a better way to say this--i don't know much about classical music) it reminds me of forbidden love--trying to suppress it only for it to come back stronger. this is a beautiful piece!
Meravigliosa musica
0:38 theres a build up 0:46 response to that build up, This always happens in classical/romantic music, where everyone not only connects the passages in a way that would work out. but in a tightly manner, like the best answer. People usually find an quick option to put bars together and go with it. But not in this case, each measure was frantically searched for to find the best possible solution. Its such a treat to listen to, but I just don't understand how strong this piece is.
A very mellow tune, very classical but significantly different and complex than anything I've heard before.
The tempo is fine to me. It is powerful and emotional, but the main melody is not sweet and dedicate enough. When it comes to dolce, his interpretation is still in strong mood, lack of softness and tenderness. However, it is very impressive when I listened to it at the first time. Maybe the pianist intended to interpret this song as a bitter and heartbroken memory instead of a bitter-sweet one.