String Quintet No. 2 (Brahms)

Johannes Brahms' String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Opus 111 was published in 1890. It is known as the Prater Quintet. Brahms intended it to be his last piece of music.

Like Brahms' earlier string quintet, Opus 88, it is a viola quintet, scored for two violins, two violas and cello. The work has four movements.

The first movement is marked Allegro non troppo, ma con brio, and is in 9/8. Its opening is dominated by a cello solo in G major. The middle section is in G minor, though it passes through numerous keys before returning to G major by the end.

The second movement is marked Adagio, and is in 2/4. It starts with a viola solo accompanied by cello pizzicato. Then a ghostly triplet motif is presented by the viola. Both of these thematic materials are played by different instruments and developed, with one section combining the triplet and pizzicato motifs with the opening theme. There is a stormy middle section reminiscent of Schubert's cello quintet. The entire movement has a key signature of D minor, but it ends on a D major chord.

The third movement, marked Un poco Allegretto, is in 3/4 time and is loosely based on a minuet and trio form, finishing with a short coda the uses the trio's material instead of the minuet's. The "minuet" section, which is in g minor, is followed by a "trio" section in g major, followed by another "minuet" section (written out) and finally the coda section in the key of the trio.

The fourth movement, marked Vivace, ma non troppo presto, is in 2/4 and has a key signature of 1 sharp throughout. It displays influences of Hungarian music. The opening theme in viola 1 is in b minor, and is copied by the first violin nine bars later. However, a new, upbeat, dance-like theme in g major is presented shortly after in the 1st violin. Many different thematic materials are presented in this movement's exposition, many of which are developed in the intensely fugal development section. After a recap of the original thematic material, there is a large unison scale played forte by all of the instruments right before the stringendo coda. The movement (and the piece) end in G major.

References

BRAHMS STREICH-QUINTETT G-dur / G major Opus 111 EDITION PETERS Nr 3905b

External links

String Quintet No. 2, Op. 111: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

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v t e Chamber music by Johannes Brahms
Duos	Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Trios	Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 Piano Trio in A major, Anh. 4/5 (doubtful)
Quartets	Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 String Quartets, Op. 51 (No. 1 in C minor; No. 2 in A minor) String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67
Quintets & Sextets	Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
List of compositions by Johannes Brahms

v t e Johannes Brahms
List of compositions
Orchestral works	Academic Festival Overture Serenades Symphony No. 1 in C minor Symphony No. 2 in D major Symphony No. 3 in F major Symphony No. 4 in E minor Tragic Overture Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Concertante	Double Concerto Piano Concerto No. 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 Violin Concerto
Vocal works with orchestra	A German Requiem Alto Rhapsody Gesang der Parzen Nänie Rinaldo Schicksalslied Triumphlied
Chamber music	Cello Sonata No. 1 Cello Sonata No. 2 Clarinet Quintet Clarinet Sonatas Clarinet Trio Horn Trio Piano Quartet No. 1 Piano Quartet No. 2 Piano Quartet No. 3 Piano Quintet Piano Trio No. 1 Piano Trio No. 2 Piano Trio No. 3 String Quartet No. 3 String Quintet No. 1 String Quintet No. 2 String Sextet No. 1 String Sextet No. 2 Two String Quartets, Op. 51 Violin Sonata No. 1 Violin Sonata No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 3
Piano works	Ballades, Op. 10 Fantasies, Op. 116 Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119 Hungarian Dances Piano Sonata No. 1 Piano Sonata No. 2 Piano Sonata No. 3 Rhapsodies, Op. 79 Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Variations on a Theme of Paganini
Other compositions	Eleven Chorale Preludes Fest- und Gedenksprüche Fünf Gesänge, Op. 104 Fünf Lieder, Op. 105 Geistliches Lied Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 Neue Liebeslieder Two Motets, Op. 74 Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91 Vier ernste Gesänge "Wiegenlied (Lullaby)", Op. 49, no. 4 Zigeunerlieder
Collaborations	F-A-E Sonata
Named for Brahms	1818 Brahms Brahms (crater) Brahms Inlet
Related articles	Brahms House (Baden-Baden) Brahms Museum (Hamburg) Brahms Museum, Mürzzuschlag Brahms guitar Brahms-Institut Brahms-Preis German Romanticism International Johannes Brahms Competition Musical cryptogram Three Bs Op. 120, No. 1 (Berio)
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