The final phase of Brahms's composing clearly marked itself out. In 1892 (aged 59) and again in 1894, Brahms declared that he was tired of composing. Many of his friends had already died, including his friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, the conductor Von Bülow, and the Bach connoisseur Spitta. As is well known, the beautiful playing of the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld made him change his mind. A
… number of compositions for clarinet were the result. The final phase was also a time of ordering and tidying up. Older canons and folk songs were published during the 1890s. Youthful works and sketches disappeared into the fire. The late piano pieces op.116-119 may have been newly composed, though thanks to Brahms's tidying up frenzy, this can no longer be ascertained. Much has been said about what abstract artifice is hidden under the hood in this late piano music. More important, of course, is the atmosphere of melancholy, resignation and farewell. To say goodbye is to look back. Perhaps that is why the Intermezzo op.117 nr.1 was given the motto of a lullaby: 'Schlaf sanft, mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schön! Mich dauert's sehr, dich weinen sehn.' And so there are more lullabies to be found in that last phase of Brahms' composing. Like, of course, the Intermezzo op.118 no.2. (HJ)more
