4. INTERMEZZO. Allegretto grazioso (Ternary form with sonata aspects).

B-FLAT
MAJOR, 2/4 time.
First Section ( Exposition )
0:00 [m. 1]--The main material is based on descending arpeggios split between th
e hands, above which the melody floats. The melody itself is based on a leaping
dotted (long-short) rhythm beginning on an upbeat. The left hand has syncopati
ons in the middle of each of the first four bars. The bass line then becomes ac
tive. The key of B-flat is never explicit, suggested only by harmonies such as
the defining dominant, with which the piece begins. It never resolves, and the me
lody moves to a cadence in the relative G minor.
0:22 [m. 13]--This eight-bar G-minor passage is more like a concluding phrase th
an a second theme. It is based on repeated two-note harmonies (thirds, fourths, a
nd sixths) in the middle range. The left hand leaps up and down in long-short-s
hort rhythm. The very quiet passage becomes slightly faster until the end. The
re are many chromatic notes, and a downward slide in the bass at the very end he
lps lead into the repeat.
First Section ( Exposition ) repeated
0:34 [m. 1]--Repetition of main material.
0:54 [m. 13]--Repetition of G-minor concluding phrase. The downward slide now l
eads to C-flat major.
Second Section ( Development )
1:06 [m. 21]--Development of the main material in the remote key of C-flat major
. There are left hand syncopations in the middle of each bar. There is a very
gentle crescendo after four bars.
1:16 [m. 27]--The small climax, still in C-flat major, incorporates elements of
the concluding phrase in a middle voice. The harmony slides down and settles in
to the (implied) home key of B-flat.
Third Section ( Recapitulation )
1:25 [m. 33]--The opening material in its original form emerges seamlessly from
the preceding development. After it emerges, it follows the first section close
ly until the last three bars, which are artfully manipulated to arrive (finally)
at the actual, not implied, harmony of B-flat instead of G minor.
1:45 [m. 45]--The concluding phrase is highly varied. It is in B-flat, but the
many chromatic notes obscure whether or not it is major or minor (in the expositi
on, the G minor was quite clear). The contour of the right hand is altered in su
btle ways. It again becomes slightly faster. The closing is expanded by three
bars to create an eleven-bar phrase. The expansion is a light rising arpeggio o
n chords of E-flat minor (which suggests a B-flat minor key), speeding up slight
ly. Only the last two punctuating high chords and the final low octave definiti
vely confirm B-flat major. Brahms has obscured the home key until the end of th
e piece.
2:09--END OF PIECE [55 mm.]