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Johannes Brahms Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor “Double", Op. 102 Completed: Summer 1887; performed: Cologne 18 Oct. 1887; published: Berlin, 1888; dedicated to: Joseph Joachim and Robert Hausmann. The concerto is Brahms’s last Symphonie composition. It was composed as a gift for Joseph Joachim, a great Vi olinist and Brahms’s closest friend with whom he had fallen out a few years earlier. Both of them must have resented the void left in their lives once their friendship had ended, since Joachim was happy to accept the ded- ication which read as follows: „To him for whom it was written.” Together with the cellist Robert Hausmann and Brahms as conductor he took part in the premiere of the piece. It is sometimes said about the Double Concerto that it re- fers to the Baroque genre of concerto grosso, which al- legedly expresses Brahms’s conservative attitude. If the composer indeed followed someone’s example, though, it could only have been Beethoven and his Triple Con certo, in which each of the soloists has the opportunity to feel like a coryphaeus before giving oneself over to duo or trio music. However, in Brahms’s Concerto the virtuoso factor can also be distinetly feit, and to a much greater extent than in any other of his works. • Movement 1 (Allegro) is in a strongly modified sonata form. The great Symphonie exposition of the orchestra is here preceded by an improvising introduction of sorts, where the announcements ofboth themes are separated by soloist cadences, combining into an expressive duet towards the end. Another important feature of the Al legro movement are the peculiarities of narration. What can be clearly feit is the oscillation between the even quadruple meter and the sections where half notes and quarter notes are divided into three. The incessant varia- bility, frequently within a single thought, lending flexibil- ity to phrases, combined with the frequent slowing down of the pace which is subsequently started all over again, make the entire movement ripple with an excess of im- pressions. The Allegro is unpredictable, but at the same time it sounds Strong and convincing. • Movement 2 (Andante), in simple reprise form, is characterized by an extraordinary concentration of lyrical expression. The main melody, introduced in octaves by both of the soloists, is charming in its sim- plicity; it brims with warmth, and yet at the same it remains solemn. The middle section is filled by an unu- sual dialogue, where the violin lines, as if frozen in quiet ecstasy, are followed by a somewhat more determined and real tone of the cello. The whole part, even though it is Brahms through and through, seems to be preserv- ing the memory of Schumann’s music, and in some places one can also hear the echoes of the slow move ment from Dvoräk’s Violin Concerto. • Movement 3 (Vivace non troppo) introduces a bit of scathing humour into the Concerto thanks to the main theme (cello, followed by violin) resembling a rondo refrain. However, the finale has some features of the so nata form as well. The magnificent second theme, initi- ated by the cello, is in striking contrast to the preceding one due to its chorale and hymnic structure. The de- velopment, which begins with grotesque dialogues of the soloists with wind Instruments, suddenly comes to an end, making way for an expressive episode of tutti, which later turns out to be an introduction to another episode, initially lyrical, but finished in a lively “Hun- garian” style, both Brahms’s and Joachim’s favourite. Lyrical character prevails in the reprise, more and more cheerful every minute, and the entire piece finishes in powerful chords with strongly emphasised major third, as if to Signal that all that is bad has gone by. Maciej Negrey