Scherzo in C Minor for from "F.A.E Sonata"
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg
Died April 3, 1897, Vienna

The brief Scherzo in C Minor was Brahms' contribution to the F-A-E Sonata. Joachim had liked Brahms' scherzo movement enough that he had it published separately in 1906, nine years after the composer's death. It has become part of the repertory, for while it is a very early work and Brahms did not choose to publish it, this music already shows a powerful individual style and a firm command of scherzo form. It is in the expected ABA form. The outer sections are built on a pounding 6/8 meter, sounded first on the violin's open G string and quickly answered by hammering piano chords. The brief 2/4 trio section, lyric but somber, leads quickly back to the opening material. Brahms provides a surprise at the close by building a huge cadence on a reminiscence of the trio theme.

This music has appeared under several titles. It is sometimes called Sonatensatz ("Sonata Movement"), a name that apparently originated with Joachim at the time of its publication in 1906. For his part, Brahms simply marked this powerful music Allegro.