Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 – Johannes Brahms

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 by Johannes Brahms

Brahms completed this, his final piano sonata, in 1853 at the age of 20. The prevailing sentiment at the time was that the conventional piano sonata was too restrictive and archaic. Brahms intended to dispel this perception of the piano sonata and revive the format. The sonata is unusually long compared to other sonatas, and contains five movements instead of the more common three or four.

It also makes several references to Beethoven’s fifth symphony in the first, third and fourth movement, as well as references to Mendelssohn’s piano trio No. 2 in the third movement.

Brahms dedicated the work to Countess Ida von Hohenthal. The countess was a wealthy aristocrat in Leipzig who employed Fritz Brahms (the younger brother of Johannes Brahms) as a music teacher for her children.

This sonata is comprised of five movements:
I. Allegro maestoso 00:00
II. Andante. Andante espressivo — Andante molto 09:58
III. Scherzo. Allegro energico avec trio 22:26
IV. Intermezzo (‘Rückblick’, Remembrance) 27:00
V. Finale. Allegro moderato ma rubato 30:53