"I love you but I can't have you." (Defiant) "I love you, but I can't have you." (Quietly with more self-realization)

The intellectual challenge of interpretation is so rewarding. It is a shame many students stop learning after they have finished their formal exams where they are very much instructed on how to interpret sections of the music, and never experience this very personal and intricate part of music performance.

When I played this, my professor told me to think of it as two people in love singing to each other. It’s not necessarily one is more important than the other, but it’s a back-and-forth conversation.

I researched what kind of piano Brahms used, and the evidence is that it was an older-style piano with straight-strung bass strings. On those pianos the bass tone is clearer and cleaner than modern pianos. So this passage would be much easier to voice for Brahms than it is for us.

This has been my favorite piano piece, since the 1970s. There are many good performances, but I particularly like Arthur Rubinstein's.

The first passage that he's asking us about has an echo of the melody but not the actual melody It's more like a motiv and it deserves second status. It will be heard distinctly but it doesn't need to be prominent. The appoggiatura in the right hand is where the emotion is and so I believe it deserves prominence. It's on the top and won't need to be over emphasized, just played with a lot of empathy.

Listen to Lupu's interpretation.

I came here reading "Brahms most EXPENSIVE phrase"

Just play it beautifully! It doesn't matter which voice you bring out, as long as it's beautiful❤

I feel the poly rhythm of the second part is even more emotional… especially in its final reiteration.

Though it is an echo of the opening motif, you needn't always spell such things out to the listener. It's poetry, not a cookbook.

Those late opus works -- 117 thru 120 -- are a challenge for every pianist. I've always liked the Glen Gould approach there, bringing out the the lower voice in that section. My teacher at the time insisted that I see the markings like calando, which I had not seen prior to Brahms.

I disagree with the premise! Clearly Brahms’s most expressive phrase is what immediately follows these measures, G# A F#…G# A B! OMG, rips my heart out every time.

Rhythmic dislocation helps Sooooo much on this piece....

I’d play the piece in the spirit of Kate Liu. If you’d like to hear her version, enter _Kate Liu Brahms Intermezzo_ in the search bar and it will appear. (You can no longer link to another KZfaq video from a KZfaq short.) 😎🎹

I would play that lower register as background since it was already commonly played earlier. I would play the uncommon notes a little louder than the lower register notes.

I've also been practising this piece!! One of my favourite pieces :)) Personally I would not emphasise the bass notes too much like Gould - I prefer bringing out the middle register instead.

I would gently put it off my piano and play Liszt arrangement of his Gretchen movement

I met that guy at Lagrasse Festival🎉wonderfull pianist

When Brahms has us repeat that impossibly lyrical sentiment, but in a lower harmony through naturaling the G, F and C, even as the melody itself is descending--with a decrescendo!--then we realize how close to the autumnal edge of good will humanity has pushed our tenure in this reality, and rather suddenly we are gently informed by the dear master that a graceful exit is best for all concerned: for the composition, of course, for our sacred moment with the audience, and finally for our long and loving relationship with Johannes himself. Thus is it ordered by Destiny now to collapse at the keyboard, fling our weary corpus across the black & white moments of a chaotic universe, struggle to pull ourselves to a standing comportment one last time and shout, with all the raspy, agony-worn power in our passion-wracked soul, to a bitter, cadaverous old man who from the center middle Loge looks down on Harmony itself, "Wagner, you suck at resolutions because you skipped that week in class and paid Liszt to take your test, you anti-Semitic little asshole, not because unresolved dissonance is suddenly cool!" Then we casually stroll off the stage, mumbling to the front row that we're buying drinks for everyone who sings "The Alto Rhapsody" on Kara-oke at Bernie's down the block.

Casually asks Garrick Ohlsson

That’s called counterpoint, and Brahms does a lot of it. You want to hear both lines.

I’m treating that section like a little duet where the parts are about equal. Maybe favoring the soprano a bit.

I like the upper line more

The bass replication of the openings melody is more a distant memory of what once was. Gould's is slightly pedantic, but it should certainly be present... I tend to think of the bass melody but play the descending r.h. melody. That should be enough... just my 2¢

I think to emphasise the bass line is to miss the point entirely. The thematic/motivic reference is part of the fabric, but for me it’s clearly not the melody at this point.

Play it based on how you feel in the moment. No need to copy someone who is copying someone else, covering someone else’s music ……

The entire A section repeats, bring out the different voices on the repeat. You do the same thing for the contrapuntal section in f sharp minor right before the hymnal section

Poorly. I would play it poorly.

Also consider the effect of temperament: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g5eUnK6ikqfam2Q.html -- not sure if this is the temperament Brahms would have used, but it definitely makes a difference.

Dude has massive hands

I'm a flutist, so I can dodge the issue. However, ideally I'd try to emphasize the duo. But that's entirely theoretical.

Who is this person?

who is this guy, and where are his tonebase videos on youtube? 🤷‍♂️

Any goys on Tonebase? Well, besides Brahms

There´s no such thing like Brahms´ most expressive phrase as he wrote numerous expressive phrases. Why do you write this BS?

Toooooo gaaaaaaaay

dumb overly sappy piece

Pogorelich and gilels uber alles