Robert Schumann mentioned 'sonatas for violin and piano' among the works young Brahms had shown him, and a pupil claimed at least three sonatas existed before Op. 78.
Compositional Technique
The Violin Sonata in G, Op. 78, features a rare compositional technique for Brahms: the finale is interrupted by a quotation from the slow movement.
Compositional Technique
Brahms's Violin Sonata in G, Op. 78, is nicknamed the 'Rain Sonata' because its main theme is derived from his song 'Regenlied,' Op. 59 No. 3, which evokes nostalgic childhood memories.
Composer Biography
Before meeting the Schumanns, Brahms had already met the great violinist Joseph Joachim, who became one of his closest and most musically influential friends.
Instruments
Tasmin Little, the violinist on this recording, plays a violin made in 1757 by the renowned Italian luthier Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.
Composition History
Brahms dedicated his Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 108, to Hans von Bülow, a pianist who was the first to perform a Brahms work publicly other than the composer himself.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms's meeting with Robert Schumann in 1853 led to Schumann's famous encomium 'New Paths,' published in the Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung.
