Brahms' Waltz Op. 39, No. 1 - A Listener's Guide

The German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) has a reputation among classical music enthusiasts for the complexity and seriousness of his music. But Brahms has a lighter side as well.

He greatly admired the lilting Viennese waltzes of Johann Strauss, Jr., the Waltz King of the 19th century. Brahms himself composed many waltzes, including the set of 16 piano waltzes in his Op. 39 (arranged by the composer himself from the original four-hand piano version).

However, Brahms, being Brahms, poured much more into these little waltzes than a tune and a waltz rhythm. The pieces were not intended for dancing (in fact, many of Strauss's greatest waltzes were also concert works). While following the basic external conventions of the waltz as dance music, Brahms added his own Brahmsian touches to the melody, harmony, and rhythm to give his pieces a lasting musical richness not found in the waltz music of most other composers.

Here, for example, are some of the elements that he put into his Op. 39, No. 1.

Character
The meter is the usual 3/4 of the waltz, and the key is B major. The tempo indication is Tempo giusto, Italian for "fitting tempo," that is, a tempo suitable for a waltz.

More specifically, Brahms provides a metronome marking of a dotted half note (one full measure) at 54 beats per minute. That rate translates into a very quick 162 quarter notes per minute.

This opening waltz in Op. 39 is a fast-paced, high-volume, energetic, staccato-driven piece. It serves to get the set of 16 off to a big-bang start. (By contrast, the set will end with quiet lyricism and thoughtful counterpoint.)

Form
The form is binary (in two sections): AB. Each section is 16 measures long and consists of two 8-measure phrases.

The first section, A, has one phrase, a, moving from the tonic (I) to the mediant (iii). That phrase is then repeated exactly. Thus, A = aa.

The second section, B, begins with phrase b moving from the dominant seventh (V7) to the dominant seventh of the subdominant (V7 of IV). Phrase c goes from the subdominant (IV) to the final tonic (I). Thus, B = bc. B is then repeated.

Therefore, in terms of sections, the overall form is ABB; and in terms of phrases, it is aabcbc. The total number of measures played is 48 (6 phrases X 8 measures each).

With more details, the form is as follows:

Aa (8 measures), I - iii
Aa (8 measures), I - iii
Bb (8 measures), V7 - V7 of IV
Bc (8 measures), IV - I
Bb (8 measures), V7 - V7 of IV
Bc (8 measures), IV - I

What to Listen For
Aa. The propulsive opening, an anacrusis of three rising staccato eighth notes, gets the waltz whirling but never recurs. The entire A section is played staccato in both hands.

The principal theme is dominated by a wide-leaping up-and-down motive in the first two measures.

However, a seemingly offhand little group of six revolving eighth notes in the third measure soon proves to be crucial to the whole piece. In the last 2 measures of the 8-measure phrase, another revolving eighth-note pattern in the right hand occurs while the left hand builds tension by moving from V7 of iii to iii before the music suddenly jumps back to the tonic for the repeat of Aa.

When that same point recurs in the repeat of Aa, the music moves on instead to the B section.

Bb. The top voice continues to revolve for the next 3 measures but in a new musical environment, with these sudden changes from the previous phrase: staccato to legato, iii to V7, and loud to soft.

Meanwhile, during those 3 measures, the left hand adds more variants to the texture: it creates a 2-beat syncopation against the regular 3 beats in the right hand, and it rises through various chords while the right hand revolves on V7. The listener waits breathlessly for the long V7 to resolve to I.

However, Brahms is Brahms. After 4 measures of V7, the music moves not to the expected I but to an altered I to become V7 of IV and to repeat the previous 4 measures a fourth higher. More tension and breathlessness.

Bc. Finally, at Bc, the music returns to the original thematic material, but with a Brahmsian touch: it is in the subdominant instead of the tonic. During the rest of Bc, the music returns to the tonic for the final cadence.
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Brahms, Johannes. Op. 39, Waltzes for the Piano. Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, vol. 1260. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.