Brahms: Viola Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120 No. 2 (with Score)

Johannes Brahms: Sonata for viola and piano No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120 No. 2 (with Score) Composed: 1894 Viola: Luca Sanzò Piano: Maurizio Paciariello 00:00 1. Allegro amabile (E-flat major) 08:54 2. Allegro appassionato (E-flat minor) 14:54 3. Andante con moto (E-flat major) After finishing the Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 in 1888, Johannes Brahms returned to the duo sonata just once more; in 1894, in quick succession, he composed a pair of sonatas for clarinet (or viola) and piano that were published together the following year as Op. 120. The dedicatee of these two works was the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, whose playing had been an inspiration to the aging Brahms. The two Op. 120 sonatas, the first of which is in F minor, the second of which is in E flat major, are as like to one another as peas in a pod: rich-textured; songful, indeed, more truly songful than any of the string sonatas, partly by reason of the clarinettist’s need to breathe;