It is generally agreed that Brahms rarely showed extreme emotions in his compositions. The late piano works, which consist of 20 pieces in four sets—Opp. 116, 117, 118, and 119—often divulge agitation and a sense of loss (most were written after the deaths of Brahms' sister Elise and his close friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg), but almost always inject some opposite feeling into the mix, too, like serenity, joy, or confidence. This Intermezzo in A minor, like many of the late works, presents a puzzling emotional world, appearing fantasy-like, sadly real, gentle, and calm, but inwardly troubled. The work is marked Adagio and in many pianists' hands will sound even slower. The gentle, long-breathed upper-register main theme has its peaks and valleys in its somewhat angular contour, but is mostly descending or lingering in the valleys. In contrast, the music in the middle section rises upward and gains both power and a sense of sunlight emerging from gray clouds, but it cannot quite achieve a feeling of serenity or happiness. The main theme returns, sparsely scored as it was on its first appearance, and the work soon ends, notes descending to reach quiet ambivalence. This piece typically lasts about four minutes.

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Brahms' Opp. 116 through 119 are all devoted to the solo piano realm and are made up of 20 pieces, his last forays in the genre. This Intermezzo in A major is one of his longer and more profound efforts from these sets. It is also one of the loveliest piano pieces Brahms produced from any period.

It begins with one of those quirky Brahmsian melodies: while one might well assert its flowing lyricism and serene manner would be equally at home in the lieder genre, its harmonic quirkiness—masterly quirkiness, albeit—would strongly test that contention, and the graceful but peculiar leap that comes on the sixth note of the main theme is clearly better suited to the keyboard realm. That said, the music, especially in the outer sections, is still songful and lushly Romantic, its main lines flowing and stately, its harmonies warm in their shifting and ever-imaginative turns. The middle section features another lovely theme, but its mood divulges a measure of tension, if not agitation, as it progresses less assuredly. Yet, before the music can erupt or turn darker, it yields back to the lovely main theme. This six-minute work will have appeal even to listeners whose tastes generally stand outside the borders of Romantic and post-Romantic music.

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With its gloomy variant on the Dies Irae serving as its main theme, this is one of Brahms' darkest piano works. Composed in the aftermath of the deaths of his sister Elise and his close friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg, it is a profound work that has prompted more than a few to speculate Brahms may have conceived it first for orchestra, perhaps as a slow movement to a symphony. But no such other evidence seems to support the notion. Curiously, Brahms dedicated the work to his friend (and possible lover) Clara Schumann and presented it as a gift to her. The work hesitantly opens, the theme first heard in the upper register and immediately provoking an unsettling scale rising from the bass to the higher ranges, then falling back down. While the music has a dark cast, it remains rather gentle and emotionally cold. In the middle section, sunlight briefly emerges with a lively, somewhat chipper theme, which then builds toward some seemingly more permanent relief from the gloom. It only manages to yield back to the main theme, however, now heard in a more noble, more dramatic fashion. It soon returns to its original guise and after a final emphatic statement of it, the piece closes in a subdued manner. This Intermezzo typically lasts about five minutes.

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Most of Brahms' Intermezzos tended to be either slow or mellow in character, often both. But some of his later ones divulged an anxious, unsettled manner, as is the case with this F minor effort. It is not speculation to observe the composer was deeply affected by the losses of his sister Elise and his friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg in 1892, but of course, these events can't necessarily be linked to the darker and more anxious character of his final efforts for the piano, of which the Op. 118 was the penultimate set. Still, it is likely his grief surfaces in these works. This Intermezzo opens with an agitated theme (Allegretto un poco agitato), but the mood soon turns tranquil and the succeeding section offers a sense of relief, if not of warmth, in its peaceful chords, which slowly, serenely state the theme. The calm proves fleeting as the music suddenly erupts with an outburst and a harried sense returns. Much dissonance can be heard here, as the mood remains unsettled until the brief quiet reached at the end. Typical performances of this work last just over three minutes.

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It is generally agreed that Brahms rarely showed extreme emotions in his compositions. The late piano works, which consist of 20 pieces in four sets—Opp. 116, 117, 118, and 119—often divulge agitation and a sense of loss (most were written after the deaths of Brahms' sister Elise and his close friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg), but almost always inject some opposite feeling into the mix, too, like serenity, joy, or confidence. This Intermezzo in A minor, like many of the late works, presents a puzzling emotional world, appearing fantasy-like, sadly real, gentle, and calm, but inwardly troubled. The work is marked Adagio and in many pianists' hands will sound even slower. The gentle, long-breathed upper-register main theme has its peaks and valleys in its somewhat angular contour, but is mostly descending or lingering in the valleys. In contrast, the music in the middle section rises upward and gains both power and a sense of sunlight emerging from gray clouds, but it cannot quite achieve a feeling of serenity or happiness. The main theme returns, sparsely scored as it was on its first appearance, and the work soon ends, notes descending to reach quiet ambivalence. This piece typically lasts about four minutes.

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The year of 1892 was a time of farewell for Brahms as both his sister Elise and close friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg died. He also turned to the piano for the last time with the 20 brilliant pieces he composed in four consecutive sets: the Opp. 116, 117, 118, and 119. This Op. 118 Ballade is rather atypical, however, of the reflective and sometimes dark spirit found in so many of these pieces. This is an energetic though not particularly happy work in its outer sections, but hauntingly lovely and serene in its middle section. The Ballade opens with a robust theme whose emphatic accents and proud, lively manner give its music a heroic but somewhat fierce character. The heroic aspects are reinforced in the less-driven and stately manner of the second subject. The middle section consists of subdued variations on both first and second subjects and comprises nearly half the length of this approximately four-minute piece. The main theme returns, but its vehemence gradually wanes and the piece quietly ends, though in an ambivalent mood. Like most of Brahms' piano works, this Ballade will appeal to a broad range of music lovers.

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