In an Indian summer of creativity near the end of his career, Johannes Brahms wrote the two Sonatas, Op. 120 (1894), the Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, Op. 114 (1891), and the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 115 (1891) especially for Richard Mühlfeld, a clarinetist he much admired. The Clarinet Sonata No 1 in F minor, Op. 120, opens with a tense Allegro appassionato that makes full use of the clarinet's higher register and eventually winds down to a tenderly expressive coda. The following Andante sustains the sweetly reflective mood, and after a dancelike Allegretto led by the clarinet—a tune that could easily have come from one of the Liebeslieder Waltzes—the work ends with a high-spirited Vivace.

Brahms transcribed both this sonata and its companion, Op. 120, No. 2, for viola, in which arrangement they are widely performed. Many feel, however, that it is only in the original versions that the full scope of the sonatas' expressive and coloristic nuances can be realized.



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