The Rhapsodies, Op. 79, for piano were written by Johannes Brahms in 1879 during his summer stay in Pörtschach, when he had reached the maturity of his career. They were inscribed to his friend, the musician and composer

Elisabeth von Herzogenberg Elisabeth von Herzogenberg née Elisabet von Stockhausen (born in Paris on 13 April 1847; died in Sanremo on 7 January 1892) was a German pianist, composer, singer and philanthropist. Biography Her father had served as a Hanoverian ambassador an ...

. At the suggestion of the dedicatee, Brahms reluctantly renamed the sophisticated compositions from "Klavierstücke" (piano pieces) to "

rhapsodies Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

". *No. 1 in B minor. ''Agitato'' is the more extensive piece, with outer sections in sonata form enclosing a lyrical, nocturne-like central section in B major and with a coda ending in that key. *No. 2 in G minor. ''Molto passionato, ma non troppo allegro'' is a more compact piece in a more conventional sonata form. In each piece, the main key is not definitely established until fairly late in the exposition.

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*
Performance of both Rhapsodies
by

Louis Schwizgebel-Wang Louis Schwizgebel (born 19 November 1987) is a Swiss pianist. He studied piano with Franz Josefovski and Brigitte Meyer at the Lausanne Conservatory, Pascal Devoyon at Universität der Künste Berlin, Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald at the Juilliar ...

from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was found ...

in MP3 format Piano pieces by Johannes Brahms Compositions for solo piano 1879 compositions

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Compositions in B minor Compositions in G minor {{classical-composition-stub