Description

Brahms' Third Piano Quartet is renowned for the complex and convoluted history behind its creation. In 1855/56, Brahms composed an initial version in C-sharp minor, but he and his friends were dissatisfied with it. He revisited the work in 1869 but still could not find a satisfactory solution. It was not until 1874/75 that Brahms finalized the piece, replacing two original movements with new ones. While the "tragic" key of C minor reflects the work's dark, passionate character, Brahms himself described the quartet's mood of suffering in several letters.