A Thematic Analysis Of Brahms Third Symphony

For his time, Brahms was criticized as being overly technical or old fashioned; an opponent of true progress and emotion in music. However, what his music shows is not a lack of emotion but layers of depth. His carefully planned motifs and calculated phrases allow his audience an initial emotional experience while offering a technical structure intelligent enough to sate most musicologists. This can especially be seen in Movement One of Brahms’ Third Symphony, where he clearly uses a specific pattern to encapsulate both of these aspects.
 First and foremost, it is important to understand that Brahms’ symphonies (as well as much of his music) fits the definition of absolute music. This is similar to composers of earlier times in the romantic
On page 15 are several comparably tame measures in terms of range; the basses and horns are silent, even. The dynamics stop constantly alternating between p and ff, but instead work within pp and p for several measures. While there are still full chords present in the string section, as seen on page 16, the intensity of these are softened by means of pizzicato and instructions such as “dolce” (“sweet”) adorning the score. Simply put, this is a clearly defined, newly introduced theme of the piece. It repeats, leading straight back into the concept of intensity of dynamics relating to motivic lines and ascensions on page 22. This marks a return to the themes the introduction alluded to - a grandiose swell that performs its transition not with an inversion of dynamic expectations this time but with a sudden staccato. The second theme closes as it began - softly. The development section quietly picks up afterward on page 28, rehearsal G. Double bars indicate the development section that is to come 3 measures afterward, which opens with a crescendo ascension within a trio that involves winds and horns. Unlike the F Major to C minor modulations indicated in the introduction, the trio plays in F minor as intentional mirroring. But this is a section that plays on tension; the dominant is extremely present, but the full triad is interestingly never fully displayed by the trio to allow for a definite resolution
On the same page is a technique he uses later - instruments layer one after the other to progressively create a thick sound. Here, the winds and horns enter one after the other, measure after measure initiating a half or whole note. Meanwhile, underneath, the strings each have an individual, ascending melodic line that lingers just long enough to overlap with the other incoming string melodic lines. They get closer and closer in timing, in a sort of calculated chaos, that allows a tension that yearns for resolution. This nearly comes on the next page, which slows the ascending passages down after passing them to the wind section; however, it is not fully resolved, and the meandering lines slowly continue to appear wherever necessary until page 36, when Brahms elected to return to a more melodically structured