Johannes Brahms Waltz Opus 39 No. 15 arranged for solo piano The realisation plays back at 108 quarter note crotchet beats to the minute. The sustaining pedal is used throughout the movement and has been indicated in the score for the first two lines of the sheet music. Pedalling principles can be quite confusing but the music editor offers the following advice: i) the sustaining pedal can be used sparingly with a ¼ pedal or incrementally as a ½, ¾ or full pedal ii) The pedal normally changes when the harmony or chord changes iii) the pedal is depressed essentially just after first sound that needs to be captured with a pedal sound iv) the pedal is released as the notes are depressed for the change in harmony then depressed again (In this movement release the pedal on the first beat of the bar and depress it again before sounding the second beat) The pdf music score available from PlentyMusic has the pedalling clearly indicated for the first two lines of music. The intention must be to avoid muddiness in the sound. v) too much pedalling or over pedalling causes too harmonic confusion (muddiness) in the sound vi) the music editor suggests a change of pedal on the first and third beat of the bar This is an excellent performance piece but does need to be well prepared as a popular piece a pianist cannot afford to make even the tiniest of mistakes. This is a movement inviting interpretation during a performance. Players need to consider articulation, dynamic range and matters of tempo in their performances. An awareness of tempo rubato and its relevance to music performance in the romantic period is also a valuable practical consideration. Pianists should be aiming for a legato touch certainly in their melody playing. Whilst there are staccato markings in the left hand part this is hidden by the use of the sustain pedal. There is an indication in the score for many of the chords to be arpeggiated imitating the sound of the harp. Not all the chords are played in this way although some pianists adopt the technique for all chords in the movement. The speed of the arpeggio is something that the software used is not able to control and the arpeggios in the realisation are possibly a little on the slow side. The last eight bars particularly need to be played with a light touch and probably warrants some separate practice. The notes to be sounded in the right hand on the first beat of bars 41 and 42 are Ab5 & F6. The other notes are tied oved from the previous bar. Formally the pattern of the music can be described as AABABA . The ornaments have been incorporated into the sheet music in the notation to add clarity of intention. The waltz emerged as a popular dance form in secular music during the 19th century and was used in both vocal and instrumental music. The music editor suggests that playing this movement is excellent preparation for playing music by Scott Joplin and other composers of the ragtime era. Being able to play the left hand chord progressions particularly with the left hand is a challenge but has great relevance and context in the playing of modern piano music. Chopin’s piano music similarly offers great preparation. Analysis of the movement from the harmonic point of view reveals that the tonic, mediant, sub-dominant, dominant 7th and sub mediant chords in the scale of Ab all feature in either root position or an inversion. Analysis will help clarify how composers were so reliant on the cycle of fifths at this particular time in music history. It remains the essence of why the music and musical journey of movements were so attractive and appealing to the musical ear. Brahms is an important and significant romantic composer associated with many large scale choral and instrumental works. Most of his music is technically very challenging to play. This miniature requires a relatively basic keyboard technique and is an excellent introduction to playing his music on a piano. The music editor also suggests that it excellent preparation for playing the popular music from a later generation namely ragtime. Joplin was well prepared as a composer by playing the music of Chopin. Brahms was a family friend of the Schumann family and the connections between them are often referenced in commentaries, music works and performances. There is a piano duet version of the waltz also available.
