Chopin was another composer whose spirit moved uneasily within the limits of the sonata.  The first which he wrote (we do not reckon the posthumous one in C minor)—­the one in B flat minor—­is an impressive work.  There is a certain rugged power in the opening movement, and the Scherzo is passionate, and its Trio tender.  The picturesque March owes much of its effect to its colouring and contrasts; while the extraordinary Finale sounds weird and uncanny.  In the hands of a great interpreter the music makes a powerful appeal; yet as a sonata it is not really great.  It lacks organic development, unity.  The Sonata in B minor, though attractive to pianists, is an inferior work.  The first movement, with exception of its melodious second theme, is dry, and the Finale belongs to the bravoura order of piece.  The Scherzo is light and graceful.  The slow movement is the most poetical of the four, though spun out at too great length.  The real Chopin is to be found in his nocturnes, mazurkas, and ballads, not in his sonatas.

Among modern sonatas, the three by Brahms (C, Op. 1; F sharp minor, Op. 2; and F minor, Op. 5) claim special notice.  With the exception of the Liszt Sonata in B minor, which, whatever its musical value, at least opens up “new paths” in the matter of form, the Brahms sonatas are the only ones since Schumann which distinctly demand detailed notice.  The composer followed ordinary Beethoven lines; with exception of the Intermezzo of the 3rd Sonata, the number and order of movement resemble those of many a Beethoven sonata; while there is enlargement, not change in the matter of form.  Brahms studied the special means by which his great predecessor, in some instances, sought to accentuate the unity between various sections of a sonata; he steeped his soul in the romantic music of Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Schumann, and, in addition, trained his intellect to grasp the mysteries of counterpoint, and to perceive the freer modern uses to which it was put by the classical masters.  Brahms’ early acquaintance with Liszt opened up to him, too, the resources of modern technique.  And thus, possessing individuality of his own, in addition to these inheritances and acquirements, Brahms wrote sonatas, which, though in the main on old lines, are no mere imitations, pale reflexes of his predecessors.

The 1st Sonata, in C (Op. 1), has for its opening theme one which has been said to resemble the opening theme of Beethoven’s Op. 106.  It will be well to look on this picture (Beethoven)—­

[Music illustration]

and on this (Brahms)—­

[Music illustration]