Ruben Stam wrote:

>Tadeusz Drzazgowski wrote:
>
>> Brahms works (but which?)
>
>I'd have great difficulties in finding any truly dark moments in what I
>consider one of the most luminous, humanist composers, but I guess you
>would have to look for it in the Lieder.  ...

I would say Brahms has dark moments but they are not of the "theatrical,"
extroverted kind which you would find, eg, in Rachmaninov, but rather more
"private" and introspective.  A few that come to mind apart from your
op.121 example:

-The final few bars of the clarinet quintet, and its concluding chord of
 quiet desparation.

-The opening intermezzo of op.118, where the initial gentle lullaby
 imperceptibly transforms itself into a mood of unspeakable sadness.

-The e-flat minor intermezzo in the same set, with its eerie, haunting
 opening, whose mystery refuses to be unraveled by the stormy and
 confident middle section.

-The final bars of the slow movement in the op.111 string quintet (or
 for that matter the whole movement), the slow mvmnt of the 1st piano
 concerto, and the second movement in Deutsches Requiem are other
 examples.

Ulvi
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