A summary of the life and emotions of one Johannes Brahms - Pieces, op. 118

It is fitting that this collection of pieces is the last published in Brahms' lifetime. To me, it serves as a neat and tidy summing up of who Brahms was as a composer. The whole set is intimate and introspective - perhaps even a bit more somber compared to other collections of works by Brahms. It breaks away from the somber only once, with the unbridled Ballade in gm, returning to being passionate in such a large way at the end of the set in the second half of the last intermezzo.

While listening, I felt as though I detected a quiet longing, that incorporated itself into nearly every moment of these works. The Romanze makes this strikingly evident, but even the Ballade and last Intermezzo seem to contain this element. Curious, that the other figure who calls this 'melancholy' idea to mind is Clara Schumann, and sure enough, this set is dedicated to her. This makes sense to me, in an emotional context. How could Brahms be writing a set of pieces, near the end of his life, and not reflect back on one of the ones that he at the very least looked after, and upon, with fondness.