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Name: Charles Han
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Date: Thursday, September 2, 1999 at 00:27:16
Text: Having been released alongside the c minor quartet that is a part of the 15 greatest list, this quartet in a minor is equally great if not better. Both works underwent years and years of refinement before finally being released by Brahms. I personally find this piece, while not by any means easygoing, more relaxed than the tense c minor quartet.

This piece was premiered by Brahms' close friend Joseph Joachim and his quartet. The relationship between the two is shown even from the very start of the piece: the violin's secod, third, and fourth notes are F-A-E, which Joachim had once used as a personal motto (standing for "frei aber einsam" - "free but lonely"). He uses this F-A-E motif and reworks it throughout the first movement. Later in the piece, Brahms inserts his own response to the mix, F-A-F ("frei aber froh" - "free but happy").

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