Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 (Brahms)
Movements
i No. 1 in E♭ major, Andante moderato, ii No. 2 in B♭ minor, Andante non troppo e con molta espressione, iii No. 3. in C♯ minor, Andante con moto
Notes
The Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117, are a set of solo piano pieces composed by Johannes Brahms in 1892. They show Brahms’ interest in lullaby; in particular, Brahms told a friend that they were “three lullabies of my grief”.
Brahms composed these pieces in the summer of 1892 while staying in Bad Ischl. In June he asked his friend, the musicologist Eusebius Mandyczewski, to send him manuscript paper so he could “properly sketch” the three pieces. In September 1892 Clara Schumann learned of the existence of the pieces and wrote to Brahms requesting he send them to her. He obliged her request, sending her the completed pieces in October 1892
