In September 1894, Brahms asked his publisher, Fritz Simrock, whether he realized he had definitively retired as a composer. He referred to the melody of the last German folk song he had arranged, a melody he had already used forty years earlier in his first piano sonata. After completing his String Quintet, Op. 111, in 1890, Brahms had considered his artistic output complete for some time. His advancing age and the lack of further major successes led him to doubt whether he could continue composing. Although reports of his supposed artistic demise surfaced as early as 1891, Brahms found renewed creative inspiration through encounters, such as with the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld.
Many of his later works are permeated by thoughts of death. Following the deaths of close friends and musical colleagues, Brahms's grappling with loss and mortality was reflected in his music. His last completed work was a collection of eleven chorale preludes, including the concluding "O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" [3]. The late piano pieces, especially those from 1892, reveal solace and improvisational freedom and are characterized by their rich expressiveness.
The Fantasias, Op. 116, are characterized by their clear formal structure. Brahms intended for these pieces to be published in two separate books with distinct characters. The passionate Capriccio in D minor forms the frame, marking both the beginning and the end. In the piano pieces of 1892, Brahms's search for solace and his improvisational talent are particularly evident.
The Intermezzi and the Rhapsody conclude the composer's last piano cycles. They represent different moods and reinforce the melancholic and somber tone of his late music. Through varying keys and subtle instrumentation, a multi-layered sound world is created.
With his late works, Brahms created moving music that reflects his artistic maturity as well as his profound engagement with life and death. Despite the prevailing melancholy, he succeeded in expressing powerful and multifaceted emotions in these compositions.