Brahms composed his second piano trio in the summer of 1865, while in the Black Forest resort town of Lichtenthal near Baden.  It is not numbered with the standard piano trios because he replaced the cello with an instrument of which he was particularly fond: the horn, which his father played well and with which he himself was proficient.  He did not, however, care for the new valved instrument that was coming into increased use.  The valves were particularly liberating for a composer like Wagner, who wrote extensively for horns in a chromatic language, but Brahms preferred the “purer” sound of the natural valveless horn, and explicitly indicated that instrument for the trio.  He wrote it for the horn pitched in E-flat, and all four movements are in that key (the third in its minor version), thus creating a strange connection to the first piano trio, in which all four movements also share the same key center.  The horn part in the trio is atmospheric, virtuosic, and often highly melodic, but Brahms only gave it notes that could be produced on the natural horn with hand manipulations.  Thus, the violin part is much more agile, and that instrument is often given the leading role.  The piano part is incredibly difficult, especially in the rapid 6/8 finale in “hunting” style.  Uniquely here, Brahms begins a multi-movement instrumental work with a movement that is not in sonata form, and the whole structure resembles the slow-fast-slow-fast pattern of a baroque sonata.  The second movement is a large scherzo with a trio section in the striking key of A-flat minor (seven flats).  Other passages not centered on E-flat include the contrasting sections of the first and third movements.  The Horn Trio is contemporary with the German Requiem, and like that work, it includes a possible tribute to Brahms’s mother, who had died in early 1865.  Here, it is in the third “Adagio mesto” movement, a striking dirge in slow 6/8 time.  The surroundings of the Black Forest were also surely an inspiration, and the types of music associated with the horn are reflected in the scherzo and especially the finale, with a fast 6/8 meter that contrasts with the slow 6/8 of the Adagio that precedes it.  The finale is in sonata form with a very literal recapitulation, and because of its tempo it is over in six minutes even with the exposition repeat.  The Adagio contains a hidden “pre-quotation” of the finale’s main theme, providing an additional connection to their shared meter.  The opening movement is a rondo form, which is typically associated with slow movements or final movements.  Here, the main 2/4 material in E-flat is contrasted with faster episodes in minor keys and 9/8 meter.  All four movements showcase the horn in an idiomatic way, which is why Brahms was not pleased with the need to provide an arrangement substituting the horn with a cello (thus creating a standard piano trio with an unusually restrictive cello part).  He was more accepting of a viola option in a later edition, but both substitutions are virtually never performed today.  The trio is standard repertoire for horn players, though it is now usually played with the modern valved instrument.  It is also his only chamber work with a wind instrument before the four late pieces with clarinet.  The central trio section of the scherzo is derived from an early and unpublished piano piece that was discovered in a privately held manuscript album with contributions from other composers (including Robert and Clara Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, and Gioachino Rossini).  The manuscript was offered at auction in 2011.

IMSLP WORK PAGE
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition [monochrome] including violin and horn parts)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Viola part [first edition], alternate for horn)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Cello part [first edition], alternate for horn)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)

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1^st Movement: Andante (Rondo form--ABA’B’A”). E-FLAT MAJOR, 2/4 and 9/8 time.
A Section
0:00 [m. 1]--Part 1 (a).  Beginning on the upbeat, the violin presents the main melody, primarily based on a long-short-short rhythm, dolce espressivo.  It turns down and up, then reaches a bit lower.  Two upward gestures lead to the closing upward continuation over the questioning “dominant” harmony.  The piano discreetly accompanies the melody with chords on the upbeats, the first four on the “dominant” followed by two E-flat chords and then two more leading back to the “dominant” on B-flat.
0:16 [m. 9]--The horn now enters, playing the full melodic phrase just given by the violin.  The piano has the same chords.  The violin adds a new accompaniment figure against the piano chords of rising figures in shorter notes with double stops over a constant “pedal” note on B-flat.
0:31 [m. 17]--The violin makes a darker turn with ominous half-steps in its low register incorporating notes from the minor key.  The piano initially doubles the violin, then moves in the opposite direction, also using the “ominous” half-steps.  On its second gesture, the violin moves higher.  The horn responds with two figures of upward leaps and downward half-steps.
0:39 [m. 21]--The violin drops out, and the horn returns to the main long-short-short melody, now at a higher level, still over mostly “dominant” piano chords on the upbeats.  The horn works its way downward, and E-flat chords in the piano briefly turn to minor.  Finally, the horn makes a dramatic downward leap before landing on two full-measure notes descending stepwise from B-flat.  The closing piano chords are like the ones heard against the two earlier melodic statements.  The volume gradually diminishes.  The horn completes its descent against the piano entry after holding the second long note over a bar line.
0:53 [m. 29]--Part 2 (b).  Overlapping the horn, the piano blossoms forth with this expressive new idea, beginning with an echo of the previous horn descent.  The left hand plays broad rising arpeggios in triplet rhythm beginning off the beat, and there is a syncopated inner harmony as well in clashing “straight” rhythm.  The new idea continues with shorter “straight” notes beginning off the beat.  Against this, the violin makes an entry with its own descent in long notes, but from E-flat.  The violin continues with similar short notes beginning off the beat in a quasi-imitation.  It makes a syncopated leap up, then falls with a minor-key turn against the piano’s syncopated harmonies over continuing triplet arpeggios in the left hand.
1:06 [m. 37]--The horn begins another statement of the new idea in its high register against the continuing piano figuration with thicker harmonies.  The volume begins a steady buildup.  The violin immediately imitates a third (tenth) higher, and the harmonies make a detour to the seemingly remote key of G-flat major.  That key, however, is “relative” to the home minor key on E-flat.  After a full imitation, the horn adding octave leaps under the violin’s completion, the two instruments come together, harmonized in sixths, now moving toward E-flat minor without a full arrival there.  The idea begins in right hand piano octaves, further thwarting any cadence.
1:21 [m. 47]--As the volume reaches forte, the violin and horn hold long notes, and the piano’s right hand octaves continue with the motion just heard in the other instruments.  The volume diminishes over two imitative exchanges between the piano and the other instruments.  The left-hand triplets change to an arching motion.  A full arrival on E-flat minor is still avoided, and in fact the last phrase in the violin and horn is diverted toward the “dominant” key of B-flat.  The phrase is extended as the last imitation is completed, the intensity having rapidly receded.
1:36 [m. 57]--Part 3 (a’).  The ominous half-steps from 0:31 [m. 17] make a return, now with the instrumentation reversed.  The horn plays the original violin line, and the violin takes the upward leaps and downward half-steps that were in the horn.  The piano’s quasi-doubling is only in the low bass.  The triplet figures beginning off the beat, now falling broken octaves, have passed from the left hand to the right.
1:44 [m. 61]--The horn begins its version of the melody from 0:39 [m. 21].  It is now freely harmonized by the violin in gentle counterpoint, and extended by four measures with a new internal upward sequence that increases the intensity.  The piano continues with its off-beat triplet descents in the right hand, now with harmonies, and the left hand plays the expected off-beat chords.  The volume builds slightly, then recedes.  The violin drops out after the horn’s dramatic downward leap, and the horn’s long descending notes are both syncopated over bar lines after the first one is reiterated.
2:06 [m. 74]--The piano reiterates the E-flat cadence, with another horn repetition of its final G.  Two more repetitions follow, but the bass moves down to D, signifying a key change to G minor.  The B section begins on an upbeat, with the violin in triplet rhythm to transition into the new 9/8 meter.
B Section--Poco più animato, G minor, 9/8 time
2:10 [m. 77]--The key signature indicates G minor, as does the violin upbeat, but the first agitated and yearning phrase in the violin moves quickly to C minor, as does the piano bass.  The piano’s right hand has mid-range descents off the beat while its bass mostly marks the second and third beats of each measure.  The violin melody surges up in three mildly syncopated figures before it further spins out.  The horn enters with descents in longer notes.  The second half of the violin phrase swings up before dipping down.  The horn joins it in harmony on another upward sweep and slower descent.  The piano patterns continue, reaching a bit higher at the end of the phrase.  The arrival of the last descent moves toward G minor.
2:26 [m. 85]--The horn drops out with the turn to G minor, and the violin has a series of descents marked as duplets in a cross-rhythm with the 9/8 meter.  The piano, however, keeps the 9/8 firmly in place with a series of arpeggios doubled in octaves between the hands, ascending on the first two beats and descending on the last.  After two short duplet descents, the violin has a longer one and the piano arpeggio arches up and back down.  The phrase is then varied.  The piano right hand has a version of the violin descents, but they remain in the 9/8 figuration, and the violin takes the arpeggios, doubling the piano’s left hand, which adds some harmonies.  The violin has a forceful G-minor cadence, but the piano undermines it.
2:39 [m. 92]--The volume has surged to forte, and the piano undermines the violin’s G-minor arrival with bass motion to B-flat.  Both hands of the piano plunge down in two-note figures that mildly disrupt the rhythmic pulse.  Receding back to piano, another G-minor arrival is undermined by the piano turning to B-flat, leading to more of the familiar arpeggios.  The horn enters with a syncopated sighing figure and the violin responds with a longer upward reach.  The horn has another, higher sigh, and the violin surges up again, the volume building.  The horn sighs are heard again, with less distance between them, and the violin responses are shorter.  Chromatic harmonies again suggest C minor or E-flat major.
2:55 [m. 101]--The piano lands on a “minor seventh” chord on F, the hands still doubled, and begins a series of oscillations that vacillate between the C-minor/E-flat-major area and the prevailing G-minor key.  The violin has wailing high notes that move by half-step with the changing harmony, then leap down.  Suddenly, the piano breaks its figuration and swings outward in contrary motion between the hands, moving toward yet another strongly suggested G-minor cadence that does not quite arrive.  The horn and violin punctuate the apparent cadence, which is interrupted by oscillating broken octaves on A in the violin.
3:02 [m. 105]--Against the oscillating violin, the piano, dolce, plays the opening gestures of the syncopated main melody that began the B section in the violin, but a fifth higher than those.  The violin oscillations move away from A, and the horn has slow-moving long notes.  After the three opening gestures from the melody, the piano suddenly halts, its plunked bass notes reaching further down.  The harmonies are highly chromatic, but they lead to a fourth aborted G-minor cadence.
3:11 [m. 110]--The oscillating figures now move to the piano’s right hand, with added harmony and solid bass octaves.  The thematic gestures move back to their original instrument, the violin, and they echo the piano’s statement of the three opening gestures.  The violin also seems to pause at the top of the third gesture as the horn enters on long notes, but as the piano oscillations continue, the theme surges forward over chromatic harmony after the held violin note.  The phrase is stretched out in an almost wailing descent, with strong syncopation across bar lines.  These finally lead to the long-awaited G-minor arrival, which is satisfyingly completed, but the piano’s left hand immediately rises in horn-like harmonies.
3:27 [m. 118]--The violin and horn begin another descent leading to a G-minor cadence, but the intensity gradually diminishes.  This cadence is also followed immediately by the rising harmonies, now in the violin and, appropriately, the horn, with the piano adding downward harmonies against the rising ones.  The right hand’s oscillations have continued through all of this.  The violin and horn slowly descend toward what seems like it will be a third cadence, but the piano undermines this with the note C-sharp in its oscillations and avoidance of G in its bass.  The volume diminishes and the tempo gradually slows.
3:46 [m. 127]--The apparent cadence has been stretched out and undermined by the piano, which now makes a more overt shift to move back toward the home key of E-flat major.  This happens with a rising arpeggio against the violin and horn, who have continued their descent past the apparent arrival point.  The arpeggio emerges into high right-hand oscillations.  The violin makes a tentative hint at the main A section theme.  Another piano arpeggio is in slower duplet cross-rhythms, preparing the return of the straight 2/4 meter.  The oscillating figures, also in duplets, are an octave lower, leading into the A’ section.
A’ Section
3:54 [m. 131]--The horn enters on the last upbeat and leads into a statement of the main theme as the 2/4 meter and E-flat-major key return.  The off-beat piano responses now use the oscillating motion in triplet rhythm reminiscent of their figures in the B section.  The left hand has “straight” rising arpeggios. 
4:08 [m. 139]--After the horn finishes its statement, it is joined by the violin, which takes the lead, and they play a harmonized variant of the melody using two-note slurs and repeated notes.  It is still recognizable, but the long-short-short aspect is removed.  After two measures, the horn moves to longer notes syncopated over bar lines.  The piano oscillations become continuous, without the off-beat entrances, and the left hand has broken octaves that arch up and down.  As expected, this statement leads into the “ominous” passage.
4:21 [m. 147]--The A’ section is abbreviated, eliminating Part 2 (b).  The “ominous” figures are like those of the second appearance at 1:36 [m. 57].  Other than the transitional upbeat, the piano is the same as it was there.  The other instruments are once again reversed, however, so that the initial lead-in is from the violin, as it was in the original appearance.
4:28 [m. 151]--The expanded version of the main melody is given as it was at 1:44 [m. 61], with the instruments in the roles they took there.  There are no significant modifications to the presentation.  The horn’s final descending notes are stretched out and syncopated, as they were before.
4:51 [m. 164]--The reiterations of the cadence are heard as at 2:06 [m. 74], but the bass does not move down and remains anchored on the low E-flat.  The horn, however, moves down by a half-step.  The lead-in to the B’ section is from the violin on an upbeat, as before, with a triplet rhythm to transfer to the 9/8 meter, but the key center will be a third higher, on B-flat minor beginning with strong suggestions of E-flat minor.
B’ Section--Poco più animato, B-flat minor, 9/8 time
4:55 [m. 167]--The initial presentation of the B section melody closely matches 2:10 [m. 77], transposed up a third.  The horn entries fall where they should, and the piano figuration is essentially the same.  The horn motion is narrower on the big upward sweep.  At the end of the phrase, there is a deviation as the upward sweep and slower descent are reiterated a third higher.  The slower descent is again reiterated, moving back down the third and suggesting an arrival on B-flat minor.  At this point, everything from the previous B section is excised up to the passage analogous to 3:11 [m. 110], resulting in another abbreviated section.
5:17 [m. 179]--As at 3:11 [m. 110], the opening gestures are stated, here in the horn instead of the violin, against piano oscillations that now have their onset after the abbreviation.  The reversal remains in force as the horn continues to take the lead in the wailing descent leading to the arrival on B-flat minor.  With the excision of material, this arrival is not as delayed.  The rising horn-like harmonies are heard in the piano’s left hand, as before.
5:34 [m. 187]--This is exactly analogous to 3:27 [m.118], with the melodic lead moving back to the violin, where it originally was.  The next cadence in B-flat minor is followed by the rising harmonies, with a discreet downward register shift in the horn.  The slowed descent to the third cadence is undermined in the piano as expected, here with the note E-natural and avoidance of B-flat in the bass.
5:52 [m. 196]--Analogous to 3:46 [m. 127].  The piano’s rising arpeggio and high oscillations, along with the violin’s hint at the main theme help to transition back there, and the piano’s duplet cross-rhythms prepare the return of 2/4.  There is no change to the harmonic pattern, so the arrival is not on the home key of E-flat major, but the seemingly remote G-flat major, where the final section will now begin.
A” Section
6:00 [m. 200]--The return of Theme 1 has the texture of the opening statement, but it is presented by the horn instead of the violin and is transposed up to G-flat.  The first phrase has the expected pattern of upbeat piano chords emphasizing the “dominant” harmony (here on D-flat).
6:16 [m. 208]--The second statement of the theme is skipped, and there is a new and extended version of the “ominous” figures.  The lead is taken entirely by the piano, with the right hand shadowing the left, its notes offset after the beat.  The violin and horn enter together in harmony where the horn had entered before, but the violin takes over the upper melodic line on these entries, the piano following its original patterns with the offset right hand.
6:24 [m. 212]--The “ominous” figures are now significantly extended, with a shift up to A-flat, and the volume gradually builds.  A third sequence appears to move up again, but the entry of the violin and horn breaks the pattern with continuous notes, both instruments descending chromatically in half-steps, still in harmony.  The piano continues to move down where an upward leap would be expected, shifting back to G-flat where the sequence began.
6:39 [m. 220]--The buildup to the climax begins.  The violin embarks on a long, harmonically adventurous development of the main theme, with high and passionate interjections from the horn.  The piano has a continuous pattern in triplets beginning off the beat, rising from lower notes (originally with a “pedal” effect) to higher harmonies.  The left hand begins with solid bass octaves.  Beginning in G-flat, the violin varies the theme with a held note, then shifts to B major with the marking un poco animato poi a poi.  The piano’s left hand moves up here, adding harmony, and descends again during the B-major sequence.
6:53 [m. 228]--The next key shift is to E major, but the patterns are more varied as forte is reached.  After three bars, G-sharp is re-notated as A-flat, signaling the long-delayed motion home to E-flat major.  Indeed, the piano figures and the violin melody skillfully shift the harmony down a half-step in another three-bar unit, and the tension breaks with the simultaneous arrival of the climax and the home key.
7:01 [m. 234]--The violin spills right into a new variant of the main theme as E-flat major is asserted.  It plays in continuous two-note groups, and the horn interjections have jubilant leaps.  The piano texture changes to continuous triplets in both hands, rising in the left and arching in the right.  The phrase is in two sequences, the melody of the second a step higher than the first, with a detour toward A-flat.  The last measure of the second sequence is repeated in the violin over new piano harmonies and a continuing horn gesture, then it is fragmented, beginning off the beat as the volume begins to diminish.  The figure is stated one more time with a minor and “Phrygian” inflection
7:15 [m. 245]--As the volume diminishes, the piano bass moves to a familiar element: the “ominous” figures.  These are echoed by falling broken octaves in the right hand in off-beat triplet rhythm.  On the upbeats (where the “ominous” figures begin), the violin has detached double-stops with the bottom note remaining static (on E-flat for six bars) and the top note rising.  The horn has single detached notes against them.  There are three statements of the “ominous” figures in the piano, the right hand moving down an octave after the first one.  A fourth one begins, but it turns back up on the third note, leading into a rising chromatic scale over three measures.  The horn unobtrusively takes over the violin’s rising figure.
7:30 [m. 256]--The horn has gradually emerged on the rising figures, and after the piano’s chromatic scale, it reaches a high point and becomes melodic, with a rising gesture leaping down to E-flat.  This downward leap is the completion of the movement’s melodic narrative.  The piano moves to rising arpeggios that break on the downward leap, and the violin still has upbeat double-stops.  The horn gesture with the downward leap is heard again as the piano briefly halts on a high chord. 
7:40 [m. 261]--A third statement of the gesture is stretched out dramatically over three measures (an implied 3/2 bar) with piano chords held over bar lines.  These begin very high and leap down by octave, and there are long violin double-stops.  The violin and horn reach the final resolution on an upbeat, which arrives with great relief and satisfaction.  It is rounded off by two violin/horn downbeats followed by piano chords, the second one held and including a low bass octave, all on E-flat harmony.
8:02--END OF MOVEMENT [266 mm.]

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2^nd Movement: Scherzo - Allegro; Molto meno Allegro (Scherzo and Trio). E-FLAT MAJOR, 3/4 time.
SCHERZO
Part 1 (Exposition)
0:00 [m. 1]--Theme 1.  The piano begins alone with a very detached melody in triple octaves, played in straight quarter notes and quietly breathless.  It is given in three waves.  The first two are sequential, with rising lines and distinctive downward turns.  The third isolates the downward turn and veers away from the home E-flat toward a chord on G.
0:08 [m. 13]--The violin and horn join the piano with a sudden forte outburst on a duple or “straight” figure in cross-rhythm that is a major element of the movement.  The figure essentially changes three 3/4 measures into 2/4 measures, but with the duple measures fitting in the same temporal space as the prevailing 3/4 measures.  The effect is the opposite of triplet rhythm.  The outburst seems to point toward C major but is deflected quickly back to E-flat.  The horn exuberantly leaps down and up an octave, then works up to a higher downward octave leap, and the violin has a trill.
0:11 [m. 17]--The opening piano melody is elaborated, no longer in triplet octaves.  The right hand adds an upper harmony to the left-hand octaves, and repeatedly plays a “pedal” E-flat under this new line.  The violin and horn, meanwhile, simply blast the note E-flat above this (with one downward turn), using long notes held over bar lines and punctuating detached quarter notes after the downbeats.  Where the third “wave” would be, the harmony quickly changes and moves toward the home minor key.  Forceful long notes and detached leaping notes are heard in the violin and horn as the piano elaborates the downward turn with rapidly changing chords.  This new third “wave” is stated a second time.
0:19 [m. 33]--Transition.  The harmony changes for yet another statement of this third “wave” material, now in B-flat minor.  The repetition is interrupted by strongly syncopated chords, punctuated by the violin and horn, with yet another harmonic shift toward F major.
0:23 [m. 41]--Suddenly quiet, the violin and horn reiterate the note F, holding it over the bar line.  The piano’s left hand rises in detached notes, and then the violin and horn repeat their syncopation, adding dissonant double stops.  A second rising figure in the piano left hand, higher than the last one, is also interrupted by the syncopated and dissonant violin/horn pair.  A third left-hand figure turns back around, while the violin and horn increase the speed of their syncopation to create a hemiola or cross-meter.  This superimposes one longer 3/2 measure against two 3/4 bars.  The key arrives at the “dominant” B-flat.
0:28 [m. 49]--Theme 2 (B-flat major).  The violin takes over for a soaring melody using “duple” figures, quietly echoing the earlier outburst.  The horn supports the violin line, and the piano, now in legato octaves, plays its straight quarter notes against the duple melody in two-against three patterns, using the downward turns, then an upward sweep.  The violin melody reaches a high note, then slowly descends in long two-measure notes against the piano’s steady ascent.  After reaching the top of that ascent, the piano leaps back down on a broken B-flat chord.
0:35 [m. 61]--The horn responds to the soaring violin line as that instrument briefly drops out.  This horn response is highly distinctive, with an upward leap, a high downward turn, then two downward leaps.  It begins in G-flat before turning back to B-flat, avoiding an arrival cadence.  The piano figures here have a rising left hand beginning each measure before a right-hand chord on the third beat.  The horn response is given a second time, now with violin arpeggios that rise, then fall at the turn back to B-flat.  The piano figures reach higher.  The last downward leap becomes a descent leading to the cadence, which arrives, but leads directly into a plunging piano arpeggio in octaves that moves back to E-flat.
Part 2, First Section (Development)
0:46 [m. 81]--The horn takes the lead in a statement of Theme 1, with the violin in its lowest register below it and the piano adding a galloping punctuation on the last and first beats of measures.  After the first two waves pass in this intriguing new texture, the third one with downward turns is taken over by the piano, which moves toward F-sharp major, supported by sliding longer notes in the violin and horn.  A second statement of the downward turns in the violin and horn over sliding piano octaves turns toward A major.
0:54 [m. 97]--The key signature changes to the five sharps of B major.  A third statement of the material from the theme’s third wave with downward turns begins high in piano right-hand octaves, rapidly descending and landing on a C-sharp-minor chord.  There, the duple rhythm forte outburst from 0:08 [m. 13] follows in the piano alone.  The duple-rhythm figure is echoed piano by the violin and horn, lightly accompanied by detached “straight” quarter-note arpeggios in the piano.  At the end, the piano does add a punctuating “duplet” figure after its three-note arpeggios.  The horn adds a major-key inflection.
1:01 [m. 109]--The piano echoes the last gesture forte with a trill, then the other two instruments do the same piano, the horn again adding a major-key inflection.  The piano trails downward, now also piano, stating the figure three times with rich harmonies and suspensions, including G-sharp minor, E major, and finally an extended approach to B major, whose key signature has already been indicated.
1:10 [m. 121]--A new theme in B major is introduced based on the rising figure from both the opening of the main theme and the rising piano left-hand gesture at 0:23 [m. 41].  The violin and horn, in soothing harmonies of sixths, present a series of three-note figures with the last note held over a bar line and sustained.  At the sustained notes, the piano has a new and difficult series of upward-skipping arpeggios doubled between the hands, outlining the main harmonies in B major.  The theme is marked dolce and the piano arpeggios leggiero.  There are two eight-measure sequences, the second one pressing gently higher.
1:21 [m. 137]-- The roles of the piano and the two melodic instruments are now reversed.  The piano has the wide, detached arpeggios in its bass while its right hand develops the downward turn with alternating lower notes.  The violin responds with the rising arpeggio, punctuated at the end by an accented piano bass octave.  This happens three times, and there are many chromatic notes.  In place of a fourth exchange, the horn enters with its own held note and rising line against the continuing alternations in the piano right hand.
1:27 [m. 145]--The previous passage is repeated, but at the end, under the horn entry, the piano right hand is subtly altered, pushing one measure back and following it with a new descent, still with the lower alternations.  The violin also changes from the previous rising line to a downward turn against the horn entry.  After the repetition, at the arrival point, the notation is changed from B major to C-flat major, making it look closer to the home key of E-flat.
1:32 [m. 153]--Another statement of the passage seems to begin, notated in C-flat instead of B, but the violin arpeggio now pushes strongly toward E-flat minor.  The next two exchanges solidify this, with the piano bass deftly shifting while the right hand and the violin responses remain more static.  Where the horn had entered on the previous two statements, the violin suddenly breaks into the familiar downward turn, with syncopated notes held over bar lines.  The piano follows the lead, adding syncopation over bar lines to its figuration as well.  The volume strongly builds.  The violin changes to repeated eighth notes and the horn enters to reinforce the downward turn.  The excitement intensifies as E-flat minor changes to major.
Part 2, Second Section (Recapitulation)
1:38 [m. 163]--Theme 1. The tension is released in the cascading return of the opening theme, now in an abbreviated form consisting of only the third “wave” with the downward turn.  Both hands of the piano are in powerful octaves, the right hand shadowing the left.  The arrival of the duple outburst is triumphant.
1:41 [m. 167]--The duple outburst is heard in its original form from 0:08 [m. 13].
1:44 [m. 171]--The theme is presented as at 0:11 [m. 17], with minor intensification of piano chords at the very end of both statements of the third “wave.”
1:52 [m. 187]--Transition.  This passage is half as long as the one at 0:19 [m. 33] and does not have another statement of the third “wave.”  Instead of moving to B-flat minor, the initial harmony is B-flat major, and there are simply four measures of the downward turn in the piano bass alternating with the familiar detached repeated and leaping notes in the violin and horn.  These make a full motion to B-flat instead of F.
1:54 [m. 191]--Analogous to 0:23 [m. 41].  The violin now has the repeated notes and syncopation across bar lines (on B-flat instead of F), playing in octaves, and the horn enters to provide the dissonance, which was previously in violin double stops.  The piano plays its rising figures in both hands, doubling them at the octave.  The hemiola cross-meter has a horn leap previously also heard in the violin double stops.  Because the opening was on B-flat instead of F, the arrival point is simply the home key of E-flat.
1:58 [m. 199]--Theme 2 in E-flat.  The first eight measures are analogous to 0:28 [m. 49], with the soaring violin melody in “duple” figures supported by the horn against the straight quarter-note octaves in the piano creating a two-against-three pattern.  The violin’s descent in long notes, however, is half as long, and the piano does not leap down on an arpeggio after its ascent.  Instead, the violin gently descends, abbreviating its second long note, leading to a new piano statement of the soaring “duple” melody.
2:03 [m. 207]--The piano’s statement of the melody is in right-hand octaves and, somewhat surprisingly, in its original exposition key of B-flat.  The violin has the quarter-note two-against-three pattern that was previously in the piano.  The horn’s longer notes emphasize the shift to B-flat.  As in the last statement, the descent in long notes, now in the piano against the rising violin, is shortened with a gentle descent.
2:08 [m. 215]--The long notes are isolated and passed back to the violin, moving back to E-flat, and the piano plays the rising line in octaves.  The volume gradually builds.  The second long note and the new “gentle” descent are reiterated, then the descent is repeated twice more with leaping horn.  At a forte climax, the piano suddenly plunges down on an arpeggio that suggests “dominant” harmony in the key of A-flat.  The violin doubles this for three measures, leaving the piano alone for the last, lowest notes.
2:14 [m. 227]--The rising notes heard in the piano at 0:23 [m. 41] and again at 1:54 [m. 191], along with the violin and horn harmonies in the “developmental” B-major passage at 1:10 [m. 121], are used for another new extension.  Instead of A-flat major, it in A-flat minor, foreshadowing the coming Trio section in that key.  In low triple octaves, the piano plays the rising notes, and the violin and horn blast out a dissonance as the last one is held over a bar line.  This happens twice, and then the piano bass has an ascending sequence of the rising notes, with chords on the last beat of each bar in its right hand, supported by the violin.
2:19 [m. 235]--The distinctive “horn” response from 0:35 [m. 61] is finally heard, but led by the violin.  As before, it begins in one key and ends in another.  Here, it starts in C-flat major (“relative” to the A-flat minor just heard) and ends in the home key of E-flat, analogous to the earlier pattern.  The piano has its familiar accompaniment to this, which is not unlike the patterns it has just been playing, and the horn holds a note before leaping up to double the violin.  The horn, the instrument that had been associated with this figure, takes over for the downward leaps as the violin plunges down in an arpeggio.
2:23 [m. 243]--The new extension from 2:14 [m. 227] is heard again, now in E-flat minor instead of A-flat minor, and then the “horn” response follows in the horn alone, on its original harmonic level of G-flat.  But it is diverted and cut off before the downward leaps.  The piano then takes the “horn” response in an upper voice above its continuing patterns, back on C-flat.  This is also diverted and cut off.
2:32 [m. 259]--The violin, which has been pausing, takes the “horn” response, now beginning in E major (notated as F-flat).  As in the previous two horn and piano attempts, it does not reach the downward leaps, but now it is extended, reaching up twice with the descending gestures that normally precede these leaps, moving strongly back to E-flat major and passing briefly through F major.  The horn forcefully punctuates these gestures.
2:37 [m. 267]--The violin reaches a high E-flat, then plunges down with syncopation as the horn arches powerfully down and up.  As the horn reaches its high note, the violin arpeggio, leaping briefly back up before falling again, leads to an emphatic E-flat cadence in all instruments, the horn leaping down.  The E-flat chord is reiterated by the piano (which has finally cut off its persistent figuration), then the violin and horn (the former with a four-string chord), then the piano again with its right hand an octave lower before all three hold the last low chord for three measures, ending the sonata-form scherzo.
2:44 [m. 278]--Transition to Trio section.  The violin quietly plays an octave E-flat, completing the phrase at the end of the scherzo.  Then it holds the E-flat octave while the piano, in octaves doubled between the hands, descends from on high on the “dominant” arpeggio that leads to A-flat, where the Trio section is set.  This continues for four measures, the last of which has another violin octave reiteration.  The tempo steadily slows down.  Then there is another four-measure unit with the piano arpeggio beginning an octave lower and off the beat, descending low and leading right into the Trio in A-flat minor.  The violin and horn have a dissonant upbeat leading into the main Trio theme, which will be led by the horn.
TRIO (Molto meno Allegro, A-flat minor)
Part 1
2:52 [m. 287]--The key of A-flat minor, with its seven flats, is highly unusual for Brahms.  The melody led by the horn, with the violin in harmony a third below, is exceedingly melancholy.  It has a swaying character, with long notes followed by shorter rising notes and a downward turn.  The piano accompanies it with low bass A-flats followed by broken octaves on A-flat in the right hand that begin off the beat.  These descend an octave on the second measure and another octave on the fourth.  This piano pattern is repeated for the second four-bar unit, where the horn melody is played a step higher.
3:03 [m. 295]--The horn closes off its initial phrase with a high upward reach, still harmonized by the violin, then it descends in broken chords with an apparent motion to E-flat minor.  The piano’s bass and broken octaves move to B-flat (again spread over three octaves), leading toward an arrival on E-flat.  That arrival, however, is on a “dominant” chord that signals motion back to A-flat minor.  The end of the phrase on that “dominant” chord (on the fifth measure) overlaps, or elides, with the beginning of the next phrase.
3:09 [m. 299]--The piano now has a full statement of the phrase, overlapping with the “dominant” chord.  The melody is in an upper voice, with the undulating motion continuing under it in the right hand, deftly harmonizing it in thirds at the top of the undulations.  The violin and horn trail after their arrival for two measures, aiding the harmony with lines in contrary motion to the piano, before they leave the piano alone for the next two measures.  The piano left hand also adds harmonies and bass notes.  The violin and horn enter again to gently accompany the first two measures of the second four-bar unit.  The melody follows the original pattern.
3:18 [m. 307]--The closing passage in the piano follows the pattern of the original horn statement, moving toward E-flat minor.  The violin and horn accompany the piano throughout here, including another contrary motion gesture in thirds.  The piano’s left hand moves up to the lower treble register, and again the expected arrival on E-flat is thwarted by the “dominant” chord.
Part 2
3:23 [m. 311]--The piano appears to begin another statement, but turns toward the major in the second measure.  The violin and horn break at this point.  Still with its undulations and harmonies below the melody, the piano quickly moves back to minor, but then, instead of the expected second four-bar unit, it is diverted into a wholly unexpected “dominant” chord in A major/minor, a half-step higher.  The violin and horn make another brief entry here.  This statement in A follows the pattern of the previous phrase and leads up to another “dominant” chord a half-step higher, in B-flat.  A slow and steady crescendo begins.
3:34 [m. 319]--A statement in B-flat appears to begin, but it is cut off after two measures by another sequence on C-flat as the piano reaches higher.  The violin and horn accompany steadily here, the former using double stops.  C-flat major is “relative” to A-flat minor, and after the two measures there, the piano’s next upward reach to its highest note yet (C-flat) is syncopated across a bar line.  The piano trails down with with two more syncopated notes across bar lines (B-flat and A-flat), the violin and horn drop out, and the strong arrival back on A-flat minor is signaled by its own “dominant” chord as the volume recedes.
3:45 [m. 327]--The main melody returns, and its first two four-bar units are given a combined statement by the horn (with violin harmonies in thirds) and the piano, whose patterns are even more richly harmonized and doubled than in its solo statement.  The second four-bar unit makes a turn to major.
3:55 [m. 335]--The piano right hand, violin, and horn strike a dissonant “diminished” chord, and the piano’s left hand establishes the broken octaves on A-flat, which remain anchored throughout the next harmonically adventurous measures, and descend two octaves two times.  After the first “diminished” chord, the piano harmonies move up while the violin/horn pair moves down, still with the prevalent harmony in thirds.  The rhythmic pattern of the main melody remains in force.  After a second statement of this pattern, it is diverted up a half-step with another “diminished” chord.  The pattern is heard here with a higher-reaching horn, then the piano shifts up a fourth in the last pattern.  The volume builds to a climax.
4:06 [m. 343]--At the climax, the piano chords swing down from a high point with some mild dissonance.  The horn and violin continue, the former reaching another high note.  The piano chords are above more broken octaves in the left hand (always beginning off the downbeat), initially the “subdominant” D-flat.  Two downward swings of two measures, the second one lower, gradually recede in volume.  The bass then moves to the “dominant” E-flat, and the piano chords are now full measures, again with two two-bar descents, each punctuated by violin and horn.  For a third and final sequence, the piano bass E-flat descends to the very low register, and the chords move lower, approaching the satisfying cadence in A-flat minor.
4:23 [m. 355]--Transition to Scherzo reprise.  At the cadence, the broken octaves in the piano bass slow to undulating quarter notes on a low A-flat.  The violin and horn drop out, having previously been reduced to punctuation.  The piano’s top note descends to an F-flat, then to E-flat on top of the A-flat-minor chord.  Having attained closure, the phrase quickly turns to transition back to E-flat for the Scherzo reprise.  This occurs with a move of the piano bass broken octaves to B-flat (the preparatory “dominant” in E-flat), along with two subtle harmonic changes in the mid-range right hand to form the “dominant” harmony.  The entire transition is subdued, slowing to its close.  On the final measure, the bass stops, and the chord is suspended.
SCHERZO REPRISE
Part 1 (Exposition)
4:40 [m. 1]--Theme 1.  Opening piano melody in detached triple octaves, as at the beginning.
4:47 [m. 13]--“Duple” cross-rhythm forte outburst, as at 0:08.
4:50 [m. 17]--Full statement of main melody and extension of its third “wave,” as at 0:11.
4:58 [m. 33]--Transition starting on B-flat minor and moving toward F major, as at 0:19.
5:02 [m. 41]--Reiterations of F, rising figures in right hand, and hemiola, as at 0:23.
5:07 [m. 49]--Theme 2 in B-flat.  Soaring “duple” melody against “triple” piano octaves, as at 0:28.
5:14 [m. 61]--Horn responses, G-flat leading to B-flat, piano arpeggio back to E-flat, as at 0:35.
Part 2, First Section (Development)
5:25 [m. 81]--Horn statement of Theme 1, diverted toward F-sharp and A major, as at 0:46.
5:33 [m. 97]--Motion to C-sharp minor and “duple” outbursts, forte and piano, as at 0:54.
5:40 [m. 109]--Echoing forte and piano gestures and extension leading to B major, as at 1:01.
5:49 [m. 121]--New theme in B major, as at 1:10.
6:00 [m. 137]--Reversal of instrument roles and heavily chromatic statements, as at 1:21.
6:06 [m. 145]--Repetition of previous passage with subtle alterations at the end, as at 1:27.
6:12 [m. 153]--Motion to minor, syncopation, and buildup, as at 1:32.
Part 2, Second Section (Recapitulation)
6:18 [m. 163]--Abbreviated opening of Theme 1, as at 1:38.
6:21 [m. 167]--Duple outburst, as at 1:41.
6:23 [m. 171]--Full presentation of the theme, as at 1:44.
6:31 [m. 187]--Abbreviated transition moving to B-flat, as at 1:52.
6:33 [m. 191]--Syncopation with horn dissonance and hemiola leading to E-flat, as at 1:54.
6:38 [m. 199]--Theme 2 in E-flat.  Eight measures analogous to exposition, as at 1:58.
6:42 [m. 207]--Piano statement of soaring duple melody in B-flat, as at 2:03.
6:47 [m. 215]--Isolated long notes and buildup to climax on A-flat, as at 2:08.
6:54 [m. 227]--Rising piano figures held over bar lines with dissonant blasts, as at 2:14.
6:58 [m. 235]--Violin response moving from C-flat to E-flat, as at 2:19.
7:03 [m. 243]--Rising notes in E-flat minor, then horn and piano responses, as at 2:23.
7:11 [m. 259]--Violin response leading to E-flat, as at 2:32.
7:16 [m. 267]--Closing passage with syncopation and emphatic E-flat chords, as at 2:37.
7:27--END OF MOVEMENT [362 (+277) mm.]

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3^rd Movement: Adagio mesto (Rondo form--ABA’B’A”). E-FLAT MINOR, 6/8 time with one 9/8 measure.
A Section
0:00 [m. 1]--The piano opens alone, with the hands doubled an octave apart, both in the bass register.  The swaying long-short rhythm is lugubrious, like a tragic gondola song.  Each long note is decorated with a rolled chord.  The soft pedal is depressed for this introduction.  After two measures circling around E-flat minor and C-flat major, the next two measures, which are virtually identical, have highly chromatic melodic motion and are centered on the “subdominant” and “dominant” harmonies.
0:26 [m. 5]--The violin and horn enter, the former taking the lead on the main melody.  It leaps down to its initial swaying gestures, then strives up and back down in the next two bars.  The horn accompaniment is atmospheric, mostly following the rhythm of the violin melody, but not always.  The piano, meanwhile, has descending thirds in its right hand against syncopated octave leaps in its left, which descend chromatically.  By the fourth measure, the right-hand harmonies are sixths, and the key has shifted to A-flat major/minor.  The phrase is trailed by the last two measures of the piano’s una corda opening in E-flat minor, the first doubled by the violin with a downward horn leap and the second moving to the “relative” G-flat major.
1:01 [m. 11]--The entire previous melodic phrase is given in the “relative” key of G-flat major, this time with the violin mostly harmonized by the piano on the former horn line, the horn only having one brief interjection in the first measure and then a longer note in the third.  The melody has the “minor key” inflection of the flatted sixth degree but is still mostly major.  The piano bass still has analogous syncopated octave leaps.  The key shift at the end is to C-flat major.  This time, with the new harmonic orientation, the phrase is trailed by the entire four-measure soft pedal introduction.  The violin doubles the opening notes against another slow horn leap.  The left-hand doubling starts halfway through the first measure.
B Section--B-flat minor
1:48 [m. 19]--The horn begins alone on the principal B section melody, a leaping “horn-like” tune that mostly outlines the B-flat-minor chord with “neighbor” and “passing” notes on G-flat and E-flat.  The last note of the two-measure melodic unit is held over the bar line.  The violin then imitates the melody, pivoting it a fourth higher to E-flat minor, with a gentle harmonic continuation from the horn.  The piano then enters in octaves on the original horn line in B-flat minor.  The violin continues with a downward-arching accompaniment.  The horn suddenly breaks into faster notes, culminating in a plunge to low B-flat.
2:19 [m. 25]--The piano continues to spin out the line, rising higher while its left hand takes the faster notes and plunge from the horn, which drops out after its low note.  The violin plays a counterpoint in contrary motion.  The key now moves to F minor, and there is a single 9/8 measure (m. 26), extended by a pause on that harmony.
2:34 [m. 27]--At a very quiet level, the horn and violin begin a series of overlapping exchanges through changing harmonies, which are articulated by syncopated chords in the piano that arch in and out with the hands in contrary motion.  First the horn plays the melody in D-flat minor with inward-moving piano.  Then the violin plays in A major against outward piano, followed by the horn in F-sharp minor, inward piano.  At this point, the violin and horn exchanges are closer, within the measure, moving from D major (outward piano) to D minor (inward piano), all with chromatic inflections.
3:02 [m. 32]--The piano now moves to an undulation in triplet rhythm with high right-hand two-note harmonies against low bass broken octaves.  Against this, the violin and horn continue their exchanges.  The volume and the speed intensify gradually.  The exchanges start on a dissonant “diminished” harmony, then move to E-flat minor.  The violin seems to work toward an arrival point in B-flat minor, albeit with the chromatic inflection of C-flat, as a climax is approached.  This, however, is cut off by another “diminished” harmony marked with a dramatic sforzando.
3:18 [m. 36]--After the sforzando interruption, the pattern is repeated, with the violin moving to a lower octave, and the volume and speed now reversing and diminishing.  The left hand moves to “straight” rhythm against continuing triplet undulation in the right hand.  The horn drops out as the violin works toward another apparent B-flat-minor arrival in its lower octave.  Now the right hand also moves to “straight” rhythm, enhancing the “slowing” effect.  The arrival is again cut off with a “diminished” harmony, but it is now the “half-diminished” chord on F, which belongs to the movement’s home key of E-flat minor, to which there is now a transition for the return of the main A section material.
3:33 [m. 40]--In the transition, the piano undulates on the “half-diminished” harmony, now in “straight” rhythm in both hands.  The horn has a low and almost ominous syncopated descending half-step from C-flat to B-flat (Brahms indicated an upper octave as an option if these low horn notes are too difficult to produce).  The piano quickly switches to “dominant” harmony at the end of the measure.  The piano then slows down its undulation even more, from sixteenth notes to eighth notes, stretched over two measures, still over the same “half-diminished” harmony.  The horn repeats and stretches out its ominous descending half-step, doubling the note values over the slower piano.  The “dominant” harmony slows into the return.
A’ Section
3:50 [m. 43]--The full una corda piano introduction is stated, with some minor alterations, including full chords on shorter notes at the beginning.  The most striking difference, however, is a mere shadow, a ghost of the leaping Theme 2 melody in the violin, whose initial entry was on E-flat minor.  Here it is played against the first two measures of the piano introduction, marked triple piano and even quasi niente, indicating that it should barely be audible.
4:16 [m. 47]--The first melodic phrase is stated as at 0:26 [m. 5], including the trailing last two measures of the piano introduction.
4:49 [m. 53]--The phrase in G-flat major is given as at 1:01 [m. 11], but it does not merge into the full piano introduction.  Instead, at the turn to C-flat major, the piano continues its patterns, including the syncopated left-hand broken octaves, extending the harmony on C-flat major for two measures, including a pungent chromatic inflection, and using its “relative” A-flat-minor harmony to lead back to E-flat (now major) and into the much varied and abbreviated B’ section.
B’ Section--E-flat major and F major
5:21 [m. 59]--The violin and horn enter with new material derived from the leaping B section theme, transformed into a warm E-flat major and in a harmony resembling “horn fifths.”  The horn is above the violin in its low register.  This music is the source of the finale’s main theme.  After this, the piano, in right-hand octaves, plays the actual B section theme in the “relative” C minor over a low bass octave and held violin/horn notes.  Another violin/horn entry on the “horn fifths” harmony is moved up a step to F major, the violin now on top.  The piano follows with a statement of the B theme in D minor, in high octaves.  The violin and horn hold their last note, but the violin now imitates the theme in D minor after its first measure.
6:08 [m. 67]--A major and rapid buildup begins, propelled by the piano bass, beginning in D minor.  The violin and horn in unison have a rising third on D-F, followed by the piano’s right hand in the middle register off the beat, while the bass emphasizes upward leaps and rising half-steps in octaves.  The piano right hand moves gradually up for two more D-minor interjections off the beat, this time with a harmonized upward-leaping sixth.  A third, higher interjection is diverted to a flexible “diminished seventh” chord.  These right-hand interjections form a mild hemiola, an implied 3/4 measure superimposed on the 6/8 one.
A” Section
6:16 [m. 69]--At the climax, marked passionata, the violin begins the main theme, initially transformed to the major key, harmonized by the horn.  The piano continues with its leaping figures, now in full harmony and split between the hands in the main 6/8 division.  E-flat major turns quickly back to minor as the violin expands on the long-short swinging gesture from the theme, supported by single notes from the horn.  The key now veers toward another major key, C-flat major, but a violin descent moves back to E-flat minor.  The horn has an upward leap from a low note, preparing for its sweeping ascent.
6:34 [m. 73]--The violin and horn play in unison octaves, again beginning the main theme in major.  A brief hint of A-flat minor/C-flat major underpins a massive arpeggio in both instruments, supported by forceful leaping piano chords.  The horn virtually wails and whoops upward while the violin plunges down against it, both playing an A-flat-minor arpeggio in opposite directions.  This brings the horn to the foreground as it reaches its high note, whereupon the violin leaps up and they play in octaves again, re-establishing E-flat minor.  This second climax is marked fortissimo.  The violin and horn sweep down four times in the long-short rhythm until they slow and quiet down over longer notes leading to a “diminished” harmony.
6:53 [m. 77]--The piano introduction (now without soft pedal) overlaps with the arrival of the violin and horn on the “dominant” note B-flat.  It has a colorful new harmonization with “diminished seventh” chords.  The violin and horn drop out after two short B-flats, and the new harmonization shifts toward B major (an “enharmonic” re-notation of the C-flat major that has appeared in the movement already).  At the third measure of the introduction, the original pattern breaks, and there is a descent toward E minor (B becoming the “dominant” harmony) with diminishing volume.  The left-hand octaves begin to emphasize the introduction’s opening half-step, working steadily down as the violin and horn re-enter and slide to E-flat.
7:17 [m. 81]--The piano bass octaves continue to work down, emphasizing the half-step, against descending chromatic thirds in the right hand, which has also moved to the low register.  The violin and horn, initially harmonized in thirds, enter again.  The violin has an upward leap, whereupon all three instruments definitively arrive with a sforzando accent on the last E-flat minor harmony, which is slowly reiterated three times, each one lower.  The piano bass, now very low, continues to emphasize the half-step, now a thrice reiterated leading tone.  The final harmony fades away.
7:54--END OF MOVEMENT [86 mm.]

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4^th Movement: Finale - Allegro con brio (Sonata-Allegro form).  E-FLAT MAJOR, 6/8 time.
[NB: In a clear mistake, the edition of this movement in the Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke assigns separate measure numbers to the first ending, going against standard practice, including elsewhere in the Sämtliche Werke.  In the guide, I use the correctly numbered measures as in the Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke published by Henle.  If consulting the Breitkopf edition reprinted by Dover, subtract eight measure numbers from the second ending on.  The first measure of the second ending should be m. 91b, not m. 99.  The first measure on the next system is m. 95 (or 95b), not m. 103.  The first measure without two “versions” is m. 99, not m. 107 (forte and non legato in the piano, penultimate measure on the page, 3:02 in the guide).  The next page starts with m. 101, not m. 109.]
EXPOSITION
0:00 [m. 1]--Theme 1.  The first statement of the “hunting” theme is given to the violin, starting on an upbeat.  It leaps and bounds in 6/8, with many repeated notes.  It is derived from the passage in the Adagio at 5:21 [m. 59].  The very difficult piano part has a downward-leaping bass on beats 1, 3, 4, and 6 with right-hand responses (which double and harmonize the violin theme) on beats 2, 3, 5, and 6.  The violin theme builds and finally reaches a long high F, reiterated twice, whereupon the piano tumbles down.
0:08 [m. 9]--The horn joins the violin (which is now an octave higher) on a restatement of the melody, initially doubling it, then breaking off to leap in the opposite direction.  The piano part is even more difficult, with thicker right-hand chords and bass octaves.  The horn drops out after four bars, and the violin intensifies the continuation on its own, deviating from its original statement in the sixth measure with new long-short figures, but still culminating on a high F (which is also on the long-short figures), an octave higher than the last statement.
0:14 [m. 17]--At the climax, the horn again joins in a new continuation to double the violin, which reaches even higher (to held high G’s).  The piano tumbles down in octaves (the hands two octaves apart).  The violin continues with two measures of high figuration in G minor against an implied 3/4 cross rhythm (or hemiola) in the piano.  More high notes, now at home on E-flat (again doubled by the horn with tumbling piano), lead again to the high figuration in E-flat major.  This is quickly diverted back toward G minor.
0:22 [m. 25]--The long high notes in violin and horn are now on D.  The piano has new figuration here, winding upward with half-steps, including harmonies on the first and last beats.  The key center is G minor.  After three upward leaps to the D in the violin and horn, the piano winds upward on its own, whereupon the leaps are heard again with the violin an octave lower.  Again the piano winds upward an octave higher than it was before.
0:29 [m. 33]--More upward leaps in violin and horn lead from G back down to E-flat and the home key, the piano returning to the downward leaps with the hands an octave apart.  The violin and horn have two measures in alternation on leaps to E-flat, and then they resume a joyous version of the theme leading to the high long-short figures, the piano also returning to its original figuration under the theme.  The violin trails down on the long-short figures.  This phrase is then extended four bars with the violin breaking the long notes of the long-short figures into repeated notes like the original thematic phrase.  The horn now harmonizes in long-short figures.  All instruments pause after reaching the “dominant” B-flat.
0:39 [m. 45]--Transition.  The horn rapidly repeats the note B-flat.  The piano responds with a quieter arpeggio in octaves on G-flat major.  The violin follows with the same arpeggio, whereupon the piano descends and implies the key of B-flat minor.  The violin joins the descents.  Descending half-steps in the violin, harmonized by the piano, alternate with ascending half-steps in the piano’s highest voice.  Through all of this, the horn keeps punching out its repeated B-flat, which is reinforced by the lowest voice of the piano, which also reiterates the note in each measure.  A quiet volume is indicated for the whole phrase.
0:47 [m. 53]--The violin now has the rapidly repeated B-flat, forte, doubled intermittently by longer and lower horn B-flats.  The piano has the arpeggio on G-flat, but this is then re-interpreted as F-sharp for the minor version as the violin and horn lower their note to A, the horn holding it as a “pedal point.”  The piano chords descend against an F-sharp-minor arpeggio.  The chord descent reaches up an octave, and then the half-step alternation begins between descending and ascending, now all in the piano as the violin reiterates the A.  The half-step is then isolated in right-hand piano octaves, reiterated faster, and with syncopation over strong beats and bar lines, still against F-sharp-minor harmony.
0:54 [m. 61]--The fast syncopated half-step moves to the violin and horn two octaves apart.  F-sharp is again interpreted as G-flat.  The piano blasts out dissonant “diminished” chords.  After two measures, the half-step gradually moves downward.  The piano chords are active, initially seeming to indicate a harmonic motion toward B-flat major and minor.  A final chromatic motion in the piano chords is followed by a strong arrival on F major.  The violin and horn break their continual syncopated half-steps and also tumble down to land on the note F, where a bass “pedal point” is about to be established.
1:00 [m. 67]--Theme 2 (B-flat major).  The piano, in low bass broken octaves, established a “pedal” point on F, which functions as the preparatory “dominant” in the key of B-flat.  The violin has a rising line beginning with an extended upbeat.  The horn and the piano’s right hand add harmony and counterpoint.  The half-step is still emphasized in the violin line and the supporting horn entry.  The piano follows the violin’s statement with an upward-leaping figure that is repeated one and two octaves lower.  The violin line is stated again a step lower, ending on a high F.  The piano’s upward-leaping figure is again rapidly repeated one and two octaves below.  The low broken octave “pedal point” on F continues throughout.
1:07 [m. 75]--The piano bass now moves to the ubiquitous half-step, with low bass octaves moving from short upbeat F’s to long-held G-flats.  A new version of the violin line makes a turn to the remote key of B minor, a half-step higher, with D-natural being the common note between them.  The horn entry and responses in the piano right hand (with G-flat notated as F-sharp) confirm this motion.  The same violin line is heard again, but now it turns back to B-flat, including the horn entry and right-hand response.  The half-step in the low piano bass on F and G-flat changes to a repeated syncopated F in the last two measures.
1:17 [m. 83]--Closing theme.  The horn begins a long and low B-flat “pedal point, sustaining it for the whole phrase.  The piano also confirms B-flat with high bell-like chords over descending left-hand thirds, marked dolce.  The piano figures in both hands create a hemiola, the impression of 3/4 meter superimposed on the 6/8 pulse.  The notation on the page, using a sequence of quarter-note thirds in the left hand, also looks like 3/4 instead of 6/8.  After the bell-like sequence in the right hand, which alternates high harmonies with lower notes, the violin enters to restore the 6/8 pulse with a gently descending line.  The piano’s implied 3/4 continues under this, with colorful left-hand “dominant” chords over B-flat.
1:21 [m. 87]--The violin now plays the notes that had been the top of the piano’s bell-like chords, also in the hemiola with implied 3/4.  The piano’s right hand has high broken octaves that “double” the hemiola descent in the left hand, whose “melody” is now in the lower voice of harmonies that alternate fourths and thirds.  The violin, which has been playing the line derived from the bell-like chords, again restores the 6/8 pulse, now transforming its previous descending line into a swaying upward sweep toward a high B-flat.  The piano’s implied 3/4 again continues under this, again with colorful “dominant” chords in the left hand.  This leads into the first ending, and the horn’s long “pedal point” B-flat finally breaks.
1:24 [m. 91a]--The long first ending has the piano continuing its implied 3/4 hemiola with broken octaves that skip up and leap down.  The left hand also has leaps up and down in the implied 3/4.  The chromatic note G-flat is heard in the second measure and again in the fourth.  The lowest left-hand notes move steadily downward.  Suddenly, the horn enters with the distinctive upbeat and opening gesture of the main theme, quickly followed by the violin in harmony, building strongly.  The piano’s broken octaves leap more widely and become stuck on B-flat, which now becomes the “dominant” in the home key of E-flat.  Everything culminates on a loud “dominant” chord stretched to a measure and a half, preparing the repeat.
EXPOSITION REPEATED
1:32 [m. 1]--Theme 1.  The opening upbeat now completes the last measure of the first ending [m. 98a].  First violin statement, as at the beginning.
1:39 [m. 9]--Statement with horn entry leading to long-short figures, as at 0:08.
1:46 [m. 17]--Climax with motion to G minor, as at 0:14.
1:53 [m. 25]--Upward leaps with new winding piano figuration, as at 0:22.
2:01 [m. 33]--Leaps continue against plunging piano, then joyous version of theme, as at 0:29.
2:11 [m. 45]--Transition.  Repeated horn B-flat with G-flat arpeggios and alternating half-steps, as at 0:39.
2:18 [m. 53]--Repeated B-flat in violin, lowered to A with harmony shifting to F-sharp minor, as at 0:47.
2:25 [m. 61]--Syncopated half-steps over “diminished” harmony, motion toward B-flat, as at 0:54.
2:31 [m. 67]--Theme 2.  Rising violin line over “pedal point” with upward-leaping piano figure, as at 1:00.
2:38 [m. 75]--Half-step in piano bass with motion to B minor and back, as at 1:07.
2:47 [m. 83]--Closing theme.  Bell-like piano chords with hemiola over horn “pedal point,” as at 1:17.
2:51 [m. 87]--Violin syncopation and hemiola, then sweep up to high B-flat, as at 1:21.
DEVELOPMENT
2:55 [m. 91b]--The second ending begins like the first, with broken octaves and left-hand leaps that continue the hemiola 3/4 effect, but the harmonic direction is different even in the first measure.  The horn and violin enter on the upbeat to the fifth measure, the violin playing the thematic gesture and the horn playing the familiar upward leaps.  The key has changed to D major, and the rising violin line continues for four measures with a high D as its goal.  The piano figuration resembles the broken octave figures, but now harmony is added to the wildly difficult leaping lines in the right hand, where rapid hand shifts to repeated notes are required.  The “diminished seventh” harmony on C-sharp is prominent in both hands.
3:02 [m. 99]--With the arrival on D, the violin and horn have two more of the upward leaps against cascading piano octaves like those at 0:14 and 1:46 [m. 17].  Then the leaps are suddenly cut off and the piano immediately drops in volume.  The piano alone presents a bare version of Theme 1 split between the hands, low bass octaves providing the on-beat notes.  This begins in D major but quickly shifts to that key’s “relative” B minor.  In that key, the violin, harmonized by the horn, begins a new, expressively broad melody that will pervade the development section.  It stretches to a full phrase with continuing piano figuration over a repeated bass B.  At the end, the piano bass slides up by half-step to C-sharp.
3:15 [m. 113]--The piano reverses roles with the violin/horn pair.  On C-sharp minor, the violin plays the leaping gestures from the theme against a constantly punctuating C-sharp (or D-flat) from the horn.  The piano plays the new broad melody in bass octaves, remaining in C-sharp minor and supported by long chords in the right hand.  After the arrival, the piano bass again slides up by half-step to E-flat.
3:24 [m. 123]--The pattern derived from the main theme passes back to the piano, with the bass on E-flat.  A buildup now begins with descending violin lines derived from the new broad melody.  The horn’s long notes are high and move up by half-step.  The short violin descents and the piano bass quickly move from E-flat to E.  The violin figures are then contracted to two-note descents as the piano bass continues to move up quickly to F, F-sharp, and G.  The horn dips back down from its high ascent.  When the bass reaches A-flat, the violin and horn both sustain notes held over the bar line (the violin reaching a very high G-flat).  The piano bass now moves note by note to A and B-flat as the violin and horn articulate another held note.
3:33 [m. 133]--The climax is reached as the piano bass arrives on B (notated as C-flat).  It is now harmonized, with the right-hand figures also beginning off the beat on C-flat.  Suddenly, the harmony is wrenched strongly back down a half-step to B-flat, which happens to be the “dominant” harmony in the home key of E-flat.  The violin and horn break from their held note to punctuate the strong arrival on B-flat.  The piano then cascades down with falling and rising leaps dovetailing between the right and left hands. 
3:36 [m. 137]--The horn is now exposed on leaping gestures against quieter piano arpeggios.  These leaping figures begin on B-flat and then the piano arpeggios (and the upbeat) make a colorful shift to G-flat.  The horn then extends the leaping figures to a melodic phrase with a descent over a new arpeggio, that of E-flat minor.  As the horn’s descending melody concludes, a “diminished seventh” chord and arpeggio forcefully wrench the harmony back to B-flat, where the piano again cascades down with leaps dovetailing between the hands.  The violin is absent for this entire passage and will remain absent through the re-transition.
3:43 [m. 145]--Re-transition.  The volume diminishes, and a gradual slowing is indicated.  The horn’s leaping figures are now smooth and sustained.  The piano arpeggios make the same motion from B-flat to G-flat as before, but then G-flat is re-notated as F-sharp.  This leads to a new arpeggio, D major, as the horn descends, but this quickly shifts again to G minor and then to another “diminished seventh.  The horn descent is stretched out before leaping up to D, where the piano also moves.
3:52 [m. 153]--The direction of the volume and speed is reversed, as an acceleration and buildup is now indicated.  With this arrival on D, the horn’s leaps are sustained, but the piano now has detached leaping gestures instead of smooth arpeggios.  These dovetail again in contrary motion, the right hand falling and the left hand rising.  The hands move back outward with each horn leap.  The implied harmony moves from D major back to the “dominant” B-flat and finally to E-flat, signaling the return.  The horn has two shorter leaps with this arrival.  The note E-flat slides to E-natural and then F.  The piano plunges with its contrary leaps on F and B-flat against a sustained horn F, rushing headlong into the recapitulation.
RECAPITULATION
3:59 [m. 161]--Theme 1.  Emerging directly out of the development, it is an exact reprise of the beginning and the repeat at 1:32.  The entrance of the violin with the theme is highly effective after its long absence.
4:06 [m. 169]--Statement with horn entry leading to long-short figures, as at 0:08 and 1:39 [m. 9].
4:12 [m. 177]--Climax with motion to G minor, as at 0:14 and 1:46 [m. 17].
4:20 [m. 185]--Upward leaps with new winding piano figuration, as at 0:22 and 1:53 [m. 25].
4:26 [m. 193]-- Leaps continue against plunging piano, then joyous version of theme, as at 0:29 and 2:01 [m. 33].
4:36 [m. 205]--Transition.  From this point, the music of the exposition is transposed up a fourth.  The repeated horn note is E-flat, and the arpeggios are on C-flat.  The descents imply E-flat minor.  The alternating half-steps follow the expected pattern.  The passage is analogous to 0:39 and 2:11 [m. 45].
4:43 [m. 213]--The violin has the rapidly repeated E-flat, and the piano’s arpeggio on C-flat is re-interpreted as B for the minor version as the violin and horn note is lowered to D.  The high chord descent and the half-step alternation follow as expected with syncopated isolation in piano octaves, all analogous to 0:47 and 2:18 [m. 53].
4:50 [m. 221]--Fast syncopated half-steps in violin and horn against dissonant “diminished” piano chords, analogous to 0:54 and 2:25 [m. 61].  These are now only one octave apart due to range limitations of the violin with the upward transposition.  B is again interpreted as C-flat.  The downward motion leads to an arrival on B-flat, where the bass “pedal point” will be established.
4:56 [m. 227]--Theme 2 in the home key of E-flat, analogous to 1:00 and 2:37 [m. 67], with the “pedal point” in bass octaves on B-flat, the rising violin line, and the upward-leaping piano figure. 
5:03 [m. 235]--The half-step in the piano bass is followed by a motion to E minor and back, analogous to 1:07 and 2:38 [m. 75].  The piano bass drops an octave at the end, and the last rising piano harmony is given more weight with an added lower note.
5:12 [m. 243]--Closing theme.  Bell-like piano chords with hemiola over horn “pedal point,” analogous to 1:17 and 2:47 [m. 83].  The violin’s first dolce gesture is shifted down an octave because the transposition would have placed it very high.  There is then a leap to the original register in the second measure.
5:16 [m. 247]--Violin syncopation and hemiola, analogous to 1:21 and 2:51 [m. 87].  The last note of the violin sweep (E-flat) is shifted down an octave.
CODA
5:21 [m. 251]--The first six measures are closely analogous to those of the first ending at 1:24 [m. 91a], especially in the piano.  The 3/4 hemiola continues, and the chromatic note is C-flat.  The horn and violin entries in the fifth and sixth measures are also similar, but the horn has no upbeat, and most significantly, a swinging downward motion in the horn is replaced by further upward motion, and the violin echoes this.  In the first ending, the goal was to move back home to E-flat, and now the music is already there.  The horn and violin entries are marked crescendo and propel the music forward.  The horn and violin now repeat their entries a third higher above the harmony of a “dominant” chord suggesting a move to A-flat major.
5:27 [m. 259]--The piano abruptly lands on the chord of C-flat (heard in the transition passage of the recapitulation) for both a left-hand arpeggio and a right-hand block chord as the horn and then the violin arrives on a high E-flat.  The left hand then has a downward motion with a long-short rhythm as the right hand continues the arpeggio.  The violin and horn, in harmony, immediately shift back to E-flat with an arpeggio (also confirmed in a piano chord) and continue with the downward motion just heard in the piano’s left hand.  The same pattern is repeated, with an abrupt shift to C-flat and back to E-flat, but the violin is brought down an octave in its arpeggio.
5:34 [m. 267]--The violin and horn extend the harmonized downward motion, playing it twice and rising a sixth, then a third (bringing the violin back to the original upper octave).  The piano leaps from octave B-flats to high chords.  The piano then begins the main theme in typical “horn fifth” harmony.  After two measures, the horn plays the thematic opening, the piano moving to off-beat responses in the right hand over bass octaves leading strongly toward A-flat.  Finally, the violin takes the theme, the horn moving to a sustained long-short rhythm.  The violin extends the pattern up for two bars, moving from an arrival on A-flat to a fortissimo cadence in E-flat.
5:43 [m. 277]--The violin and horn hammer home the main thematic gesture in contrary motion, the violin arching down while the horn arches up.  They state the pattern twice over forceful cadence chords in the piano on the upbeats and downbeats.  The horn then stalls, repeating a downward leaping gesture eight times as the violin plunges from the heights and then moves back up.  At the same time, the piano doubles the speed of its cadence gestures, placing two in a bar, the right hand leaping up and down in contrary motion to the bass octaves, then moving even higher.  The final cadence is stretched out in the last two bars, all three instruments leaping after a pause, then plunging to the concluding chord, which is held out.
6:06--END OF MOVEMENT [287 mm.]
END OF TRIO


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