Research Paper on:
Op. 118, Number 6 by Johannes Brahms

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Romantic contemporaries, the always adhered rigorously to Classical form, which he regarded as perfect (Harlequin, 2001). To Brahms, Classicism did not require replacing with a new perspective, but rather should  be addressed with further elaboration, further exploring what he believed to the intrinsic resources of the form itself. This sense of being a latecomer to Classicism, the preserver  of it in the historic sense, endowed his music with "retrospective" flavor, and a sort of "autumnal" resignation (Machlis, 1970). An examination of Brahms composition indicates an incredible  coherence of method that is obvious between compositions as well as within the various works themselves (Harlequin, 2001). Generally, Brahms would create groups of compositions that all contained similar motivic  material, which were developed in the works in different ways (Harlequin, 2001). Contributing to this coherence in Brahms music is the frugality with which he utilizes "motivic thorough-composition" or  "Motivfuhrung," while successfully balancing a density that compares with the most rigorous moments of his predecessors (Harlequin, 2001). These elements, taken collectively, are what the Romantic composers of Brahms  era criticized, particularly Wagner and Wolf, who saw this as indicative of a lack of imagination and ingenuity. Nevertheless, Machlis (1970) argues that there was some "romantic" in  Brahms and that this aspect of his music found expression in short lyric pieces, his "Rhapsodies, Ballades, Capriccios and lyrical meditations known as Intermezzi," which Machlis counts among the "treasures"  of music (p. 129). Brahms Intermezzo in E-flat minor, op. 118 n. 6 has been described as "mysterious " (Harlequin, 2001). The motiv for this work is predicated on just  one single interval of a third, which is from G flat downwards to E flat. This interval is repeatedly filled in with passing notes. In contrast, the bass voice