No mermaid can win an immortal soul, the wise elder explains to her granddaughter, unless a man should love her more than anything else, even his father and mother. That will never happen, she observes, because humans prefer two legs to their ugly mermaid tails. The Little Mermaid sneaks away to visit the Sea Witch, whose powerful, wicked magic can transform her into a human. The Sea Witch warns the young princess that her decision will have grave consequences, beginning with the payment-she will cut out her tongue with a knife so as to remove her sweet voice.
The Little Mermaid must win the Prince with her beautiful form, graceful walk and expressive eyes. Leaving her family forever, the youngest sea princess rises to the surface, drinks a magic potion and turns into a human. At sunrise the Little Mermaid, now mute and two-legged, encounters the Prince, who welcomes her into his palace.
Everyone is enchanted by the mysterious, beautiful guest. The Prince notices in the Little Mermaid's face a faint resemblance to his mysterious rescuer from the shipwreck. The Prince has reached the age of marriage. Though he loves the Little Mermaid, duty compels him to honor his father's wishes and visit the daughter of a neighboring king. The next morning, the royal party boards a ship for the nearby kingdom. Celebrations continue for several days until the princess, who was rumored to live in a religious house, appears.
The Prince mistakenly recognizes this incomparable beauty as the maiden who saved his life. Wedding celebrations begin immediately. The Little Mermaid dances vigorously, despite the knife-like pains in her feet and the knowledge that she soon will die and become sea foam.
Later that night, the five Sea Princesses visit their youngest sister. They have given their long hair to the Sea Witch in exchange for a knife. From the opening moments, the influence of Beethoven 9 is clear: the same shimmering D minor tension, the same powerful orchestration… even a similarly fragmented melody on the verge of eruption. The symphonic aspirations extend to the role of the soloist, who is treated more as a partner with the orchestra than as a star. Only after the orchestra has presented nearly four and a half minutes of the explosive first theme does the soloist enter, not with a grand heroic gesture, but with a simple melody.
Still, Brahms began the work only days after that terrible event, and he was deeply troubled to see his friend descend into madness. In the driving energy of the final movement, Brahms takes rondo form well beyond its normal limits, infusing it with all the emotional weight of the opening movement and never allowing virtuosity to descend into superficial showmanship. The work ends as it began: with the grand drama worthy of a symphony.
All rights reserved. Music of tremendous power and virtuosity follows, culminating in a triumphant Beethovenian climax. The second movement, Adagio, begins with a tender and aching chorale which is eventually taken up by the soloist.
Orchestra members are often given extended melodies as the pianist accompanies them. Brahms greatly expanded the potency of sonata-form whilst substantially diffusing its outline. The former paved the way dare we say? The remaining movements are considerably less complicated! The movement is an asymmetrical arch-form, broadly falling into six sections. Rondo - Allegro non troppo. Brahms rounds off with a rollicking romp of a rondo. Most obviously, the two themes are continually varied in supremely seductive ways.
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