Tema e variazione op.18 di J. Brahms, arr. for Corno o Trombone and Pianoforte by Antonio e Paolo Reda

"Andante ma moderato" is the second movement of the String Sextet op.18, dedicated to Clara Schumann, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).

The compositional form is a theme with variations, whose writing is very close to the classicism of Haydn, Mozart and the first Beethoven.

The noble and passionate theme is transformed from time to time for all six variations: in the first three, changing the rhythmic aspect, which proceeds using increasingly smaller figurations, up to a pressing that leads to the fourth variation, where the theme is exposed in major key, manifest of a song of hope and passion. The fifth variation is a sort of dreamlike bridge, which leads to the rarefaction of this area in major, traced back to the solemn minor key. The re-exposure of the initial theme, re-proposed after the flow of variations, takes on additional intensity and elevation, also thanks to the motivic elaboration.