The rarity of new works by Brahms, especially juvenilia, makes the recently published Urtext of his newly discovered Albumblatt für Klavier (1853), so named for lack of a title from the composer, all the more exciting. Only in 2011 was the work premiered and introduced at a musicological gathering.Footnote ¹ If Johannes Brahms stands as the quintessential, if ever unreachable, figure of symphonic genius during the second half of the nineteenth century, then this early composition broadens our understanding of his small-scale, intimate works. In June 1853, when the Albumblatt was likely composed, Brahms was relatively unknown – a prodigious performer, to be sure, but not yet the subject of Schumann's epic declaration in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in October of the same year.

As noted by Christopher Hogwood, in the score's introduction, the Albumblatt includes a theme that would appear in the later trio of the scherzo of the Horn Trio, op. 40 (1865), (the Albumblatt version is transposed up a semitone from the A≅ minor of op. 40). Only 50 measures long, and notated on a single sheet of manuscript, Albumblatt is also included as a facsimile in this edition. Hogwood has carefully preserved the expression markings of the manuscript, and expanded upon Brahms's own indications only when inconsistencies arise or for ease of performance, such as writing out notational abbreviations. Brahms conceived the piece in a simple four-voice texture that lies comfortably in A Minor and is easily accessible to amateur pianists. But despite the straightforward texture and harmony, the piece is by no means unassuming. In fact, perhaps the opposite could be claimed: that Brahms attempted to traverse too much harmonic distance and explore more musical material than the short binary form allowed.

Although the A section, with its repetition of the tonic sonority and reassuring assertion of the dominant, is neatly contained within 12 bars, the B section, double in length, is much more harmonically adventurous. The opening melody introduces the B section, harmonized with a C dominant seventh instead of the placid A minor and then with a C♯ diminished seventh. Here (bars. 17–20), Brahms distorts the intervallic content of the melody, stretching it to comply with the diminished seventh underneath, and redirecting it to a high B≅ and to the distant sonority of B≅ major. The melody never fully recovers from this disturbing C♯ diminished seventh. Brahms subjects the next four-bar phrase (bars 21–24) to rhythmic alteration, so that it momentarily slips into duple metre and throws off the continuous quaver figuration; he also shifts the register, allowing the melody to stumble down an octave. Only with the return of the opening material and its stabilizing A minor harmonization does the pacing of the piece reset itself. The same C♯ diminished seventh reappears in bar 39, but now impresses as only a minor disruption, in part because it appears four bars later within the phrase, as a substitute for the dominant E major from bar 9 rather than for the tonic.

In its later incarnation in the Horn Trio, Brahms smoothed over these disruptive elements. In op. 40, at the comparable section to Albumblatt's bar 17, Brahms tonicized A Major through the dominant, and thus completely avoided the troublesome diminished-seventh chord. He preserved the stepwise movement of the melody, maintained the register and continued the quaver accompaniment uninterrupted so that the texture remained consistent. The expanded proportions of the Horn Trio also allowed for a more worked-out ending than in the B section of Albumblatt and for a less jarring transition to the opening material of the scherzo.

As Eduard Hanslick maintained in 1862, ‘some time ago, mature creations already followed upon the heels of the best of [Brahms's] youthful works, whose wild genius drew us in at once irresistibly and forbiddingly’.Footnote ² The Albumblatt, prefiguring as it does the sentimental, sinuous theme of the second movement of the Horn Trio, is arguably a fine example of this transition from “wild genius” to maturity.

The first edition of two partsongs for men's chorus (‘Goldne Brücken’ and ‘Postillons Morgenlied’), published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 2010, are also recent contributions from Brahms's juvenilia. ‘Postillons Morgenlied’ (c.1847) is set to Wilhelm Müller's text and is one of Brahms's earliest extant works. Musicologist Helmut Lauterwasser rediscovered the piece in February of 2010 in the estate of the Alte Celle Liedertafel in the Stadtarchiv Celle. The previously unknown song, ‘Goldne Brücken’ (dating from no later than 1853), was also discovered in the same manuscript.

Brahms likely composed ‘Postillons’ when he was only 14 years old. Although the piece is simple, it is by no means amateurish. The harmonic rhythm in ‘Postillons’ is leisurely, and is concentrated mostly on predictable tonic–subdominant–dominant motion. The entire first phrase, for example, establishes the tonic of E≅ and ends on a half-cadence. Brahms incorporated instances of chromaticism, as in bar 7 and bars 15–16, to add aural interest. Although this harmonic simplicity could be attributed solely to Brahms's young age, it is also likely that the abilities of the Celle Männergesangverein were a factor when Brahms's considered how to capture Müller's text. Lauterwasser points out in the Preface to the score that Brahms conducted a performance of ‘Postillons’ by the Männersangverein in 1847. The traditional harmonies could also have been chosen by Brahms in order to facilitate a more successful performance as a young composer and conductor. By comparison, the harmonic pace of ‘Goldne Brücken’ is quicker, perhaps in response to the shorter text. The harmonic framework is traditional and includes chromatic passing motion (bars 2 and 7) and tonicization of both the subdominant and dominant.

The 2011 publication of Brahms's two versions of his op. 39 Walzer (1865) also permits us to reconsider Brahms as a miniaturist. The Walzer provide yet another example of Brahms's own editing practices, although here his process involved simplification rather than a complete reworking as in the transformation of the Albumblatt into the scherzo of the Horn Trio. In recent years, the op. 39 Walzer have appeared in the Brahms Neue Ausgabe (vol. 6, 2011) and in a Schirmer edition of Brahms's Complete Shorter Works (1995).Footnote ³ The Bärenreiter edition includes the addition of editor Christian Köhn's fingerings to those supplied by the composer (shown in italics) and it streamlines the sources and critical commentary. In the Preface Köhn acknowledges that ‘we have therefore taken the original print as the principal source of our edition, adopting readings from the autograph or the engraver's copy only in isolated instances where we deemed them advisable’ (xiii). In contrast, the Schirmer edition relies upon the first edition as the sole source, changing only one accidental in Waltz No. 14. Otherwise, ‘the thoroughly correct first edition underwent no changes in the source and could be regarded as authoritative’.Footnote ⁴ This Schirmer edition also includes a reprint of the 1927 forward by Brahms's friend Eusebius Mandyczewski. In contrast, the Neue Ausgabe takes the first edition as its main source, but refers to the autograph score and engraver's copy throughout the piece. The Urtext offers a middle ground between complete fidelity to one source and consideration of all. In this way Köhn's edition supports Bärenreiter's pledge to present ‘the latest in musicological research prepared in accordance with clearly defined editorial guidelines’.Footnote ⁵

The benefits of Köhn's suggested fingerings in the Bärenreiter Urtext are perhaps outweighed by the slightly cluttered appearance of the score. Musicians might prefer a cleaner version, with supplementary advice given only by the composer. This Urtext, however, does have the advantage of deftly guiding the reader around potentially overwhelming critical commentary. In comparison to the Neue Ausgabe, this Urtext edition lacks commentary in footnotes, and instead places most critical commentary at the back of the score. This arrangement is clearly desirable in a performance setting, where the eye is less likely to be distracted by a well-intended asterisk, although perhaps less ideal for musicological study.

Compared to the Schirmer edition, the Bärenreiter Urtext provides a more aesthetically pleasing score (due in part to sleeker font choices and more elegant note-heads) that is therefore easier to use for performance. In general, the Bärenreiter Urtext values white space much more than either the Schirmer or the Neue Ausgabe, allowing more space between the final staff of one waltz and the first of the following. This relaxed layout not only allows the performer the practical advantage of having more space on which to notate, but also reflects spatially the separateness of the musical ideas between dances.

Together, the Albumblatt, the op. 39 Walzer, and the two early partsongs, ‘Postillons Morgenlied’ and ‘Goldne Brücken’, offer an alternative view of one of music history's most mysterious and iconic figures. In particular, these pieces provide insight into the young Brahms's compositional style and choice of genre. And they call into question Eduard Hanslick's evaluation in 1862, that ‘Brahms's compositions do not number among those immediately understandable and captivating works that carry one along in their flight’.Footnote ⁶