Brahms's Capriccio in C Major, Op. 76, No. 8: Ambiguity, Conflict, Musical Meaning, and Performance

Analytical studies of Brahms's music frequently cite conflict and ambiguity as significant aspects of his compositional language. David Epstein's assessment is typical: "What Brahms achieved is a unique kind of musical structure, whose anomalous opposition and counterbalancing of elements build into the music not only the means of forward motion but the means as well for its control, pacing, and ultimate resolution."1 In some of Brahms's compositions, these conflicts lie principally in a single musical parameter, such as meter, harmony, or form.2 For example, in his discussion of metrical dissonance in Brahms's Capriccio in C# Minor, op. 76, no. 5, John Rink argues that "the relative simplicity of the tonal foundation counteracts the almost overwhelming metrical clashes in which Brahms revels."3 More often in Brahms's works, multiple aspects of the music exhibit some type of conflict or ambiguity. Despite its brevity, Brahms's Capriccio in C Major, op. 76, no. 8, features major conflicts in tonal structure, form, and especially meter; these conflicts render it one of Brahms's most challenging conceptions. Composed in 1878, the Capriccio in C Major was published the following year as the last of Brahms's Klavierstucke, op. 76. Brahms apparently had doubts about publishing the piece. In a letter dated 7 November 1878, Clara Schumann wrote to Brahms: