Johannes Brahms

This Scherzo was written as part of the F-A-E Sonata--a collaborative work between Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Albert Dietrich--and it marks the height of Brahms' involvement with Robert Schumann's musical circle. The F-A-E, incidentally, stands for frei aber einsam (free but alone), the group's motto. By far the best movement of the Sonata (Schumann wrote the second and fourth movements, and Dietrich the first), Brahms' contribution is rhythmically exciting and original in conception, and it is still part of the violin repertoire.