ght thing in
its surroundings, with a note of vitality which does much to brighten
the scene and to prepare the way for the Finale. The opening theme in
A-flat major is in two phrases of _five_ measures each--a favorite
rhythm with Brahms--given out by the clarinet over a pizzicato bass in
the 'cellos. The melodic formation is unusual in that the latter
phrase is an inversion of the first, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 259: The only slight exception is the third movement of the
Fourth Symphony which, being marked Allegro giocoso, partakes somewhat
of the nature of a Scherzo.]

After some descending passages in thirds and sixths--one of the
characteristic[260] effects in Brahms's style--the theme is repeated
in the violins with richer scoring. The descending passage returns and
this time leads to the entrance of a subsidiary theme in F minor. In
measures 50-51 occurs one of those cases of melodic germination which
entitles Brahms to be called a genuine _creative_ artist. The melody
with its dashing, Hungarian zest sounds like something brand-new and
yet is logically derived from the main theme by diminution, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 260: "Those eternal sixths and thirds." Weingartner later
publicly recanted and became a whole-souled convert to Brahms. (See
_The Symphony since Beethoven_, latest edition.)]

This is real poetic creation, it being the prime object of a poet to
create in music something out of apparent nothing. After these
vivacious developments the first part ends with a slight repetition
of the main theme. The middle part, beginning measure 71, in 6/8 time
and in the enharmonic key of B major (E-flat = D-sharp) is noteworthy
for its rhythmic swing, bold syncopations and contrasted accents; see
especially measures 97-107. At the beginning of the third part there
is an effective blending of the rhythm which has just prevailed with
the graceful lines of the first theme. The fabric is made up of
effective changes, modulatory and rhythmic, in the material from the
first part. At the Coda, piu tranquillo, there is a delightful
reminiscence of the rhythm of the middle portion carried out to the
very end by the double basses.[261]

[Footnote 261: A similar effect may be found in the closing measures
of the first movement of Beethoven's Eighth Symphony.]

The Finale is one of the most thrilling perorations in music; not a
perfunctory close, but a veritable Apotheosis of victorious
aspiration, giving an ir