m long life.

A lighter side of the Brahms cult is shown in the Waltzes, opus 39.
There are sixteen of these, all short, and very poetic and not at all
forbidding in their manner of writing. One or two of them are quite
difficult; as, for instance, No. 6. Most of them, however, are within
the reach of players of medium grade.

The later works of Brahms have already begun to find currency in the
more advanced musical circles in Europe, but for some time after their
first publication their value was persistently denied, and they are as
yet entirely unknown to the amateur. The following works have been
selected as on the whole representing the later development of Brahms
to the greatest advantage.

The first intermezzo in opus 119 is in B minor, adagio. A very ideal
and poetic movement, requiring, however, to be played with great
delicacy and a deep and musical tone, which rarely rises to forte. The
other intermezzi of this book I do not much care for. In the opus 116,
the fourth number, entitled Intermezzo, is also a very beautiful adagio
in E major, and it is one of the most poetic and delightful short
pieces for the piano of any recent master. Both these pieces are of
quite moderate difficulty. Of a somewhat more dramatic and diversified
character is the second intermezzo in the opus 116. This is in A
minor, with a somewhat capricious middle piece. The great beauty of
these short, slow movements of Brahms is the moderation with which they
are treated, and, at the same time, the masterly manner in which the
interest is kept up to the end. The most fortunate illustration of
Brahms' treatment of the piano in the dramatic and highly moved
direction is afforded, perhaps, by the second of the rhapsodies, opus
79. These are in no respect to be mentioned in connection with the
rhapsodies by Liszt, which, as is well known, are somewhat _ad
captandum_ show pieces founded upon popular airs. The Brahms rhapsody
is a poetic rhapsody, perhaps such as the rhapsodists of Greece used to
deliver; and in this particular case the music is very dramatic and
strongly marked, and at the same time the treatment of the piano is
free and the effect brilliant. It is, however, considerably more
difficult than any of the pieces mentioned above except the Paganini
variations.

This program might well be diversified by a few songs of Brahms; and
for this purpose selections may as well be made from the first book of
songs by this wr