Luciano Berio was commissioned by the LA Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986 to arrange the first clarinet sonata by Johannes Brahms, Op. 120, No. 1 for clarinet and orchestra. Berio stayed faithful to the original music but added a short orchestral introduction to the first movement. After that, all the music is Brahms, orchestrated by Berio.
Brahms considered himself retired from composing by around 1890. But after hearing clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld in 1891 he was inspired to write four late chamber masterpieces for him, the trio in A minor for clarinet, cello and piano; the quintet in B minor for clarinet and strings; and two clarinet sonatas with piano. Brahms himself stated once in a letter to the dedicatee of the original composition, Richard Muhlfeld, that he had not "been so impulsive as to write a concerto" for him. Brahms' usual playful understatement perhaps hints at a hidden "concerto" intended in the sonatas with piano.
Brahms' rich compositional style packed the works with beautiful themes and masterful use of the clarinet's dynamic range and colors. The piano parts in the sonatas are very much equal to the clarinet and use the full extent of the piano's potential. And these rich piano parts lend themselves well to being arranged for orchestra.
Another work of chamber music of Brahms had been previously arranged by another 20th century composer, Arnold Schoenberg, who arranged the Brahms piano quartet in G minor for full orchestra in 1937. This work is still performed regularly as a large symphonic work. So, too, the Berio arrangement of the Brahms Sonata No. 1 in F minor, employs the full orchestral palette to project the rich textures and harmonies of Brahms' piano accompaniment, with the resulting effect of a large symphonic concerto for clarinet and orchestra. Berio no doubt took inspiration for his orchestration from studying the four masterpiece symphonies composed by Brahms earlier in his career. The result is truly a symphonic work with a clarinet solo line throughout.
The work itself contains many dramatic and sublime themes, with each movement contrasting sharply from the others. The first movement opens a roiling dramatic F minor theme in 3/4, passed and developed equally between clarinet and orchestra. The second movement moves to the safe comfort of Ab Major and offers a simple, affectionate melody in the clarinet with light accompaniment. The third movement is a lilting Ab Major waltz in a German peasant "laendler" style. The F Major fourth movement features a theme of only 3 repeated notes, like a trumpet call, followed by a giggling staccato passage, which Brahms then develops through dense counterpoint and fugues, building to an exciting finale to end the 25-minute work.
