Sonatensatz, Op. Posthumous

Brahms was 20 years old when he wrote Sonatensatz in 1853. It was conceived as the Scherzo movement of a sonata known as the F. A. E. and composed by Robert Schumann, Albert Dietrich, and Johannes Brahms. The initials F. A. E. stood for "Frei Aber Einsam" (free but lonely), the personal motto of Joseph Joachim, the esteemed violinist and friend for whom the sonata was intended as a surprise gift upon his return from a concert tour. Dietrich wrote the first movement, Schumann the second and fourth movements, and Brahms the scherzo. The idea was actually Schumann's and the music was composed in a span of 10 days by the three composers. The sonata was first performed at an evening party at Schumann's house which followed the presentation and Joachim was required to guess the authorship of the movements, a problem he had no difficulty in recognizing correctly. The Sonatensatz was published separately in 1906.