Brahms op. 79

[stiefel]

What similarities and difference strike you between no. 1 in b minor and no. 2 in g minor? 

[counterpoint]

If the g minor Rhapsody is a big old knotty tree, the b minor is something like the Tour Eiffel 
The g minor is one of my all time favourites. I never developped a closer relationship to the b minor.

[nanabush]

The b minor one has a really lush, beautiful melody (in a major key!) in the center of the piece.  That part really strikes me if I listen to both together.

The g minor rhapsody opening theme, when the octaves come in, it sounds legendary.  The b minor when it really picks up sounds a bit chaotic, more like Liszt.

I probably like the g minor more (probably because I've played it), but the b minor is awesome too.

[davidjosepha]

I've played both. The B minor is more exciting but I grew to hate it the more I played it. I don't think it has nearly the musical depth the G minor has. The dotted eighth-sixteenth pattern over the triplets in G minor is awe-inspiring, and in my opinion, one of the most triumphant points in any piece I've ever played...when it comes back in a different key at the end of the piece...glorious. The G minor also has a very beautiful development section as well.

I think the B minor and the G minor are polar parts that complete each other, in a way. The B minor is brash, agitated (the piece is even marked as "agitato"), and youthful. The G minor is more subtle, full of the temperance that comes with age, and ultimately much more powerful.

I played the B minor for a student recital about a year ago, and if I had it to do over again, I don't think I would've played the B minor without the G minor following it. I'd play the G minor alone, but I don't think the B minor fits without the G minor.