I am in love with this very startling and insanely conservative (in the best possible sense) work. It has all the power of later Mozart with an occasional smack in the face distinctly like Haydn's infamous sforzandi.
Beethoven, too, and Brahms' tragic overture seem to play parts in this, but there's also something else. This 'something' is displayed in a mere two-note descent at the end of measure eight, in the strings. Something about this sound (of an F minor chord slipping down to E and G with an A-flat and F still in the bass) moves me deeply, as if a rush of cold air had shot up my spine. The effect lasts a mere moment and then is gone as measure nine appears, but it leaves a mark. This is chilling and excellent music, even if you compensate for my newbishness.
