Intermezzo No. 3 in A-flat major "Intermezzo" As dur

Believed to have been composed by approximately 1878. This is a quiet work featuring an impressive melody in the high register that begins on an unaccented beat. At its opening, there is also an instruction in German: "Anmutig, ausdrucksvoll" (Gracefully, expressively). Some researchers suggest that the harmonies employed in this piece and in No. 4, which can be described as hollow or ethereal, hint at a turning point in Brahms's music and life.