such diverse periodicities of the metric weight. Examples from Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony demonstrate¹⁵ that by selecting instrumental parts or shorter segments one detects similar inner metric structures as exhibited within larger contexts. Hence these very diverse results of metric analysis depending on the context in the case of the Second Symphony by Brahms may be acknowledged as a characteristic of his music. This interpretation might correspond to an observation of Epstein, that Brahms produces an unique musical structure through anomalous contrasting and counter-balancing of elements being responsible for the forward motion in music (»Brahms erreicht ... eine einmalige musikalischen Struktur, wo das anomale Gegenüberstellen und Gegenbalancieren von Elementen ... die Mittel für die Vorwärtsbewegung in die Musik einbaut«¹⁶ ).

Within the third part of the exposition, where no periodic differentiation within the highest layer of the weight can be found, Epstein describes a passage (see figure 21) as an ocean of rhythmic and metric uncertainty (»Noch widersprüchlicher ist eine andere Passage im gleichen Satz, wo die Musik in einem Meer von rhythmischer und metrischer Ungewißheit schwimmt«¹⁷

). The melodic motives (see the violins, cello and bass in figure 21) correspond to the time signature, but sound as they