great compositions/performances: Anne-Sophie Mutter – Brahms – Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Brahms – Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

Classical Vault 1

Published on Sep 28, 2013

Johannes Brahms
Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

1 Allegro amabile
2 Andante tranquillo – Vivace
3 Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante)

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Lambert Orkis, piano
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Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 (“Thun” or “Meistersinger”), by Johannes Brahms was written while spending the summer of 1886 in Thun in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

It was a very fertile and refreshing time for Brahms. His friend the Swiss pastor and poet Josef Victor Widmann (1842–1911) lived in Berne and they visited each other. He was also visited by the poet Klaus Groth and the young German contralto Hermine Spies. Both Groth and Brahms were somewhat enamoured of Spies.^[1] He found himself so invigorated by the genial atmosphere and surroundings that he said the area was “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any”. In a short space of time, he produced, in addition to this violin sonata, the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, the Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, and various songs.

The 2nd Violin Sonata is the shortest^[2] and is considered the most lyrical of Brahms’s three violin sonatas.^[3] It is also considered the most difficult of the three to bring off successfully, and to exhibit its balance of lyricism and virtuosity.^[4] It maintains a radiant, happy mood throughout.^[2][5]

It consists of three movements, with the middle movement doing service as both a slow movement and a scherzo:^[1]

• 1. Allegro amabile
• 2. Andante tranquillo – Vivace – Andante – Vivace di più – Andante – Vivace
• 3. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andante).

By giving the work the formal title of “Sonata for Piano and Violin”, rather than the more usual “Sonata for Violin and Piano”, Brahms indicated the piano part was just as important as the violin part.^[2] In keeping with this, he allowed the piano to announce the opening theme. The first three notes of the first movement are very similar in both melody and harmony^[6] to the first three notes of “Walther’s Prize Song” (Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein) from Richard Wagner‘s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Although they were musical rivals, Brahms was a great admirer of Wagner’s music,^[6] but whether this was a deliberate quotation on Brahms’s part is open to speculation. Nevertheless, the sonata has often been subtitled the “Meistersinger” Sonata.^[4] It is also sometimes called the “Thun” Sonata from the place of its creation.

Motives from three of the songs Brahms wrote that summer with Hermine Spies’s voice in mind^[1] appear fleetingly in the sonata: “Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn”, Op. 105/1 (“Like melodies it steals softly through my mind”; words by Klaus Groth) makes an appearance in the second subject of the first movement. “Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer”, Op. 105/2 (“Ever gentle is my sleep”; words by Hermann Lingg) and “Auf dem Kirchhofe”, Op. 105/4 (words by Detlev von Liliencron) are quoted in the final movement.^[1][7] The song “Komm bald”, Op. 97/5 (“Come soon”; words by Groth) is also said have provided thematic inspiration for the sonata.^[8]

The Violin Sonata No. 2 was premiered in Vienna on 2 December 1886 by the violinist Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. and Brahms himself at the piano.^[1][2]

Brahms’s friend the poet Josef Widmann later wrote a poem to be accompanied by the sonata.^[9]

External links

• Violin Sonata No. 2 (Brahms): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Brahms – Violin Sonata No 1 in G Mag op. 78

silesius32

Published on Jul 26, 2012

Ashkenazy – Perlman 1985
No copyright infringement intended

00:00 Vivace ma non troppo
10:45 Adagio
18:47 Allegro molto moderato

historic musical bits: David Oistrakh – Brahms – Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

David Oistrakh – Brahms – Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

Opus 13

Published on Mar 24, 2014

Johannes Brahms
Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 100

David Oistrakh, violin
Sviatoslav Richter, piano

historic musical bits: Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.1 – Wiener Philharmoniker – Bernstein – 1981

Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.1 – Wiener Philharmoniker – Bernstein – 1981

PalamedeDePalamede

Published on Mar 3, 2013

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68

I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro – Meno allegro . . . . . . . . . . (00:55)
II. Andante sostenuto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (18:40)
III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (29:44)
IV. Adagio – Più andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio . (35:25)

Violin solo (2nd Movement): Gerhart Hetzel
Wiener Philharmoniker
Leonard Bernstein

Recorded live at the Große Musikvereinssaal
Vienna, 3-11 October 1981

• Music

  • “Brahms: Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68 – 3. Un poco allegretto e grazioso (Live From Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna / 1981)” by Wiener Philharmoniker (Google Play • AmazonMP3 • iTunes)

historic musical bits: Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.1 – Wiener Philharmoniker – Bernstein – 1981

Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.1 – Wiener Philharmoniker – Bernstein – 1981

PalamedeDePalamede

Published on Mar 3, 2013

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68

I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro – Meno allegro . . . . . . . . . . (00:55)
II. Andante sostenuto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (18:40)
III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (29:44)
IV. Adagio – Più andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio . (35:25)

Violin solo (2nd Movement): Gerhart Hetzel
Wiener Philharmoniker
Leonard Bernstein

Recorded live at the Große Musikvereinssaal
Vienna, 3-11 October 1981

• Music

  • “Brahms: Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68 – 3. Un poco allegretto e grazioso (Live From Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna / 1981)” by Wiener Philharmoniker (Google Play • AmazonMP3 • iTunes)

Best classical music, Leonard Bernstein, Brahms Tragic Overture Op.81, great compositions/performances

 

Leonard Bernstein, Brahms Tragic Overture Op.81

harpsichordVal

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Tragic Overture (German: Tragische Ouvertüre), Op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. It premiered on 26 December 1880 in Vienna. Most performances last between twelve and fifteen minutes.

Brahms chose the title “Tragic” to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the Academic Festival Overture. Despite its name, the Tragic Overture does not follow any specific dramatic program. Brahms was not very interested in musical storytelling and was more concerned with conveying and eliciting emotional impressions. He summed up the effective difference between the two overtures when he declared “one laughs while the other cries.” Brahms quotes some material from the last movement of the Second Symphony in this overture.

The Tragic Overture comprises three main sections, all in the key of D minor.

• Allegro ma non troppo
• Molto più moderato
• Tempo primo ma tranquillo.

Theorists have disagreed in analyzing the form of the piece: Jackson finds Webster’s multifarious description rather obscurist and prefers to label the work’s form as a “reversed sonata design” in which the second group is recapitulated before the first, with Beethoven‘s Coriolan Overture as a possible formal model.^[1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.

 

“Gaudeamus” , Best Classical Music, Bernstein – Academic Festival Overture (Brahms), great compositions/performances

Bernstein – Academic Festival Overture (Brahms)

Canal de rivalXXI

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Academic Festival Overture (German: Akademische Festouvertüre),^[1] Op. 80, by Johannes Brahms, was one of a pair of contrasting concert overtures — the other being the Tragic Overture, Op. 81. Brahms composed the work during the summer of 1880 as a musical “thank you” to the University of Breslau, which had awarded him an honorary doctorate the previous year.

Background

Initially, Brahms had contented himself with sending a simple handwritten note of acknowledgment to the University, since he loathed the public fanfare of celebrity. However, the conductor Bernard Scholz, who had nominated him for the degree, convinced him that protocol required him to make a grander gesture of gratitude. The University expected nothing less than a musical offering from the composer. “Compose a fine symphony for us!” he wrote to Brahms. “But well orchestrated, old boy, not too uniformly thick!”^[2]

Structure and instrumentation

Brahms, who was known to be a curmudgeonly joker, filled his quota by creating a “very boisterous potpourri of student drinking songs à la Suppé“^[3] in an intricately designed structure made to appear loose and episodic, thus drawing on the “academic” for both his sources and their treatment.

The work sparkles with some of the finest virtues of Brahms’s orchestral technique, sometimes applied for comic effect, such as the bassoons that inflate the light subject of “Fuchslied” (Was kommt dort von der Höh?).^[4] The inventive treatment includes tunes appropriated from the student ditties “Fuchslied”, “Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus”, “Hört, ich sing das Lied der Lieder”, and most memorably, the broad, triumphant finale on “Gaudeamus igitur“, which succinctly engages Brahms’s sophisticated mastery of counterpoint, further fulfilling the “Academic” aspect of his program, cheekily applied to the well-worn melody. Brahms manages to evoke ravishing euphoria without sacrificing his commitment to classical balance.

The blend of orchestral colors is carefully planned and highlighted in the piece, which, in spite of Scholz’s request, calls for one of the largest ensembles for any of his compositions: piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets (both doubling on B-flat and C clarinets), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns (two in C and two in E), three C trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.

The Overture consists of four continuous sections:

• Allegro (C minor)
• Maestoso (C major)
• Animato (G major)
• Maestoso (C major).

The composer himself conducted the premiere at a special convocation held by the University on January 4, 1881, to the chagrin (and mischievous delight) of many of the academics in the audience^{[citation needed]}. Due to its easily grasped structure, its lyrical warmth, as well as its excitement and humor, the work has remained a staple of today’s concert-hall repertoire. A typical performance lasts around ten minutes.

Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dance No. 4 – Poco sostenuto – Vivace , great compositions/performances

Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dance No. 4 – Poco sostenuto – Vivace

Fledermaus1990

Uploaded on Jun 1, 2011

The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms, are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1869. Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. In fact, number 5 was based on the csárdás by Kéler Béla titled “Bártfai emlék” which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong.

They are among Brahms’ most popular works, and were certainly the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four-hands and later arranged the first 10 dances for solo piano. The most famous Hungarian Dance is No. 5.

Brahms wrote orchestral arrangements for No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10. Other composers, including Antonín Dvořák, orchestrated the other dances. These composers were Andreas Hallén for No. 2, Paul Juon for No. 4, Martin Schmeling for Nos. 5 to 7, Hans Gál for Nos. 8 and 9, Albert Parlow for No. 11 to 16. Dvořák orchestrated the last numbers.

• Music

  • “21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 4, Poco sostenuto” by Sarantis Mantzourakis (Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3)

• Category

  • Music

Hilary Hahn plays Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D Op 77

Mentor1954_2.0

Published on May 5, 2014

Please check out my other channels too:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Mentor1954
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJq_…

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, was composed by Johannes Brahms in 1878 and dedicated to his friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim. It is Brahms’s only violin concerto, and, according to Joachim, one of the four great German violin concerti:^[1]

The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven’s. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart’s jewel, is Mendelssohn’s.

Instrumentation

It is scored for solo violin and an orchestra consisting of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons; 4 horns in D, F, and E, 2 trumpets in D, timpani, and strings.

Structure

It follows the standard concerto form, with three movements in the pattern quick-slow-quick:

1. Allegro non troppo (D major)
2. Adagio (F major)
3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace – Poco più presto (D major)

Originally, the work was planned in four movements like the second piano concerto. The middle movements, one of which was intended to be a scherzo — a mark that Brahms intended a symphonic concerto rather than a virtuoso showpiece — were discarded and replaced with what Brahms called a “feeble Adagio.” Some of the discarded material was reworked for the second piano concerto.

Brahms, who was impatient with the minutiae of slurs marking the bowing, rather than phrasing, as his usual practice was^{[clarification needed]}, asked Joachim’s advice on the writing of the solo violin part.^[2] Joachim, who had first been alerted when Brahms informed him in August that “a few violin passages” would be coming in the mail, was eager that the concerto should be playable and idiomatic, and collaborated willingly, not that all his advice was heeded in the final score.^[3] The most familiar cadenza, which appears in the first movement, is by Joachim, though a number of people have provided alternatives, including Leopold Auer, Henri Marteau, Max Reger, Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, George Enescu, Nigel Kennedy and Rachel Barton Pine. A recording of the concerto released by Ruggiero Ricci has been coupled with Ricci’s recordings of sixteen different cadenzas.

Premiere

The work was premiered in Leipzig on January 1, 1879, by Joachim, who insisted on opening the concert with the Beethoven Violin Concerto, written in the same key, and closing with the Brahms.^[4] Joachim’s decision could be understandable, though Brahms complained that “it was a lot of D major—and not much else on the program.”^[5] Joachim was not presenting two established works, but one established one and a new, difficult one by a composer who had a reputation for being difficult.^[6] The two works also share some striking similarities. For instance, Brahms has the violin enter with the timpani after the orchestral introduction: this is a clear homage to Beethoven, whose violin concerto also makes unusual use of the timpani.

Brahms conducted the premiere. Various modifications were made between then and the work’s publication by Fritz Simrock later in the year.

Critical reaction to the work was mixed: the canard that the work was not so much for violin as “against the violin” is attributed equally to conductor Hans von Bülow and to Joseph Hellmesberger, to whom Brahms entrusted the Vienna premiere,^[7] which was however rapturously received by the public.^[8] Henryk Wieniawski called the work “unplayable”, and the violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate refused to play it because he didn’t want to “stand on the rostrum, violin in hand and listen to the oboe playing the only tune in the adagio.”^[9]

Against these critics, modern listeners^[who?] often feel that Brahms was not really trying to produce a conventional vehicle for virtuoso display; he had higher musical aims. Similar criticisms have been voiced against the string concerti of other great composers, such as Beethoven‘s Violin Concerto^{[citation needed]} and Hector Berlioz‘s Harold in Italy, for making the soloist “almost part of the orchestra.”^[10]

Technical demands

The technical demands on the soloist are formidable, with generous use of multiple stopping, broken chords, rapid scale passages, and rhythmic variation. The difficulty may to some extent be attributed to the composer’s being chiefly a pianist.^{[citation needed]}

Nevertheless, Brahms chose the violin-friendly key of D major for his concerto. Since the violin is tuned G’D’A’E, the open strings, resonating sympathetically, add brilliance to the sound. For the same reason, composers of many eras (e.g. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Korngold and Khachaturian) have written violin concertos in either D major or D minor.

In popular culture

The third movement of the concerto is the inspiration for the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice song “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from the musical Evita.^[11]

The third movement is used twice in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s 2007 film There Will Be Blood, including the end credits.^[12]

In Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, Smilla, the protagonist says “I cry because in the universe there is something as beautiful as Kremer playing Brahm’s violin concerto”.

Historic musical Bits: Brahms / Herbert von Karajan, 1957: Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op. 56a , great compositions/performances

Brahms / Herbert von Karajan, 1957: Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op. 56a – Complete

davidhertzberg

Published on Jan 15, 2011

Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) leads the Philharmonia Orchestra in this rare 1957 performance of Brahms’ Haydn Variations, Op. 56. I created this video from the LP displayed above, issued on the Angel label in 1957, serial number 35299. With the exception of the April 13, 1957 Billboard magazine review of this recording (9:35) and those of the composer, all images used to create this video were taken from the LP label (12:01) and jacket (3:02).

From the reverse side of this LP:

Schubert / Herbert Von Karajan, 1957: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor (Unfinished) – Complete – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FCDbo…

To hear the original theme upon which Brahms’ masterpiece is based, see the Paris Wind Ensemble, from 1958: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZfhGf…

Die Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn op. 56a sind ein Variationswerk für Orchester von Johannes Brahms. Das Werk entstand im Sommer des Jahres 1873 in Tutzing. Die Uraufführung fand am 2. November 1873 in Wien unter Brahms’ Leitung statt. Aus Brahms’ Feder stammt auch eine Fassung für zwei Klaviere (op. 56b). Die Klavierfassung wurde am 10. Februar 1874 ebenfalls in Wien uraufgeführt.

Variace na Haydnovo téma B-dur, Op. 56a/b je hudební dílo německého hudebního skladatele Johannesa Brahmse.

Variaciones sobre un tema de Haydn (en alemán Variationen über ein Thema von Joseph Haydn) es una obra musical en forma de tema y variaciones compuesta por Johannes Brahms en el verano de 1873, a partir de un tema entonces atribuido a Franz Joseph Haydn.

Les Variations sur un thème de Haydn, op. 56 (allemand : Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn) est une œuvre orchestrale en variations de Johannes Brahms, composée pendant l’été 1873. Cette œuvre est constituée d’un thème en si bémol majeur, de huit variations et d’un finale.

《ハイドンの主題による変奏曲》（ハイドンのしゅだいによるへんそうきょく、ドイツ語­:Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn）は、《ハイドン変奏曲》の略称や、《聖アントニウスのコラールによる変奏­曲》の別称でも親しまれているブラームスの作品。1873年に作曲された。先に2台ピ­アノ版が完成されたが、こちらが作品56bとされた。一般には、管弦楽版の作品56a­が有名である。

Variácie na Haydnovu tému B-dur, Op. 56a/b je dielo nemeckého skladateľa Johannesa Brahmsa.

하 이든 주제에 따른 변주곡 Op. 56a(독일어: Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn op. 56a)은 요한네스 브람스가 작곡한 관현악 변주곡으로, 1873년 여름에 작곡하였다. B플랫 장조로 된 주제와, 여덟 변주곡, 피날레로 이루어져 있다.

《海頓主題變奏曲》，作品56，是約翰内斯·勃拉姆斯于1870年至1872年間創作­的變奏曲，分別有樂隊版（作品56a）和雙鋼琴版（作品56b）。該作品是勃拉姆斯最­初的樂隊作品之一，也是其風格的代表作，變奏多樣，方正典雅，受到廣泛的讚譽。但其主­題並非海頓所作，來源依然不明。全曲包括降B大調的主題，8個風格各異的變奏，以及最­後的終曲。
Tchaikovsky / Herbert von Karajan, VPO, 1964: Miniature Overture from The Nutcracker – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbXsG…

Bizet / Herbert von Karajan, 1958: L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2 – Pastorale – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-fyBs…

Haydn / Herbert von Karajan, 1958: Symphony No. 104 in D Major – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhBKCq…

Mozart / Herbert von Karajan, 1958: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, Movement 4 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYCGui…

Bizet / Herbert von Karajan, 1958: Carmen, Suite No. 1 – Prelude, Act 1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iSqEy…

Grieg / Herbert von Karajan, VPO, 1964: Anitra’s Dance, Peer Gynt Suite I, Op. 46 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1z6m…

“Disque phonographique” Schallplatte “Δίσκος γραμμοφώνου” “Disco in vinile” “Disco de vinilo” Vinyylilevy Hanglemez “Disco de vinil” “Płyta gramofonowa” Грампластинка “Грамофонна платівка” “Gramofonová deska” Grammofonplate תקליט Grammofoonplaat “Gramofónová platňa” “Грамофонска плоча”

Gotta listen! Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor #7 Valentina Lisitsa, WOW!

Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor #7 Valentina Lisitsa

ValentinaLisitsa

Uploaded on Jan 11, 2011/ 951,882 views

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BRAHMS, Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, great compositions/performances

BRAHMS, Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80

Dmitry Dreizin

Johannes Brahms, Academic Festival Overture, Op.80 10:39
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Richard Hickox (conductor)

Recorded at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, 1 November 2002

From The BBC Music Magazine collection

Brahms: Symphony No.4 in E minor – Bernstein / Wiener Philharmoniker. , great compositions/performances

Brahms: Symphony No.4 in E minor – Bernstein / Wiener Philharmoniker

fur bru

Published on Aug 9, 2013

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op.98

I. Allegro non troppo (00:00)
II. Andante moderato (13:33)
III. Allegro giocoso (27:19)
IV. Allegro energico e passionato (33:47)

Wiener Philharmoniker
Leonard Bernstein, conductor

September 8, 1988, Luzern

Brahms – Violin Sonata No 1 in G Mag op. 78 Ashkenazy – Perlman, great compositions/performances

Brahms – Violin Sonata No 1 in G Mag op. 78

silesius32

Ashkenazy – Perlman 1985

00:00 Vivace ma non troppo
10:45 Adagio
18:47 Allegro molto moderato

Brahms, J. – Tragic Overture, Op. 81 (Tragische Ouvertüre): great compositions/performances

Brahms, J. – Tragic Overture, Op. 81

Sonny Beech

“Johannes Brahms (pronounced [joːˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]; 7 May 1833 — 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. ***Performed by Nurnberger Symphoniker. Conducted by Hanspeter Gmur.

If you are the performer, be aware of the fact that “The Orchard Music” falsely claim copyright to your work and profit on YouTube (and probably anywhere else) from your performance.

The Tragic Overture (German: Tragische Ouvertüre), Op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. It premiered on December 26, 1880 in Vienna. Most performances last between twelve and fifteen minutes.

Brahms chose the title “Tragic” to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the Academic Festival Overture. Despite its name, the Tragic Overture does not follow any specific dramatic program. Brahms was not very interested in musical storytelling and was more concerned with conveying and eliciting emotional impressions. He summed up the effective difference between the two overtures when he declared “one laughs while the other cries.” Brahms quotes some material from the last movement of the Second Symphony in this overture.

The Tragic Overture comprises three main sections, all in the key of D minor.
1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Molto più moderato
3. Tempo primo ma tranquillo.

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.”

Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.3 in F, Op.90: great compositions/performances

Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.3 in F, Op.90

  Classical Music

Johannes Brahms:  Symphony No.3 in F, Op.90.
Conductor — Kurt Sanderling/Orchestra — Staatskapelle Dresden
1.Allegro con brio
2.Andante
3.Poco allegretto
4.Finale: Allegro

The time when performers and composers had personal mottoes—Wieniawski’s “Il faut risquer” (I must risk it), Joachim’s “Frei aber einsam” (Free but lonely), Brahms’ “Frei aber froh” (Free but happy)—is long since past, but still such mottoes are more than just biographical curiosities: there are at least two very well-recognized musical encryptions of those mottoes. Schumann, Albert Dietrich, and Brahms put their collective talents together to compose the “F-A-E” Sonata as a gift for Joachim, and, when Brahms came up with his own motto, he decided to use the pitches of its initials—F-A-F—as the motto theme for his Symphony No. 3 in F, Op. 90.

Brahms composed the Symphony No. 3 in the summer of 1883 after a five year long sabbatical from symphonic work. It is often considered the other three symphonies’ “poor sister”—a prominent feature, yes, on any symphonic season calendar, but not quite the same stunning pinnacle of symphonic achievement that each of the other three is. How wrong that notion is!

If mass consumption has less taste for the Third Symphony’s odd mix of overt heroism and dense formal logic than it has for the apparently more sensuous, even voluptuous, music of the second or fourth symphonies, or the Beethovenian spiritual journey of the First Symphony’s outer movements, that is hardly evidence of a shortcoming on the composer’s part. And indeed there is something heroic about the Symphony No. 3, enough to prompt Hans Richter, who conducted the premiere of the piece, to suggest that Brahms give it the subtitle “Eroica” (a suggestion that Brahms didn’t take). It is a heroism utterly unlike the kind brought to mind by the composer of the actual “Eroica” Symphony, however. How could a symphony that begins with a musical manifestation of the bittersweet words “free but happy” approach Beethoven’s Third or Fifth in raw grittiness?

The symphony is in four movements: Allegro con brio, Andante, Poco allegretto, and Allegro. The winds open the first movement with a three-chord rendition of F-A-F (actually A flat), after which a tempestuous first theme, also outlining F-A-F, takes over. The second theme is as beautiful a melody, pulsating with warmth, as one might hope for.

The melody of the Andante is rather like that of the First Symphony’s third movement, and not just because it is first given by a clarinet; it also has the same initial rhythm and the same gentle intervallic circle. Poco allegretto is hardly a scherzo; it is almost mournful.

The finale rekindles some of the first movement’s dramatic fire. The quiet, unison theme of the opening is like the long-lost twin of the quiet, unison theme at the opening of the Second Symphony‘s finale, except that what is in the Second Symphony a joyous occasion is in the Third Symphony intense and shadowed. The F-A-F motto appears again in the final bars, this time winding downward towards the final serene F major chord by way of luxurious string tremolandos.

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Brahms Rhapsody Op 119 No 4 in E Flat Major Rubinstein Rec 1941: great compositions/performances

Brahms Rhapsody Op 119 No 4 in E Flat Major Rubinstein Rec 1941

  Beckmesser2

“The composer whose music was first to make the biggest impression upon the young Rubinstein was not Chopin but Brahms. Rubinstein first heard the music of Brahms when he was about thirteen. On pages 33 and 34 of his memoirs My Young Years, he writes, “It is impossible to describe my enthusiasm as I heard this music—-From that day on, Brahms became my obsession. I had to know everything he had written. I would read with ecstasy anything of Brahms which fell into my hands. I would buy his music on credit; I would have stolen money to get it!” There is no other composer that Rubinstein mentions in his memoirs that he describes with such fervor. However, it is interesting to note that considering the near completeness of his recordings of Chopin’s works, Rubinstein only recorded four complete solo piano compositions of Brahms. They are Op. 5, Op. 10, Op. 79 and Op. 117.”

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Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (Solti, CSO): great compositions/performances

Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (Solti, CSO)

  musicanth
This is Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 (Akademische Festouvertüre), a much lighter counterpart to his Tragic Overture. He composed it in 1880 when he received an honourary doctorate from the University of Breslau (now Wroclaw), as a musical show of gratitude. The music is very light-hearted, warm and humorous, but Brahms uses the occasion as a tour-de-force in contrapuntal symphonic writing. The orchestra whisks through several pulsing, boisterous melodies, which Brahms described as a “potpourri of student drinking songs,” subtly mocking the academic institution for which he composed the piece. At 9:10 the orchestra erupts into a joyous rendition of “Gaudeamus igitur” (“So let us rejoice,” a.k.a. “On the shortness of life”), a popular Latin graduation hymn which was originally a beer-drinking song.

The recording is by Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The images are of Solti, Brahms, the University of Wroclaw, and the beautiful old city of Wroclaw, Poland.

First verse of the Gaudeamus:

Gaudeamus igitur Juvenes dum sumus.
Post jucundam juventutem
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.

Let us rejoice therefore
While we are young.
After a pleasant youth
After a troubling old age
The earth will have us.

Gustavo Dudamel Johannes Brahms variations sur un thème de Joseph Haydn en si Majeur opus 56a: great compositions/performances

Gustavo Dudamel Johannes Brahms variations sur un thème de Joseph Haydn en si Majeur opus 56a

FROM:

Maxime Brisole

From Wikipedia

Johannes Brahms

Les Variations sur un thème de Haydn, op. 56 (allemand : Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn) est une œuvre orchestrale en variations de Johannes Brahms, composée pendant l’été 1873. Cette œuvre est constituée d’un thème en si bémol majeur, de huit variations et d’un finale.

Le thème est extrait du choral Saint-Antoine de la Feldpartie en si bémol majeur, Hob. II/46 de Joseph Haydn. Brahms a écrit huit variations sur ce thème, plus un final. Le finale est une passacaille magnifique, dont le point culminant, une reformulation du choral, est un moment d’une grande transcendance, au point que Brahms, habituellement austère, se permet l’utilisation d’un triangle.

Deux versions existent : une version pour deux pianos, celle que Brahms a écrite en premier (mais désignée Op. 56b), et une version pour orchestre, dénommée op. 56a.

Cette dernière version est considérée comme « la première série de variations indépendantes pour orchestre dans l’histoire de la musique »¹. L’orchestre contient un piccolo, deux flûtes deux hautbois, deux clarinettes, deux bassons, un contrebasson, quatre cors (2 en mi bémol, 2 en si bémol), 2 trompettes, des timbales, un triangle ainsi que la composition habituelle des cordes (premiers et seconds violons, altos, violoncelles et contrebasses).

Les Variations sur un thème de Haydn, op. 56 (allemand : Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn) est une œuvre orchestrale en variations de Johannes Brahms, composée pendant l’été 1873. Cette œuvre est constituée d’un thème en si bémol majeur, de huit variations et d’un finale.

Le thème est extrait du choral Saint-Antoine de la Feldpartie en si bémol majeur, Hob. II/46 de Joseph Haydn. Brahms a écrit huit variations sur ce thème, plus un final. Le finale est une passacaille magnifique, dont le point culminant, une reformulation du choral, est un moment d’une grande transcendance, au point que Brahms, habituellement austère, se permet l’utilisation d’un triangle.

Deux versions existent : une version pour deux pianos, celle que Brahms a écrite en premier (mais désignée Op. 56b), et une version pour orchestre, dénommée op. 56a.

Cette dernière version est considérée comme « la première série de variations indépendantes pour orchestre dans l’histoire de la musique »¹. L’orchestre contient un piccolo, deux flûtes deux hautbois, deux clarinettes, deux bassons, un contrebasson, quatre cors (2 en mi bémol, 2 en si bémol), 2 trompettes, des timbales, un triangle ainsi que la composition habituelle des cordes (premiers et seconds violons, altos, violoncelles et contrebasses).

 

Johannes Brahms – Serenade No.1 in D-major, Op.11 (1857): make music part of your life series

FROM: KuhlauDilfeng2:

Johannes Brahms – Serenade No.1 in D-major, Op.11 (1857)

Johannes Brahms

Mov.I: Allegro molto 00:00
Mov.II: Scherzo: Allegro non troppo 10:27
Mov.III: Adagio non troppo 17:55
Mov.IV: Menuetto I & II 33:35
Mov.V: Scherzo: Allegro 37:13
Mov.VI: Rondo: Allegro 39:47

Orchestra: Capella Agustina
Conductor: Andreas Spering

great compositions/performances: Radu Lupu plays Brahms’ – Rhapsody in g minor Op. 79 No. 2 (with sheet music)

[youtube.com/watch?v=tp-DeAZmKOA]

Radu Lupu plays Brahms’ – Rhapsody in g minor Op. 79 No. 2 (with sheet music)

• Buy “Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor, Op.79, No.2” on
  
  

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Johannes Brahms – Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 in E flat major

[youtube.com/watch?v=DjZy4bymvvk]

The 3 Intermezzi Op. 117 were composed in 1892 and are among the best-loved and most popular of Brahms‘ autumnal late piano output. On a smaller and more intimate scale than the surrounding sets of Op. 116, Op. 118 and Op. 119, the composer described these pieces as “lullabies to my sorrows”. Here we find Brahms at his most tender and introspective, with only one outburst (in the third Intermezzo) of the characteristic Brahmsian fieryness. The Intermezzi were inspired by a Scottish poem from Herder’s Volkslieder, and bear this inscription:

Schlaf sanft mein Kind, schlaf sanft und Schön!
Mich dauert’s sehr, dich weinen sehn.

Sleep softly my child, sleep softly and well!
It hurts my heart to see you weeping. 

Piano: Idil Biret

Picture: Winter, Close of Day by George Innes

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Great Compositions/Performances: Brahms, Symphony Nr 3 F Dur op 90 Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker

From Wikipedia:

The Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, is a symphony by Johannes Brahms. The work was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after he completed his Second Symphony. In the interim Brahms had written some of his greatest works, including the Violin Concerto, two overtures (Tragic Overture and Academic Festival Overture), and the Second Piano Concerto.

The premiere performance was given on 2 December 1883 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Hans Richter. The shortest of Brahms’ four symphonies, a typical performance lasts between 30 and 40 minutes.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, a contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings.

Form

The symphony consists of four movements, marked as follows:

1. Allegro con brio (F major), in sonata form.
2. Andante (C major), in a modified sonata form.
3. Poco allegretto (C minor), in ternary form (A B A’).
4. Allegro (F minor/F major), in a modified sonata form.

History

Hans Richter, who conducted the premiere of the symphony, proclaimed it to be Brahms’ Eroica. The symphony was well received, more so than his Second Symphony. Although Richard Wagner had died earlier that year, the public feud between Brahms and Wagner had not yet subsided. Wagner enthusiasts tried to interfere with the symphony’s premiere, and the conflict between the two factions nearly brought about a duel.^[1]

After each performance, Brahms polished his score further, until it was published in May 1884. His friend and influential music critic Eduard Hanslick said, “Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.”^[1]

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Make Music Part of Your Life: Johannes Brahms – Serenade No.1 in D-major, Op.11 (1857)

Johannes Brahms

Work: Serenade No.1 in D-major, Op.11 (1857) for orchestra

Mov.I: Allegro molto 00:00
Mov.II: Scherzo: Allegro non troppo 10:27
Mov.III: Adagio non troppo 17:55
Mov.IV: Menuetto I & II 33:35
Mov.V: Scherzo: Allegro 37:13
Mov.VI: Rondo: Allegro 39:47

Orchestra: Capella Agustina

Conductor: Andreas Spering

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• piano: Daniel Barenboim violin:Pinchas Zukerman The Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, for violin and piano was composed by Johannes Brahms during the summers of 1878 and 1879 in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. It was first performed on 8 November 1879 in
• Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Shostakovich – Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10 [Kirill Kondrashin, USSR State SO, 1951]

 

Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Brahms, Symphony Nr 3 F Dur op 90 Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker

Brahms, Symphony Nr 3 F Dur op 90 Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, is a symphony by Johannes Brahms. The work was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after he completed his Second Symphony. In the interim Brahms had written some of his greatest works, including the Violin Concerto, two overtures (Tragic Overture and Academic Festival Overture), and the Second Piano Concerto.

The premiere performance was given on 2 December 1883 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Hans Richter. The shortest of Brahms’ four symphonies, a typical performance lasts between 30 and 40 minutes.

Form

The symphony consists of four movements, marked as follows:

1. Allegro con brio (F major), in sonata form.
2. Andante (C major), in a modified sonata form.
3. Poco allegretto (C minor), in ternary form (A B A’).
4. Allegro (F minor/F major), in a modified sonata form.

History

Hans Richter, who conducted the premiere of the symphony, proclaimed it to be Brahms’ Eroica. The symphony was well received, more so than his Second Symphony. Although Richard Wagner had died earlier that year, the public feud between Brahms and Wagner had not yet subsided. Wagner enthusiasts tried to interfere with the symphony’s premiere, and the conflict between the two factions nearly brought about a duel.^[1]

After each performance, Brahms polished his score further, until it was published in May 1884. His friend and influential music critic Eduard Hanslick said, “Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.”^[1]

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Great Compositions/Performances: Johannes Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83

Claudio Arrau, piano.

Concertgebouw-Orchester, Amsterdam.

Recorded: Concertgebrouw, Amsterdam, October 1969. 

Bernard Haitink, conductor.

1. Allegro Non Troppo 
2. Allegro Appassionato 
3. Andante – Più Adagio 
4. Allegretto Grazioso – Un Poco Più Presto

The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms is a composition for solo piano with orchestral accompaniment. It is separated by a gap of 22 years from the composer’s first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. The premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on November 9, 1881, with Brahms as soloist, and was an immediate success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe.

Allegro non troppo
The first movement is in the concerto variant of sonata form. The main theme is introduced with a horn solo, with the piano interceding. The woodwind instruments proceed to introduce a small motif before an unusually placed cadenza appears. The full orchestra repeats the theme and introduces more motifs in the orchestral exposition. The piano and orchestra work together to develop these themes in the piano exposition before the key changes to F minor (from F major, the dominant) and the piano plays a powerful and difficult section before the next orchestral tutti appears. The development, like many such sections in the Classical period, works its way from the dominant key back to the tonic while heavily developing themes. At the beginning of the recapitulation, the theme is replayed before a differing transition is heard, returning to the music heard in the piano exposition (this time in B-flat major / B-flat minor). A coda appears after the minor key section, finishing off this movement.

Allegro appassionato
This scherzo is in the key of D minor and is in ternary form. Contrary to Brahms’s “tiny wisp of a scherzo” remark, it is a tumultuous movement. The piano and orchestra introduce the theme and develop it before a quiet section intervenes. Soon afterwards the piano and orchestra launch into a stormy development of the theme before coming to the central episode (in D major). The central episode is brisk and begins with the full orchestra before yet another quiet section intervenes; then the piano is integrated into the orchestral effect to repeat the theme of the central episode. The beginning section returns but is highly varied.

Andante
The slow movement is in the tonic key of B-flat major and is unusual in utilizing an extensive cello solo within a piano concerto. Brahms subsequently rewrote the cello’s theme and changed it into a song, Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer (“My Slumber grows ever more Peaceful”) with lyrics by Hermann Van Lingg. (Op. 105, No. 2). Within the concerto, the cello plays the theme for the first three minutes, before the piano comes in. However, the gentler melodic piece that the piano plays soon gives way to a stormy theme in B-flat minor. When the storm subsides, still in the minor key, the piano plays a transitional motif that leads to the key of G-Flat major, before the Cello comes in to reprise, in the wrong key, and knowing that it has to get back to B-flat major, the piano and the orchestra make a transition to finish off the theme in its original home key of B-flat major. After the piano plays the transitional motifs, the piano quickly reprises the middle section in a major key, before playing the final chords to end this beautiful movement.

Allegretto grazioso
The last movement consists of five clearly distinguishable sections, of which the last is a ‘stretto’ (faster) coda. The first section (bars 1 to 64) is built on two themes: the first and main theme of classical structure (1-8) is first played by the piano and then repeated by the orchestra. The second theme (16-20) is likewise presented by the piano and repeated – and expanded – by the orchestra. A kind of development of the first theme leads to the next section. The second section (65-164) is built on three themes. Number three (65-73, a minor) is very different from the previous ones: by its minor key and its rhythm, which is Hungarian, in Number four (81-88) is still in a minor and number five (97-104) in F major. These three themes are repeated several times, which gives the section the character of a development. The third section (165-308) can be seen as a reprise of the first; it is built on the first two themes, but a striking new element is given in 201-205 and repeated in 238-241. The fourth section (309-376) gives the themes 3, 5 and 4, in that order. The coda is built on the main theme, but even here (398) Brahms presents a new element, being in a form of a little march, first played by the piano, and then, the orchestra comes in, and trades themes in the march before the final chords.

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Fabulous Performances: Bernstein – Academic Festival Overture (Brahms)

Bernstein – Academic Festival Overture (Brahms)

 

Franco GULLI @ SCHUMANN-BRAHMS-DIETRICH Sonata FAE (complete) E.Cavallo,1990

F.A.E. – Violin Sonata (1853) – “In Erwartung der Ankfunt des verehrten und geliebten Freundes JOSEPH JOACHIM, schrieben diese Sonate – Robert SCHUMANN, Johannes BRAHMS, Albert DIETRICH”
0:10 / DIETRICH (1829-1908) – I. Allegro, in A minor [13’40”]
13:37 / SCHUMANN (1810-1856) – II. Intermezzo (Bewegt, doch nicht zu Schnell) WoO 22 [2’26”]
16:16 / BRAHMS (1833-1897) – III. Scherzo (Allegro) in C minor WoO 2 [5’36”]
21:53 / SCHUMANN (1810-1856) – IV. Finale (Markirtes, ziemlich lebhaftes tempo) WoO 22 [6’58”]
Franco GULLI, violin – Enrica Cavallo, piano 
(rec: June 1990, Dynamic Studio, Genova)
________________________________________­__________
Duo Gulli-Cavallo – STRAUSS: http://youtu.be/l8H081NCP7c

 

Dvorak – Piano Quintet No.2 in A, Op.81

[Verbier 2013]
Yuri Bashmet
Vilde Frang
Daniil Trifonov
Renaud Capuçon
Gautier Capuçon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 Antonín Dvořák‘s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, B. 155, is a quintet for piano, 2 violins, viola, and cello. It was composed between August 18 and October 8 of 1887, and was premiered in Prague on January 6, 1888. The quintet is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces in the form, along with those of Schubert,Schumann, Brahms and Shostakovich.[1]

The music has four movements:

1. Allegro, ma non tanto
2. Dumka: Andante con moto
3. Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace
4. Finale: Allegro.

 

 

Brahms Symphony No. 3 in F Major Op. 90

Brahms’ third symphony, played by the legendary Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Istvan Kertesz.

First movement: Beginning
Second movement: 13:29
Third movement: 22:12
Fourth movement: 28:16