189
See also: Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 128–131 ■ “Eroica” Symphony 138–141 ■ Symphonie fantastique 162–163 ■
Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 166–169 ■ Faust Symphony 176 –17 7 ■ Dvorˇ ák’s Symphony No. 9 212–215ROMANTIC 1810 –1920
of German music, describing the
20-year-old composer as a “man of
destiny,” placing on Brahms the
weight of public expectation.First Symphony
Brahms started sketching his First
Symphony soon after Schumann’s
endorsement but did not complete
it until the mid-1870s—more than
20 years later. In the interim,
Brahms tried his hand at other
symphonies, but none reached
fruition. Meanwhile, he composed
many orchestral and chamber
works, including sonatas for violin,
cello, and piano. He destroyed the
works he was unhappy with, but
parts of his attempts at symphonic
writing were recast in other pieces,
such as the opening of his First
Piano Concerto.
The intensely self-critical
composer published his first string
quartets—another Beethovenian
genre par excellence—only in
1873, and they, as well as two other
important works rooted in different
traditions, arguably paved the way
for the symphonic breakthrough. InA German Requiem (1868), Brahms
set Lutheran texts in a manner that
looked back to the earliest German
choral music, while his so-called
Hayd n Va riat ions (1873) explored an
array of compositional devices old
and new in an orchestral context.
This synthesis of tradition
and innovation distinguished the
First Symphony, whose themes
fused folk song and chorale, as
well as allusions to Bach and to
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.Brahms’s First Symphony, like
Beethoven’s Ninth, moves from
darkness to light, with a stormy
opening from bass and timpani
that subsides into a dreamy
Andante before bringing in
urgent pizzicato strings. The third
movement, the Allegretto, captures
a joyful atmosphere while at the
same time showcasing Brahms’s
close attention to symmetry.Further works
Following the success of his First
Symphony, Brahms composed
three more, choosing to conclude
his Fourth Symphony (1885) with a
thrilling passacaglia—a Baroque
form that develops its material over
a constantly repeating bass line.
Brahms’s symphonies may seem
conservative in comparison to
those who succeeded him—such
as Gustav Mahler, whose First
Symphony heralded a new direction
when it burst onto the scene in
1889—but Brahms’s development
of earlier forms and processes
would prove influential for a whole
generation of modernists. ■Johannes Brahms The son of a struggling musician,
Brahms was born in Hamburg,
northern Germany, in 1833. He
received his first music lessons
from his father, and as a teenager
he helped support his family
by playing piano in the inns of
Hamburg, before finding work
as a choral conductor.
In 1863, Brahms settled in
Vienna, marking the start of a
highly successful period in which
he composed A German Requiem,
the First Symphony, and his
Hungarian Dances. In the years
following Robert Schumann’s
death in 1856, Brahms becameparticularly close to his widow,
Clara, and would be a friend of
hers for life.
In later life, Brahms focused
on instrumental music, but in
1896, the year before his death,
he wrote Vier ernste Gesänge
(“Four Serious Songs”), reflecting
on the transience of life.[Brahms is] someone
destined to give ideal
presentment to the
highest expression
of the times.
Robert SchumannOther key works1853 Piano Sonata No. 3 in
F minor, Op. 5
1868 A German Requiem
1869 Hungarian Dances (for
piano duet)US_188-189_Brahms.indd 189 26/03/18 1:01 PM