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AN ABUNDANCE OF CHANGING LANDSCAPES OF THE SOUL // 14.07.2010

by Christoph Richter

Johannes Brahms had already been producing successful compositions for over twenty years before he
completed his first symphony (in C minor, op. 68) in 1876. His career up to this point had comprised
works for small ensembles, sonatas, Lieder, character pieces for piano, choral works, chamber pieces
such as piano trios, string quartets and sextets, and even some works for orchestra: the first piano
concerto, the requiem, serenades for orchestra, and finally the Variations on a Theme by Joseph
Haydn, op. 56.

JOHANNES BRAHMS Acquaintances of Brahms and later scholarship offer two reasons for the composer’s difficulties in
writing works for large orchestra: respect for and no doubt fear of Beethoven’s symphonic legacy,
especially the 9th symphony, almost universally regarded as a pinnacle of perfectly synthesized
monumentality and folksy character, a »speech to humanity«. On the other hand, Brahms’ own mastery
of the chamber music form may have stood in his way: composition in finely wrought, carefully planned
structures, with highly independent voices who nevertheless have a close relationship to each other,
may have hindered him in conceiving music of a larger scale. The number of compositional attempts
Brahms began and then discarded bears witness to this difficulty, but also to his own scruples. So, too,
does the length of time it took him to complete the work: he began sketches for the symphony in 1855;
in 1856, the first piano concerto was completed; in 1858, the Serenade op. 11; in 1862, the (provisional)
first movement of the symphony; in 1868, his work on the Alphorn melody (a birthday greeting for Clara
Schumann); finally, in 1876, the symphony was finished and premiered on 4 November in Karlsruhe,
under the baton of Otto Deshoff. The work’s success was disputed at first, largely because Brahms was
entangled in an aesthetic and political feud with the so-called New German School (Liszt, Wagner,
Humperdinck, Bruckner, Cornelius). He himself was grouped with the traditionalists, along with Dvor?ák
and Hanslick. However, the long gestation period seemed worth it. Brahms overcame his difficulties with
the form and proceeded to write three more symphones in quick succession: the second, in D major, op.
73, was composed in 1877 in Pörtschacht, the third, in F major, op. 90, 1883/ 84 in Wiesbaden, the
fourth, in E minor, op. 98, 1885 in Mürzzuschlag.

All of Brahms’ symphonies were performed in numerous cities directly following their premieres: the first
in Mannheim, Munich, Vienna, Leipzig and Breslau; the second in Vienna, Leipzig, Meiningen and
Berlin; the third in Vienna, Meiningen and Berlin; the fourth in Meiningen and subsequently on a concert
tour with the Meiningen Hoforchester (with Brahms himself conducting) to Frankfurt, Essen, Elberfeld,
Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague, Krefeld, Cologne and Wiesbaden. The frequency with which these
works were performed, especially with the Meiningen Hoforchester, invites a comparison with the MCO,
who will take these symphonies across the world this year. The orchestras are of comparable size, with
a small wind section and few strings (10, 8, 6, 5, 4), though the Meiningen orchestra probably varied in
size, as it was customary for orchestras to increase their ranks with extra hired players on occasion. A
marked difference in the two ensembles, however, is in the instruments they use. Today’s string
instruments are strung with metal strings, which results in a brighter and louder sound than that
produced on gut strings.

In his symphonies, Brahms juxtaposes differing and sometimes even opposing compositional
techniques and styles. This won both admiration and skepticism:

• Brahms adored the character, structures and atmosphere of the folk song.

• He relied heavily on older forms, specifically on the art of writing variations (or, indeed on the principle
of variation itself), on a strong and emphasised bass line, on dance forms and rhythms, on the
passacaglia form, on the practice of writing for opposing instrumental groups in the manner of Gabrieli,
Schütz and Handel.

• His new chamber music style was characterized by transparent, independent voices and complex
rhythmic patterns (2 against 3, metrical displacement, triplets with rests, ties).

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An Abundance of Changing Landscapes of the Soul: MCO http://www.mahler-chamber.de/nc/en/activities/programme-hi...

• He composed according to the principle of »developing variation«, which involved constantly

transforming small figures (Urmotives) to arrive at new melodic shapes. This small-scale method had
two results: a transparent network of voices and an increased obscuring of the musical process.

This technique of »developing variation« became the guiding principle behind all movements of the
symphonies. Thus, he was celebrated as an innovator by two influential composers – once at the
beginning of his career and once long after his death. In the »Neue Zeitschrift für Musik«, a periodical
which he founded, Robert Schumann published the oft-cited article »Neue Bahnen« (»New Directions«,
28 October 1853): »He showed all the signs, also outwardly, so it was clear to us: this was a man with a
calling …« In his text »Brahms, der Fortschrittliche« (»Brahms the Progressive«), Arnold Schoenberg
described how Brahms (after Bach, Haydn and Mozart) paved the way for new developments in music
(here Schoenberg meant his own technique of twelve-tone composition) in three ways: the use of
asymmetrical form, cadential harmony spun out to the point of dissolution, and the principle of
developing variation.

The mixture of styles and compositional techniques led others to imagine extra-musical meanings
behind Brahms’ works. Brahms vehemently denied any reliance on extra-musical programmes, but was
not able to convince some critics and journalists not to read images and stories into his music. One of
these writers was Brahms’ friend and first biographer Max Kalbeck, who wrote extensively on the
composer’s life and works and edited Brahms’ correspondence with friends and publishers. Hermann
Kretzschmar, the founder of musical hermeneutics, also ascribed meaning to Brahms’ symphonies. Of
the first movement of Symphony No. 1, he wrote: »The introduction surges passionately – creates
breath and hope – the thematic motives of the Allegro are already present in this beginning. These
include the chromatic theme, with which the violins torture themselves against the booming sounds of
the basses.« He described the second movement of Symphony No. 2 as follows: »The second
movement… begins with a melody played by the celli… which seems to seek at length for the way out
of a melancholy crisis. Its gloomy outlook is finally brightened by friendlier sounds, which lure the
imagination back to youth, to the happy days of play and graceful dance.«

Such attempts at imagining meaning can still be read today; it is, however, uncertain whether they really
benefit the listener. Brahms abhorred them. One could still say, though, that Brahms treated
composition as a kind of imaginative brooding, experimenting, changing, just as brooding was, in
general, a way of thought and life for the composer. Hence, the melancholic, contemplative, and often
wistful moods of many of the melodies and movements, continuing through the moments when the
music seems to take a turn for the optimistic. A veil of sorrow lies over the music, much in the manner of
painters or poets who do not so much describe moods as they observe them from a distance. Brahms’
compositions often give a sense of melancholy looking-on, of non-participation in life. And in this way,
he invites the listener to experience an abundance of ever-changing landscapes of the soul.

Johannes Brahms’ symphonies have a firm place in the MCO’s repertoire. Together with Principal
Conductor Daniel Harding, the orchestra has developed a specific and innovative sound for Romantic
repertoire, characterised by transparency and delicate attention to detail. The 2010/11 season will bring
a long-awaited Brahms cycle to the Philharmonie Essen (October 2010 and May 2011) and a recording
of the Violin Concerto with Isabelle Faust. Also in May, the orchestra will take the Brahms cycle on tour
from Hamburg to Asia.

07 OCT 2010 / THU 19:30 / Brahms-Cycle I, PHILHARMONIE ESSEN >>MORE

21 MAY 2011 / SAT 19:30 / Brahms-Cycle II, PHILHARMONIE ESSEN >>MORE

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