Post by erik on Sept 21, 2022 8:26:15 GMT -5
In this edition of the Classical Works Spotlight, the focus will be on the very first true work for full orchestra by Johannes Brahms.
Brahms: SERENADE NO. 1 IN D MAJOR, OP. 11
With the possible exception of Franz Schubert, no one lived under the shadow of Beethoven more than Johannes Brahms. From his earliest associations with Robert and Clara Schumann, he had been receiving encouragement to try and composer in the symphonic form. The problem for Brahms, however, was whether he felt he would be able to match the nine examples of Beethoven. Indeed, his First Symphony wouldn’t appear until 1876, some twenty years after he started. In the meantime, he worked his way into the orchestral realm with what we know to be his Serenade No. 1. Initially, the score for this D Major serenade was for nine instruments, then expanded for a chamber orchestra, and finally for full orchestra, though no larger than what Beethoven would have had. The work is in six movements (Allegro Molto; Scherzo I [Allegro Non Troppo]); Adagio Non Troppo; Menuetto; Scherzo II (Allegro); and Rondo (Allegro), and lasts for forty-five minutes, which is actually longer than each of the symphonies he would eventually compose, and even longer than Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade (#9), which this work sometimes resembles. Its initial performance at Hanover, Germany on March 3, 1860 did not seem to go well, at least not according to the composer, whose confidence was quite unstable even in the best of times. Eventually, however, the work did find its place; and it did become Brahms’ first (if modest) success. Many chamber groups and chamber orchestras do perform the serenade in its original version for nine players; but it is most often heard by standard symphonic orchestras in concerts and on recordings.
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam/BERNARD HAITINK (Philips)
Included:
SERENADE NO. 2 IN A MAJOR, OP. 16
Brahms: SERENADE NO. 1 IN D MAJOR, OP. 11
With the possible exception of Franz Schubert, no one lived under the shadow of Beethoven more than Johannes Brahms. From his earliest associations with Robert and Clara Schumann, he had been receiving encouragement to try and composer in the symphonic form. The problem for Brahms, however, was whether he felt he would be able to match the nine examples of Beethoven. Indeed, his First Symphony wouldn’t appear until 1876, some twenty years after he started. In the meantime, he worked his way into the orchestral realm with what we know to be his Serenade No. 1. Initially, the score for this D Major serenade was for nine instruments, then expanded for a chamber orchestra, and finally for full orchestra, though no larger than what Beethoven would have had. The work is in six movements (Allegro Molto; Scherzo I [Allegro Non Troppo]); Adagio Non Troppo; Menuetto; Scherzo II (Allegro); and Rondo (Allegro), and lasts for forty-five minutes, which is actually longer than each of the symphonies he would eventually compose, and even longer than Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade (#9), which this work sometimes resembles. Its initial performance at Hanover, Germany on March 3, 1860 did not seem to go well, at least not according to the composer, whose confidence was quite unstable even in the best of times. Eventually, however, the work did find its place; and it did become Brahms’ first (if modest) success. Many chamber groups and chamber orchestras do perform the serenade in its original version for nine players; but it is most often heard by standard symphonic orchestras in concerts and on recordings.
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam/BERNARD HAITINK (Philips)
Included:
SERENADE NO. 2 IN A MAJOR, OP. 16