"Brahms was always the future"
By HRJ
On April 3, 125 years ago Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) died and his anniversary offers us the ideal pretext to approach the figure of this romantic composer of classical roots whose work marked the unrestricted course that the music of the future would take.
"What was Brahms' musical philosophy?"
Brahms created an inexhaustible musical discourse of inexhaustible movement. In his music there are multiple themes that develop on their own terms. Without Yet, despite so many ideas advancing at the same time, there is never confusion. On the contrary: the clarity of his music is astonishing. His language is concise and direct. He was one of the great representatives of abstract music.
"What was the nature of the conflict between Brahms and Wagner?"
It was a confrontation constructed in the media. Brahms' music was associated with the old and stagnant, it was described as "academic", "traditional" and "cold". Wagner's music was associated with the new and innovative, it was described as "free", "modern" and "passionate".
It was an ill-considered confrontation, for in reality Brahms' music points to the future: His sound universe of continuous flow is the basis on which the forms of unrestricted sound articulation, such as atonality, that marked the avant-garde of the twentieth century were developed.
"What should I know about Brahms's music?"
He felt such reverence for Beethoven's symphonic legacy that for a long time he avoided writing a symphony.. It was not until the age of 44 that he published his Symphony No. 1 and then composed three more. The four symphonies of Brahms are perhaps the finest and most profound expressions of his art.
"What do Brahms's four symphonies sound like?"
Symphony No. 1 (1876)
She is traversed by gloomy and distressing atmospheres that in some tender way evoke her sordid childhood chapters in the brothels of Hamburg, when at the age of 10, by paternal obligation (his father was a poor cellist), he played the piano for drunken sailors while the prostitutes pampered him on their laps.
Symphony No. 2 (1877)
It is jubilant, with mischievous accents. It represents an eccentricity in the Brahmsian repertoire. Unusual thing: it is full of unfinished melodic ideas, which remain loose, insinuatingly waiting for the listener to complete them.
Symphony No. 3 (1883)
The three initial chords (F-A-F-flat-F) form, in German notation, the acronym F-A-F, which corresponds to the youthful motto adopted by Brahms: free but joyful (Frei aber froh). These three chords face, throughout the four movements, innumerable obstacles that require them, in order to maintain their coherence, to vary their intentions and colors. After a grueling journey that takes them from placidity to war, they fade together in a heroic farewell song.
Symphony No. 4 (1885)
Its construction is a hermetic circle within which, in the words of E.T.A Hoffmann, "an enigmatic language arises from a distant spirit realm whose wonderful accents echo in our soul, where they awaken to a higher and more intense life". The score survived a fire that destroyed the house next to the studio where Brahms worked in Mürzzuschlag, a village in Styria.
"What was Brahms's private life like?"
He died unmarried. It is constantly that, when she became Robert Schumann's widow, composer and pianist Clara composer and pianist Clara Wieck had an affair with Brahms. However, based on the known correspondence between the two, everything indicates that there was a solid and deep friendship between them. friendship between them.
"Any memorable quotes from Brahms?"
"The true true man is calm in joy and calm in suffering and sorrows. The passions must soon disappear, or else one must cast them out of oneself.".
"We're sharing Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with you."
