The
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by
Johannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms , German composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
is the last of his
symphoniesA symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form though most are composed according to the sonata principle...
. It is a lushly romantic, lyric piece and is considered by many to be his
magnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer.The term Great Work is also used in several...
, along with
Ein deutsches RequiemA German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and soloists, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest composition...
.
Brahms began working on the piece in 1884, just a year after completing his
Symphony No. 3The Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, is a symphony written by Johannes Brahms. The work was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after he completed his Second Symphony...
, and completed it in 1885. It lasts about forty minutes and is divided into four movements:
- Allegro non troppo (E minor
E minor is a musical minor scale based on the note E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The harmonic minor scale contains a D...
)
- Andante moderato (E minor/E major
E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
)
- Allegro giocoso (C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps....
)
- Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)
It is scored for two
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (one doubling on
piccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), two
oboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
s, two
bassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature...
s, a
contrabassoonThe contrabassoon also known as the double bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.-The contrabassoon compared to the bassoon:...
, four French horns, two
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
s, three
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s,
timpaniTimpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick...
,
triangleThe triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape. Usually held by a string at the top curve.- Shaping :...
(third movement only), and
stringsA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola,...
.
The monumental first movement is Brahms at his most dramatic and passionate, while the contemplative second movement has an air of a
requiemThe Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum , is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated by the priest presider for the repose of the soul of a particular deceased person or persons...
.
The
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by
Johannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms , German composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
is the last of his
symphoniesA symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form though most are composed according to the sonata principle...
. It is a lushly romantic, lyric piece and is considered by many to be his
magnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer.The term Great Work is also used in several...
, along with
Ein deutsches RequiemA German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and soloists, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest composition...
.
Brahms began working on the piece in 1884, just a year after completing his
Symphony No. 3The Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, is a symphony written by Johannes Brahms. The work was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after he completed his Second Symphony...
, and completed it in 1885. It lasts about forty minutes and is divided into four movements:
- Allegro non troppo (E minor
E minor is a musical minor scale based on the note E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The harmonic minor scale contains a D...
)
- Andante moderato (E minor/E major
E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
)
- Allegro giocoso (C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps....
)
- Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)
It is scored for two
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (one doubling on
piccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), two
oboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
s, two
bassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature...
s, a
contrabassoonThe contrabassoon also known as the double bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.-The contrabassoon compared to the bassoon:...
, four French horns, two
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
s, three
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s,
timpaniTimpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick...
,
triangleThe triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape. Usually held by a string at the top curve.- Shaping :...
(third movement only), and
stringsA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola,...
.
The monumental first movement is Brahms at his most dramatic and passionate, while the contemplative second movement has an air of a
requiemThe Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum , is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated by the priest presider for the repose of the soul of a particular deceased person or persons...
. The exuberant and joyful third movement (written last) resounds with
triangleThe triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape. Usually held by a string at the top curve.- Shaping :...
s. The last movement is notable as a rare example of a symphonic
chaconneA chaconne is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and...
, which is similar to a
passacagliaA passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. Its character is usually grave and it is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple-meter....
. For the repeating theme, Brahms adapted the passacaglia theme in the closing movement of
Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's
cantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment and often containing more than one movement.-Historical context:...
,
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget michNach dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV 150 is an early Lutheran choral cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach composed for an unknown occasion. It is scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, choir and a small orchestra of two violins, bassoon obbligato, and basso continuo...
, BWV 150. The symphony is rich in allusions, most notably to various Beethoven compositions. The symphony may well have been inspired by the ancient Greek tragedies of
SophoclesSophocles was the second of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides...
that Brahms had been reading at the time.
The work was given its premiere in
MeiningenMeiningen is a town in Germany - located in the Southern part of the state of Thuringia and the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra.-History:The place was first mentioned in 982 and was chartered in 1230....
on October 25 1885 with Brahms himself
conductingConducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.-Nomenclature:...
. It was well received and has remained popular ever since. The piece had earlier been given to a small private audience in a version for two
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s (one of them played by Brahms). Brahms' friend and biographer
Max KalbeckMax Kalbeck was an important German writer on music, critic and translator.Kalbeck studied music at Munich. In 1875 he became music-critic of the Schlesische Zeitung and assistant director the Breslau Museum...
, reported that the critic
Eduard HanslickEduard Hanslick was a Bohemian-Austrian writer on music.-Biography:Hanslick was born in Prague, the son of Joseph Adolph Hanslick, a bibliographer and music teacher from a German-speaking family, and one of his piano pupils, the daughter of a Jewish merchant from Vienna...
, on hearing the first movement in this performance, exclaimed "For this whole movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people." Hanslick later spoke more approvingly of it, however.
Arnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian and later American composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, in his essay
Brahms the Progressive, pointed out several thematic relationships in the score, as does Malcolm MacDonald in his biography of the composer. The first half of the chaconne theme is anticipated in the bass during the coda at an important point of the preceding movement; and the first movement's descending thirds, transposed by a fifth, appear in counterpoint during one of the final variations of the chaconne.
A fragment of the third movement was arranged by
Rick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer, and songwriter known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes. Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and...
of the rock band
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
for the album
FragileFragile is the fourth album by the British progressive rock band Yes, released on Atlantic Records, catalogue 7211. It was the band's first album with keyboardist Rick Wakeman after the departure of Tony Kaye, and the first to feature cover art by Roger Dean, his work emblematic of both the band...
. Wakeman used an array of electronic keyboard instruments to perform the arrangement.
External links