HOW DO WE GET TO HERE --
The ending of the movement:
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Los Angeles, 1959
Gerhart Hetzel, violin; Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Musikvereinssaal, Oct. 3, 1981
FROM HERE?
The start of the movement:
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Los Angeles, 1959
Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Musikvereinssaal, Oct. 3, 1981
by Ken
I'll explain in the post proper how I came to be listening to this movement, which we're going to poke around a little -- and then hear the complete work it comes from. But one thing I found myself wondering on my happy return to this much-loved piece is what Brahms knew when in this particular movement's construction. I mean, did he know when he imagined the thing where and how it was going to wind up? Or did he maybe know that from the start but not quite know where that luminous end was going to wind up coming from?
IF YOU KNOW THE ANSWER (SO MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THIS PIECE), I DON'T REALLY WANT TO KNOW
The question is really rhetorical. Given the excruciating ordeal this piece's composition was for Brahms, I found myself thinking more than usual about process -- what pieces of imagining came in what sequence and subject to what kind(s) of rethinking? Obviously (at least it seems obvious to me) there are no rules about this sort of thing, and this movement in finished form sounds so uncannily "right," I'm just enjoying thinking about Brahms's path through its creation.
We all know what the movement is, so we don't need to bother about that just now. And if by chance you don't know, that's even better, because you're having a first encounter with one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. There's unquestionably music as beautiful, but more beautiful? Let's put it this way: If we were to attempt something as crazy as "the most beautiful pieces of music ever written," and then try to winnow the list down, at the point where we're about to throw this piece overboard we have to stop, because without this piece, what meaning could the list have?
AS I SUGGESTED, THIS MOVEMENT COMES FROM THE
WORK BRAHMS AGONIZED HARDEST OVER IN HIS LIFE
Well, you sure wouldn't guess it from this movement, which seems to flow so effortlessly and even simply, though in fact if we look closely at the design of the thing, we find it's of the most extraordinary construction: in constant yet always harmonious (even when most surprising) harmonic modulation, scored with unusual blendings of wind and string instruments, and with sections or individual instruments often moving in seemingly unrelated or even contrary motion. And of course there's that silvery violin solo (taking over the haunting theme first sounded early in the movement by the oboe) that begins in the bar (no. 90 out of 128) where our "movement end" picks up.
As we can hear when we listen to the whole movement -- and I don't see any reason why we can't do that now. Of course we're going to hear the whole of the Bruno Walter performance we've been listening to (we're going to hear the Bernstein as well, but in the main post -- it's, um, something!), but in addition, over the years we've apparently heard this movement enough that the DWT archive is overflowing with specimens, so we can roll out a bunch and still have plenty for the post proper, which is coming really soon -- if not tonight then tomorrow for sure (he said sounding ever so confident).
BRAHMS: Not-so-mysterious mystery movement
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Los Angeles, 1959
BBC Philharmonic, Günther Herbig, cond. Collins, recorded February 1992
Vienna Philharmonic, Sir John Barbirolli, cond. EMI, recorded 1967
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, cond. Capitol-EMI, recorded Apr. 7, 1956
Vienna Philharmonic, Wilhelm Furtwängler, cond. EMI, recorded live in the Musikvereinssaal, Jan. 27, 1952
Italian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra (Milan), Sergiu Celibidache, cond. Broadcast performance, Mar. 20, 1959
Philharmonia Orchestra, Arturo Toscanni, cond. Recorded live in the Royal Albert Hall, Sept. 29, 1952
I'm not going to say much about the performances. It's hard to go wrong with this movement, and for all the differences among our performers, I think they all wind up hitting the essential points. We're actually going to hear more from some of our conductors, as we're going to wind up the post proper by hearing several (four, I think) complete performances of this most basic basic-repertory piece.
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"After-post: As promised, here's a proper quick-sampling of the three Brahms piano quartets" [5/10/2021]
By Borodin Trio et al.: 3 perfs each of 1st mvmt of all 3 Brahms piano quartets (+ Schoenberg orch. of No. 1)"Even if Brahms's new work-in-progress was going to be a piano concerto rather than a symphony, he still had to create forms for it" (aka Part 2 of "More 'pre-post' than 'tease' ") [5/9/2021]
Brahms & Beethoven mini-clips. Perfs A-B-C of Brahms Piano Cto No. 1 = Fleisher-Szell-Cleveland, Curzon-Szell-LSO, Serkin-Szell-Cleveland; bonus perfs = Curzon-van Beinum, Serkin-Ormandy"More 'pre-post' than 'tease': If our sights are set on Brahms's First Symphony, why are we listening to his First Piano Concerto? (Part 1)" [5/6/2021]
"Perfs A-B-C" (+ 2 bonus perfs!) of i. Un poco sostenuto"Just a bit more teasing before we get to the main post . . ." [5/4/2021]
Perfs of 2 Mystery Movements (Brahms 1: ii. Andante sostenuto, iii. Un poco allegretto e grazioso) by Toscanini, Mackerras, Bernstein"Post tease: How do we -- or maybe I mean how did Brahms -- get to this from this?" [5/2/2021]
Start and finish of Mystery Movement (Brahms 1: ii. Andante sostenuto). Perfs by Walter, Herbig, Barbirolli, Furtwängler, Celibidache, Toscanini
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