Composed 1876; Duration: 45 minutes
First BPO Performance: November 9, 1937 (Franco Autori, conductor)
Last BPO Performance: November 4-5, 2017 (JoAnn Falletta, conductor)
Brahms was deeply affected by the pressure to continue the symphonic tradition set forth by Beethoven, and whether this expectation was real or imagined, it mired his creative output in self-doubt. No such expectation hindered the practitioners of the “New German School,” who abandoned the old symphonic forms in favor of narrative, programmatic symphonic poems and huge forward-thinking operatic productions. Both sides claimed Beethoven as their fountainhead, but for the progressive futurists, led by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner, Beethovenian tradition was one of change, and they openly volleyed with Brahms and his conservative Classicism in the press.
The first sketches of a symphony came in 1854 during the period when Brahms was living in Leipzig with Robert and Clara Schumann, who provided emotional and professional support. Brahms reciprocated by assisting Clara after Robert’s death. While Brahms was eager to make his mark on the symphonic tradition, his stymying self-doubt may have served his future output.
His early sketches morphed into the Piano Concerto in D minor, and much like Beethoven’s early career, many of his works written in the years preceding his first symphony offered him relevant technical experience that would aid him in his symphonic feat—twenty-two years in fact. The first of Brahms’ four symphonies was premiered in 1876.
“Beethoven’s Tenth.” The label annoyed Brahms, perhaps reminding him of the mostly dormant “War of the Romantics” from the 1850s, but conductor Hans von Bülow’s nickname for the work was complimentary. Two giants of Romanticism, whose symphonies were separated by half a century, were linked by deft harmonic, thematic, and formal development. Whatever hang-ups Brahms had in securing his place in symphonic tradition were put to bed with his first symphony. No doubt, Beethoven’s influence shines through, but Brahms' labors bear fruit in this modern Romantic masterpiece, flush with harmonic intrigue and dense rhythmic orchestration colored by extensive use of winds.
It’s hard to imagine Brahms didn’t want audiences to connect the dots. The opening movement’s C minor to C major tonal structure harkens to Beethoven’s Fifth, opening with the incessant, fatalistic rhythms of the timpani as the orchestra creeps with dense, modern textures. Following the introduction, the movement launches into the Allegro and follows the expected sonata form, traversing strident dramas. Throughout the violent storms, resolution seems impossible until the final bars as the clouds break for a placid C major.
The inner movements are distant in both tonality and mood from the outer movements. Following the turbulent opening, the second movement is lyrically nocturnal and highlights Brahms’ Mozartian penchant for leveraging winds for their emotive characteristics with winding melodies that twist and darken. Rather than a bombastic scherzo, Brahms’ third movement is breezy, even pastoral, with a joyfully contrasting trio section.
The finale is huge in scope. The ominous opening gives way to the resonant ‘Alphorn’ theme. A second memorable melody brazenly echoes Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Both themes are treated to brilliant and dramatic transformations, leading to grand climaxes, and culminating in the final race to the end with a massive brass chorale.