Music reveals a composer’s character, the journalist H.L. Mencken said, and Brahms was an exemplary case in point.

“It was simply impossible for Brahms to be obvious or banal,” Mencken said. “He could not write even the baldest tune without getting into it something of his own high dignity and profound seriousness.” Indeed, few composers are more associated with idea of nobility in music than Brahms.

The German composer’s First Piano Concerto is the work of a young man — Brahms was 25 years old at the 1858 premiere — determined to make a big statement in his first major orchestral work. It’s a dramatic and tempestuous concerto, although tempered occasionally by a melting lyricism. (Interestingly, Brahms’ first two piano concertos and symphonies follow a similar pattern. The first in both genres is dramatic and heroic; the second is charming and melodious.)

Brahms’ First Piano Concerto emerged from a period of personal turmoil for the composer, including the mental decline and later death of his mentor Robert Schumann. The concerto, twice as long as some of Mozart’s piano concertos, is epic in conception, bridging the emotional intensity of Romanticism with the structural rigor of Classical form.

1. Maestoso: The orchestra introduces the first movement’s main themes: The first theme, a stormy one underpinned by thunderous timpani, is followed by a series of more lyrical episodes. The storm returns but subsides, and the pianist enters with a gentle meditation on one of the lyrical themes. What follows is an extended dialogue between piano soloist and orchestra that alternates between introspection and assertive intensity. The movement’s rich harmonic language and expansive form reveal Brahms’ ambition to create something more than a showpiece — it’s a psychological journey.

2. Adagio: The second movement offers a serene contrast. “I am painting a tender portrait of you,” Brahms wrote to Clara Schumann, following the death of her husband Robert. Some observers have suggested this movement is equally a portrait of Clara and a memorial to Robert. It features lyrical themes, with the piano weaving meditative lines through a delicate orchestral texture.

3. Rondo: Allegro non troppo: The finale, the shortest of the three movements, is a lively rondo, with a main recurring theme that will alternate with contrasting material. Near the end, the shift from D Minor to D Major brings the concerto to an exuberant conclusion. 

As Mencken suggested, Brahms delivers symphonic gravitas. This early concerto brought considerable attention to the young composer and foreshadowed a brilliant compositional career.

Program Notes by Paul Hyde

Paul Hyde, a longtime arts journalist, is an English instructor at Tri-County Technical College in South Carolina. He writes regularly for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the S.C. Daily Gazette, Classical Voice North America, ArtsATL and other publications. Readers may write to him at paulhydeus@yahoo.com.