Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

THE STORY

The composition of Brahms’ First Symphony proved an arduous process that spanned over 20 years as he wrestled with the anxiety of composing a symphony in the shadow of Beethoven’s masterworks for the genre. By the Fourth Symphony—his last— Brahms displays facility, ease, and mastery. The result combines economy of language with dynamic expression—and while it is the shortest of the four, it shows an abundance of emotional riches: the Fourth Symphony is at once serious and elegant, alternately elegiac and belligerent.

Brahms demonstrates that even when some considered the symphony exhausted of its expressive power, meaningful ways of composing for this established genre still existed. The harmonic language of the second movement borrows from Medieval and Renaissance music, and the formidable finale is constructed upon a passacaglia—a Baroque form in which a repeated melodic line is constantly refitted with new variations. Consisting of 30 variations, the finale demonstrates both reverence for historical forms and inexhaustible ingenuity.

LISTEN FOR

• The elegant, sighing first theme that begins the symphony as the violins inhale and exhale with alternately descending and ascending gestures, like a giant organ
• The chant-like melody of the second movement, first intoned by the horns, then echoed by the oboe and flute
• The boisterous energy of the third movement, whose restlessness manifests in strong accents on weak beats, punchy chords, and colorful orchestration
• The flute solo that marks the midpoint of the finale, giving way to a tender duet between the clarinet and oboe and then to a lush brass chorale before the trombones announce the return of the tragic theme that opened the finale, pushing with relentless ferocity to the end

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, strings

Notes on the music by Emily Shyr