Brahms: Symphony No. 1 / Schumann: Symphony No. 1

In this recording, the orchestra is the Berlin Philharmonic and the conductor is Herbert von Karajan.

## Brahms: Symphony No. 1

The Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, is a symphony written by Johannes Brahms. Brahms spent at least fourteen years completing this work, whose sketches date from 1854. Brahms himself declared that the symphony, from sketches to finishing touches, took 21 years, from 1855 to 1876. The premiere of this symphony, conducted by the composer's friend Felix Otto Dessoff, occurred on 4 November 1876, in Karlsruhe, then in the Grand Duchy of Baden. A typical performance lasts between 45 and 50 minutes.

### Instrumentation

The piece is scored for the following instruments: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones (fourth movement only), Timpani and Strings.

### Movements

The movements are named as follows:

1. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro
2. Andante sostenuto (Violin-Solo: Michel Schwalbé)
3. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
4. Adagio - Allegro non troppo ma con brio

### Reception

The value and importance of Brahms's achievements were recognized by Vienna's most powerful critic, the staunchly conservative Eduard Hanslick. The conductor Hans von Bülow was moved in 1877 to call the symphony "Beethoven's Tenth", due to perceived similarities between the work and various compositions of Beethoven. It is often remarked that there is a strong resemblance between the main theme of the finale of Brahms's First Symphony and the main theme of the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Also, Brahms uses the rhythm of the "fate" motto from the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. This rather annoyed Brahms; he felt that this amounted to accusations of plagiarism, whereas he saw his use of Beethoven's idiom in this symphony as an act of conscious homage. Brahms himself said, when comment was made on the similarity with Beethoven, "any ass can see that". Nevertheless, this work is still sometimes (though rarely) referred to as "Beethoven's Tenth".

## Schumann: Symphony No. 1 "Spring"

The Symphony No. 1 in B♭ major, Op. 38, also known as the Spring Symphony, is the first completed symphonic work composed by Robert Schumann.

Although he had made some "symphonic attempts" in the autumn of 1840 soon after he married Clara Wieck, he did not compose his first symphony until early 1841. Until then, Schumann was largely known for his works for the piano and for voice. Clara encouraged him to write symphonic music, noting in her diary, "it would be best if he composed for orchestra; his imagination cannot find sufficient scope on the piano... His compositions are all orchestral in feeling... My highest wish is that he should compose for orchestra—that is his field! May I succeed in bringing him to it!"

Schumann sketched the symphony in four days from 23 to 26 January and completed the orchestration by 20 February. The premiere took place under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn on 31 March 1841 in Leipzig, where the symphony was warmly received. According to Clara's diary, the title "Spring Symphony" was bestowed upon it due to Adolf Böttger's poem Frühlingsgedicht. The symphony's opening has traditionally been associated with the closing lines of Böttger's poem, "O wende, wende deinen Lauf/Im Thale blüht der Frühling auf!" (“O, turn, O turn and change your course/In the valley, Spring blooms forth!"). This view has been challenged, and the call of a Leipzig nightwatchman has been mentioned as an alternative source.

### Instrumentation

The piece is scored for the following instruments: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Timpani, Triangle and Strings.

### Movements

The movements are named as follows:

1. Andante un poco maestoso - Allegro molto vivace
2. Larghetto - (attacca:)
3. Scherzo. Molto vivace
4. Allegro animato e grazioso

## Program Note - Key interpretations of two great German classics

When Furtwängler died in 1954 Herbert von Karajan was his obvious successor as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (and indeed he was appointed "conductor for life" at his own insistance). Simultaneously Karajan took on the mantle of his distinguished predecessor as the key interpretative figure in the performance tradition of the great German classics. Over more than three decades he was to be - in eyes of the general public - the world's leading conductor in such repertoire. Karajan was fortunate to live in an age of recording, and all stages of his illustrious career were celebrated on records (and later video). Like Stokowski, he took a great and direct interest in the technical side of his recordings (most conductors leave such matters to their engineers, often at their peril). This means that the orchestral balance we hear represents the sound Karajan had achieved not only in balancing the orchestra in the concert hall, but also in the monitoring booth, when so much is determined by the positioning of the stereo microphones. Karajan's continuing success also depended on the confidence and devotion of his players - as individuals among the finest musicians in the world. As a musical and personal figure he seemed aloof (closing his eyes during a performance) but the orchestra sensed his total dedication and responded to it.

During his directorship the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic was unsurpassed, not just in its technical virtuosity, but in the way the orchestral wind soloists, for instance, could both stand out individually and at the same time be willing to blend and match timbres. This is of paramount importance in the scoring of Brahms and Schumann. If one looks closely at the score of Brahms's First Symphony, one does not have to read further than the exposition of the first movement to see the way the wind and horns, supported on the bedrock of the composer's rich string sonority, overlap and echo each other, with solos emerging out of a full texture. Often the melodic line is fully scored with the whole woodwind section playing together chordally; but Karajan ensures that the effect remains fresh and luminous. Later, the *grazioso* opening of the third movement Allegretto brings a *dolce* combination of clarinets and horn over a sustained bassoon, which is typically Brahmsian; its colour is perfectly blended. The principal horn has his finest moment in the fanfare theme which is to announce the great string melody in the finale. The horn is marked *forte, poco espressivo ... crescendo*: it must be arresting yet lead onwards and finally soften in a *diminuendo*. It is naturally and spontaneously graduated here and the Berlin Philharmonic string sonority seems just perfect for the glorious tune that follows on. It was Brahms's First Symphony that Karajan chose to end the last concert he conducted in London in October 1988, just nine months before he died. He was already ill and in considerable pain at the time, and perhaps he knowingly chose it as his swansong.

Schumann's orchestration has often been described as being too thick, but no such criticism could be levelled at it in Karajan's recording of the "Spring" Symphony. The opening fanfare theme, even as it fills out in the orchestra, remains texturally clean and the main Allegro, with its rhythmic spring, has all the freshness of its sobriquet. The songful melody of the Andante makes one conscious of the delicacy of Schumann's orchestral colouring, and the energetic scherzo matches the impetuosity of the finale, which dances along with that kind of lift and impetus that can only come from orchestral playing of the highest order.

*Ivan March*

## Reviews

While the symphonies of Beethoven were always central to Herbert von Karajan's repertoire both in concert and in the recording studio, Brahms (as Beethoven's successor) was hardly less prominent . When Karajan performed the four symphonies as a cycle in concert it is significant that he normally concluded the series with No.1, a sign of his special personal identification with this particular work. Karajan recorded it first separately for other companies, and then undertook a complete set on three different occasions in stereo for Deutsche Grammophon. Among his various recordings of No.1, there is something special about the 1963 Berlin Philharmonic version, as if it were a watershed of his association with the symphony in partnership with the great orchestra of which he was musical director. He recorded the work without the exposition repeat in the first movement and clearly saw the overall structure in this way; but within that structure phrases breathe naturally and there is a consistent ebb and flow of line and tension which seems almost inevitable. Although he played the Schumann Symphonies regularly in concerts Karajan recorded the complete set only once (again after earlier individual records) at the beginning of the 1970s. He and his great orchestra were completely at one with Schumann's sensibility and his directness of utterance was contrasted with that of his predecessor, Furtwängler, who in his inspirational style sought almost to recompose the music.

## Links

For the playlist of the album, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP3vJVub5N4&list=OLAK5uy\_njML\_q437lO6ixS8AZ5\_szmWwC9sNCqNo

For more details on the album, click here: https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/brahms-schumann-symphonies-karajan-7165

For the official Deutsche Grammophon website, click here: https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en

## Notes

* Art Direction - Hartmut Pfeiffer
* Composers - Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann
* Conductor - Herbert von Karajan
* Engineers - Volker Martin, Günter Hermanns
* Executive-Producers - Hans Hirsch, Otto Gerdes
* Liner Notes - Ivan March, Reinhard Lüthje, Dennis Collins, Massimo Acanfora Torrefranca
* Orchestra - Berlin Philharmonic
* Photographer - Siegfried Lauterwasser
* Producers - Hans Weber, Otto Gerdes
* Sound - Stereo
* Recording dates - October 1963 (Brahms), January & February 1971 (Schumann)
* Recording venue - Berlin, Jesus-Christus-Kirche
* Total duration - 76'30