The Alto Rhapsody, written in 1869, sets three stanzas from Goethe's Harzeise im Winter (Journey in the Harz Mountains in Winter), intended to comfort a young man named Plessing.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms, born in Hamburg in 1833, showed such natural aptitude for music that there was talk of him touring as a prodigy at age eleven.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Poland, with recording sessions taking place across several dates in January, February, and April 2010.
Performer Biography
Antoni Wit, the conductor on this album, has received six GRAMMY® nominations for recordings of works by Penderecki and Szymanowski.
Composition History
Brahms's Nänie (Lament), completed in 1881, was written in memory of the classical painter Anselm Feuerbach, who died in 1880, and dedicated to Feuerbach's stepmother, Henriette Feuerbach.
Composition History
Brahms's Begräbnisgesang (Funeral Hymn) was written in 1858, using a 16th-century text by Michael Weiße, a former Franciscan who joined the Moravian Brethren.
Composer Biography
Brahms met Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann, a gifted pianist, through the Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, and remained a firm friend to Clara until her death.
