The first performance of all six movements of A German Requiem, conducted by Brahms himself in Bremen in 1868, was very successful, unlike an earlier partial premiere in Vienna.
Performer Biography
Marin Alsop, the conductor, made history in 2013 as the first woman to conduct the iconic Last Night of the Proms.
Performer Biography
The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra received the European Cultural Prize for Orchestra and Choir in 2013.
Composition History
The death of Brahms's mother in January 1865 was the immediate reason for the composition of A German Requiem.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Brahms chose texts for A German Requiem from the Lutheran Bible, avoiding overt Christian references, and privately suggested he would have preferred the title 'A Human Requiem'.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms, the composer, was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1833, the son of a double-bass player and a seamstress.
Composer Biography
Brahms's connection with Clara Schumann, one of the most distinguished pianists of her time, lasted until her death in 1896.
