Pianists Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Köhn, both with individual solo careers, formed a piano duo in 1986 and have won international prizes and performed widely.
Critical Reception
The premiere of Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Leipzig was met with hostility, including ironic applause and hissing from the audience.
Composition History
The slow movement of Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, with the words 'Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini,' suggests a Requiem for Robert Schumann, who was in an asylum during its development.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann, a composer and editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, declared Brahms the long-awaited successor to Beethoven.
Composition History
Brahms wrote the Academic Festival Overture as a 'cheerful medley of student songs' in response to receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms, born in Hamburg in 1833, was the son of a double-bass player and a seamstress, and spent his childhood in relative poverty.
Composition History
Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 was originally conceived as a sonata for two pianos, then a symphony, before reaching its final form as a concerto in 1859.
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