Johannes Brahms, a highly self-critical composer, took nearly two decades to complete his First Symphony, which premiered in 1876.
Performer Biography
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor on this album, was born in Moscow in 1972 and has held positions with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra.
Performer Biography
The London Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham, has been the Resident Symphony Orchestra at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall since 1992.
Composition History
After taking nearly two decades to write his First Symphony, Brahms composed his Second Symphony in just a few months during the summer of 1877.
Compositional Technique
Brahms's First Symphony mimics Beethoven's typical symphonic journey from darkness to light, starting in C minor and ending in an optimistic C major.
Compositional Technique
In his Second Symphony, Brahms masterfully uses a three-note figure, first heard in the cellos and basses, as a crucial unifying theme throughout the work.
Composition History
Brahms felt pressured by the legacy of Beethoven, who had elevated the symphony into a powerful expression of the human condition.
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Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: III. Poco allegretto
