Brahms: Symphony No.1

Featuring

Thomas Dausgaard
Svenska Kammarorkestern
Johannes Brahms

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Composition History

Brahms's orchestral version of the Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op. 52, was initially rejected by the composer for publication and only released posthumously in 1938, based on a score from his friend Ernst Rudorff's estate.

Composition History

Brahms orchestrated only three of his Hungarian Dances (Nos. 1, 3, and 10) in 1873, despite requests for more, stating he had composed them for piano four-hands and would have made them differently for orchestra.

Performer Biography

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1995, has gained international recognition under its music director Thomas Dausgaard, who joined in 1997.

Composer Biography

Johannes Brahms, despite being praised as a genius by Robert Schumann at age 20, was hesitant to compose symphonies for a long time, feeling the pressure of Beethoven's legacy.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The conductor Hans von Bülow famously described Brahms's First Symphony as Beethoven's 'Tenth,' recognizing its continuation of a symphonic conception rooted in Beethoven's late works.

Compositional Technique

The finale of Brahms's First Symphony features an 'alphorn theme' that Brahms claimed to have borrowed from an alphorn and sent to Clara Schumann as a birthday greeting in 1868.

Composition History

Brahms completed his Symphony No. 1 at the relatively advanced age of 43 in 1876, though the earliest sketches for it date back more than twenty years to 1855.