Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern
Johannes Brahms
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Composer's Artistic Vision
Brahms himself expressed concern that his Fourth Symphony might not appeal to a broad audience, saying, "the cherries do not become sweet here, you wouldn't eat them!"
Performer Biography
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, the conductor on this album, was the principal conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra for 19 years.
Composition History
Brahms composed his Fourth Symphony in Mürzzuschlag, a holiday town southwest of Vienna, during the summers of 1884 and 1885.
Performer Biography
The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the orchestra on this recording, was formed in 2007 from the merger of two traditional German radio ensembles.
Recording & Production
This CD concludes a cycle of Brahms symphony recordings by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern for OehmsClassics.
Compositional Technique
The finale of Brahms's Fourth Symphony is constructed as a series of 30 variations on a bass theme, modeled after a passacaglia from Bach's Cantata BWV 150.
Critical Reception
At its 1885 premiere, Brahms's Fourth Symphony was a success, but later became the least frequently played of his four symphonies.
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