The violin used is a modern copy of a Romantic model, strung with three plain gut strings and one wound gut string, and played with an original French bow from the mid-19th century.
Instruments
The recording features a J. B. Streicher & Sohn piano from Vienna, 1879, the same model as one owned by Brahms.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms was an exceptionally self-critical composer, destroying many completed works and often taking years to prepare those he allowed to be printed.
Interpretation
The performers aim to revive 19th-century performance practices, including the use of expressive portamento and sparing vibrato in string playing, and arpeggiated chords in piano, which Brahms considered implicit in his notation.
Composition History
Brahms used the pseudonym 'Joh. Kreisler' for his early autographs, a name derived from E.T.A. Hoffmann's character Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, who also inspired Schumann's Kreisleriana.
Composition History
Brahms wrote and rejected at least three violin and piano sonatas before composing his official First Violin Sonata, Op. 78.
Composition History
The C minor Scherzo from the 'FAE' Sonata, included on this album, was a collaborative work by Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Albert Dietrich in honor of violinist Joseph Joachim.
