Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Johannes Brahms (1833-97)
Allegro con brio; Andante; Poco allegretto; Allegro
A musical motto consisting of three notes, F/A flat/F, was significant for Brahms. He and others had used a similar motif, F/A flat/E, as a musical acronym for the German motto Frei aber einsam meaning ‘Free, but lonely’. At the time of the Third Symphony, Brahms was a fifty-year-old bachelor who declared himself to be Frei aber froh, ‘Free but happy’. His F/A flat/F motto, and varied forms of it, can be heard throughout the symphony. While such musical acrostics may leave readers and listeners unmoved, the force of these three notes and their associated harmony is indeed powerful. The symphony opens like a cork being eased from a bottle of champagne: twist; twist; bang! We’re on our way, and a stream of inspired melody and musical craftsmanship engulfs the audience.
Brahms composed the symphony rapidly during the summer of 1883. It was very well received at its premier in December of that year, and has lodged itself as a firm favourite among his four symphonies for many people. Brahms’s friend and influential music critic Eduard Hanslick said, ‘Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.’
The tempo indications (above) suggest the symphony might skip along at some pace: allegro con brio etc., but it doesn’t. It has been described as a symphony comprising four slow movements, which is misleading. The pace can be discerned within the orchestral texture, the busy internal detail and the untiring sequence of musical events rather than as a rapid tempo, or beat. There is no lingering or wistful reflection as one finds in the symphonies of Bruckner. By the end of this, the shortest of Brahms symphonies, listeners feel they have been on a hectic but richly rewarding journey.
The ‘motto’ theme of a mere three notes dominates the first movement. Even when it gives way to new melodies and musical ideas, it can sometimes be heard among the lower-pitched instruments. Although the key scheme and structural detail of this movement are complex, the overall effect is one of serenity and inevitability. The second movement was described by Sir Donald Tovey as ‘…one of the most solemn things Brahms ever wrote.’ Not everyone would agree with that. It has a calmness and simplicity that beguiles from the outset with its straightforward melody for clarinets. Later themes have an air of mystery about them, but the movement as a whole is exceptionally expressive and beautifully proportioned.
The third movement, poco allegretto, follows the classical shape of a ‘minuet and trio’ or scherzo, but the dance-like origins have been set aside in favour of continuous elegance, the enchanting main melody being entrusted to different instruments on its return. The finale opens in the minor key and remains there for much of its course. When the opening motto of the symphony returns at the very end, it brings with it a glorious surrender to the major mode and a quiet ending that befits this thoughtful work.
Johannes Brahms (1833-97)
Allegro con brio; Andante; Poco allegretto; Allegro
A musical motto consisting of three notes, F/A flat/F, was significant for Brahms. He and others had used a similar motif, F/A flat/E, as a musical acronym for the German motto Frei aber einsam meaning ‘Free, but lonely’. At the time of the Third Symphony, Brahms was a fifty-year-old bachelor who declared himself to be Frei aber froh, ‘Free but happy’. His F/A flat/F motto, and varied forms of it, can be heard throughout the symphony. While such musical acrostics may leave readers and listeners unmoved, the force of these three notes and their associated harmony is indeed powerful. The symphony opens like a cork being eased from a bottle of champagne: twist; twist; bang! We’re on our way, and a stream of inspired melody and musical craftsmanship engulfs the audience.
Brahms composed the symphony rapidly during the summer of 1883. It was very well received at its premier in December of that year, and has lodged itself as a firm favourite among his four symphonies for many people. Brahms’s friend and influential music critic Eduard Hanslick said, ‘Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.’
The tempo indications (above) suggest the symphony might skip along at some pace: allegro con brio etc., but it doesn’t. It has been described as a symphony comprising four slow movements, which is misleading. The pace can be discerned within the orchestral texture, the busy internal detail and the untiring sequence of musical events rather than as a rapid tempo, or beat. There is no lingering or wistful reflection as one finds in the symphonies of Bruckner. By the end of this, the shortest of Brahms symphonies, listeners feel they have been on a hectic but richly rewarding journey.
The ‘motto’ theme of a mere three notes dominates the first movement. Even when it gives way to new melodies and musical ideas, it can sometimes be heard among the lower-pitched instruments. Although the key scheme and structural detail of this movement are complex, the overall effect is one of serenity and inevitability. The second movement was described by Sir Donald Tovey as ‘…one of the most solemn things Brahms ever wrote.’ Not everyone would agree with that. It has a calmness and simplicity that beguiles from the outset with its straightforward melody for clarinets. Later themes have an air of mystery about them, but the movement as a whole is exceptionally expressive and beautifully proportioned.
The third movement, poco allegretto, follows the classical shape of a ‘minuet and trio’ or scherzo, but the dance-like origins have been set aside in favour of continuous elegance, the enchanting main melody being entrusted to different instruments on its return. The finale opens in the minor key and remains there for much of its course. When the opening motto of the symphony returns at the very end, it brings with it a glorious surrender to the major mode and a quiet ending that befits this thoughtful work.