Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dances
Composed in 1879
An early friendship with exiled violinist virtuoso Eduard Reményi inspired one of Brahms’ most popular works, his Hungarian Dances.
Banished from Austro-Hungary for his role in the Hungarian Revolution, Reményi toured Germany, where he encountered a then-unknown teenage accompanist named Johannes Brahms. Soon after, Brahms met another Hungarian violinist, Joseph Joachim, who became a great friend and mentor.
Through these friendships, Brahms was introduced to a wide range of folk music that greatly influenced his compositions. He soon tried his hand at composing a set of Hungarian-style pieces.
Brahms’ Hungarian Dances were originally composed for piano duet. The 21 lively dances captured the spirit of Hungarian folk music and became a favorite of the era. Brahms orchestrated several of them himself, while others were orchestrated by other composers, including Antonin Dvořák.
The success of Hungarian Dances reflects the 19th-century popularity of dance music and music that embraced the rich diversity of European cultures.
You will hear dances 1, 4, and 5 tonight.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor
Composed in 1844
Comparable only to the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn was considered by many to be a prodigy. Besides being a brilliant pianist, his compositions advanced the development of classical music. At the age of 11, he had written a trio for strings, a violin and piano sonata, two piano sonatas, and the beginning of a third, three more for four hands, four for organ, three songs (lieder), and a cantata. Between the ages of 12 and 14, he composed 12 string symphonies.
Mendelssohn was appointed as principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1835 and named his lifelong friend Ferdinand David as concertmaster. Out of this friendship, the idea of the concerto was born.
Mendelssohn wrote to David in 1838, “I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor runs through my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace.”
Throughout the six years it took to complete the concerto, Mendelssohn and David wrote back and forth, collaborating on the development.
The concerto was first performed in Leipzig in March of 1845 with David as soloist.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No. 1 “Spring”
Composed in 1841
The last name Schumann and the piano are forever intertwined. Robert and Clara Schumann’s piano works are undoubtedly their most popular and frequently played. In 1840, Robert wanted to try his hand at composing a symphony, but it wasn’t until the urging of his wife in 1841 that he dedicated his time to composition. She has been noted for saying, “it would be best if he composed for orchestra; his imagination cannot find sufficient scope on the piano… His compositions are all orchestral in feeling…My highest wish is that he should compose for orchestra…May I succeed in bringing him to it!”
Once inspired, Schumann mapped out his symphony in only four days and completed the orchestration (filling out the voices of the orchestra) in roughly one month. The title is attributed to Adolf Böttger’s poem Frühlingsgedicht citing the famous line “Spring blooms forth!” When speaking with composer colleague Louis Spohr, Schumann said: “I wrote the symphony in that rush of spring which carries a man away even in his old age and comes over him anew every year.”
Schumann opens his symphony with a trumpet call, heralding the arrival of Spring and the joyful end to the winter doldrums. The symphony is spirited without pause from the second into a third movement, containing lovely melodic lines. He is credited with significantly expanding the use of timpani with this symphony, which adds to the richness of the many harmonies.
He was the first to incorporate the big sound of three kettle drums, ultimately becoming the traditional four or five of today. This elevated the tuned drums above the traditional “boom-boom” role they played at the end of many pre-romantic compositions.
