| Symphony No. 4 | |
|---|---|
| by Johannes Brahms | |
 Brahms in 1885 | |
| Key | E minor |
| Opus | 98 |
| Composed | 1884 (1884) |
| Movements | four |
| Scoring | Orchestra |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 25 October 1885 |
| Location | Meiningen, Germany |
| Conductor | Johannes Brahms |
| Performers | Meiningen Court Orchestra |
| Audio samples | |
The Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. Brahms began working on the piece in Mürzzuschlag, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No. 3. Brahms conducted the Court Orchestra in Meiningen, Germany, for the work's premiere on 25 October 1885.
Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for two flutes (one doubling on piccolo in the third movement only), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon (third and fourth movements), four horns, two trumpets, three trombones (fourth movement only), timpani (two in first and second movements, three in third and fourth movements), triangle (third movement only), and strings.
Movements
The symphony is divided into four movements with the following tempo markings:
- Allegro non troppo (E minor)
- Andante moderato (E major)
- Allegro giocoso (C major)
- Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)
This is the only one of Brahms' four symphonies to end in a minor key. A typical performance lasts about 40 minutes.
Analysis
I. Allegro non troppo
This movement is in sonata form, although it features some unique approaches to development. For instance, there is no repeat of the exposition; according to Malcolm MacDonald, the music is so "powerfully organic and continuously unfolding" that such a repeat would hinder forward progress.
The opening theme is initially serene in character, although its composition in a chain of descending thirds adds a fateful air. Its left-versus-right fragmented melodic form (duh-DUM, da-DEE, duh-DUM, da-DEE) also introduces a feeling of conflict which Brahms uses as a fundamental motivation throughout the movement.
Bar Section Key Description 1 Primary theme E minor Starts with pick-up note. This relatively fragmented melody forms a descending sequence in the upper instruments in dialogue with the lower instruments. The notes (taken out of register) outline a row of descending thirds – B, G, E, C, A, F♯, D♯, B – a unifying motif for this work. 19 Transition modulation to second theme Goes from E minor to the dominant B minor Starts by fragmenting the primary theme 53 Transition motif Transition motif: a rhythmic pattern in the woodwinds 57 Secondary theme period 1 B minor Initially in the cellos, then passed up into the violins with intermittent play with transition motif. 95 Secondary theme period 2 B major – parallel major of B minor In the woodwinds. 107 Closing section B major Using transition motif pp to ff. 137 Transition modulation to development Lead from B major into E minor Using primary theme material 145 Development Various Starts with a statement of the primary theme before leading away into a development 247 Recapitulation E minor -> E major Slow version of primary theme in the upper instruments (initially in C major harmony) with intermittent use of transition motif followed by lengthy recapitulation of secondary theme block now transposed to the tonic key. 394 Coda E minor Final climactic statement of the primary theme in ff.
II. Andante moderato
Featuring a theme in E Phrygian, heard at the beginning unaccompanied and at the end with a lush orchestral accompaniment in the dominant scale, this movement has a modified sonata form with no development section, though there is a development-like section in the recapitulation.
Bar Section Key Description 1 Introduction E Phrygian Introduction to the principal theme by horns 5 Principal theme E major Several statements of the principal theme 36 Transition theme B major Dominated by the wind sections 41 Secondary theme B major Initially in the cellos, then passed up into the violins 50 Secondary theme cadence and transition theme B major Using transition motif pp to ff. 64 Recapitulation E major Recapitulation quite similar in structure to the exposition 106 Coda E Phrygian dominant Free play of themes with frequent use of arpeggios
III. Allegro giocoso
This movement is the only one with the character of a scherzo to be found in Brahms' symphonies. It is not in typical scherzo form, however, being in 2/4 time and in sonata form, without a trio. The sonata form itself is modified further, with a foreshortened recapitulation and with the secondary theme nearly absent in the development and coda.
Bar Section Key Description 1 Primary theme C major and E♭ major Primary theme consisting of three different periods (ordered 1–2–3–1) 46 Transition to secondary theme Transition to G major Based on the first period of the primary theme 52 Secondary theme G major Secondary theme followed by elements of a transition to the development 89 Development Various keys Based on the primary theme block with a slow trio-like section based on the second period of the first theme. 181 Transition to recapitulation Modulation from D♭ major to C major 199 Recapitulation C and G key areas Restatement of primary theme starting with the second period (2–3–1) followed by restatement the secondary theme and then transition theme leading to coda 282 Coda C and G key areas Final statement of the period 1 and 2 of the primary theme block (in the order 1–2–1)
IV. Allegro energico e passionato
This last movement is notable as a rare example of a symphonic passacaglia, which is similar to a chaconne with the slight difference that the subject can appear in more voices than the bass. For the repeating theme, Brahms adapted the chaconne theme in the closing movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150. The main theme is 8 bars long and is heard at the very start of the movement. Brahms then repeats the theme in different variations precisely 30 times always 8 bars long, until he deviates from this pattern just before the coda which begins in bar 253 at "Piu Allegro". 4 bars before the coda Brahms changes for the first time during the whole movement the 8 bar pattern and creates a 4 bar long transition into the coda.
An analysis of this last movement by Walter Frisch provides yet further interpretation to Brahms' structure of this work, by giving sections sonata form dimensions.
Arnold Schoenberg, in his essay Brahms the Progressive (Brahms is often characterized as a conservative composer), pointed out several thematic relationships in the score, as does Malcolm MacDonald in his biography of the composer. The first half of the chaconne theme is anticipated in the violins during the coda at an important point of the preceding movement; and the first movement's descending thirds, transposed by a fifth, appear in counterpoint during one of the final variations of the chaconne, immediately before the coda.
Bar Section Key Description 1 Theme E minor Statement of theme and main chordal structure 9 Variations 1–11 Mostly in E minor and C major key areas as well as in other keys Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though in some variations transposed to different key).
4 time97 Variations 12–15 E minor (12) and E major (13-15) key areas Variations match the bar count (though with bars lasting twice as long) and chordal structure ((though transposed to different key areas)).
2 time129 Variations 16–23 E minor and C major key area Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though transposed to different key areas).
4 time193 Variations 24–26 Mostly in E minor and C major key area Structurally variation 24 is similar to variation 1, variation 25 is similar to variation 2 and variation 26 is similar to variation 3.
4 time217 Variations 27–30 Mostly in E minor and C major key area Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though transposed to different key areas).
4 time249 Transition to coda E major and C major key area Extension of the last variation (variation 30). 253 Coda Many different key areas Playing on material from the variations with intermittent quasi-variations 297 Final statement of theme E minor Compressed statement of theme and final cadence
Reception
The work was given its premiere in Meiningen on 25 October 1885, with Brahms himself conducting. The piece had earlier been given to a small private audience in a version for two pianos, played by Brahms and Ignaz Brüll. Brahms' friend and biographer Max Kalbeck, reported that the critic Eduard Hanslick, acting as one of the page-turners, exclaimed on hearing the first movement at this performance: "For this whole movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people." Hanslick, however, wrote also that " the musician, there is not another modern piece so productive as a subject for study. It is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back."
The musicologist Donald Tovey praises the work as “one of the greatest orchestral works since Beethoven”, and singles out the end of the first movement, which “bears comparison with the greatest climaxes in classical music, not excluding Beethoven”. The symphony is rich in allusions, most notably to various Beethoven compositions. The symphony may well have been inspired by the tragedies of Sophocles, which Brahms had been researching at the time.
Notes
- MacDonald, Malcolm (1990). Brahms (1st US ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 314. ISBN 0-02-871393-1.
- Steinberg, Michael (1998). The Symphony. Oxford. p. 90.
- Seel, Jakob (2023). Variation in der vierten Sinfonie. UdK Berlin.
- Frisch 2003, pp. 130–140.
- Frisch 2003, p. 116.
- Pleasants, Henry (1963). Music Criticisms 1846–99 Eduard Hanslick. Penguin Books. pp. 243–245.
- Tovey, Donald (1981). Essays in Musical Analysis Volume 1. Oxford University Press. p. 222. ISBN 9780193151475.
- "Brahms, Johannes", Encyclopædia Britannica Deluxe Edition 2004 CD-ROM, 30 May 30
Sources
- Frisch, Walter (2003). Brahms: The Four Symphonies. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300099652.
External links
- Symphony No. 4 (Brahms): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Downloadable score of the piece in .pdf format
- Allusive Irony in Brahms's Fourth Symphony. (Analysis of Allusions in the Symphony) by Kenneth Hull
- Detailed Listening Guide using the recording by Claudio Abbado
- Andrew Clements (17 March 2000). "Brahms: Symphony No. 4" (from "Building a Classical Library" series). The Guardian.
- First two minutes of the final movement on YouTube, Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle conducting
- First movement as scored by Brahms for two pianos on YouTube, Vera Hsu and Chiming Shui
