Johannes Brahms - String Quartet No. 3 Op. 67 The String Quartet No. 3 in B♭ major, Op. 67, was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1875 and published by the firm of Fritz Simrock.[1] It received its premiere performance on October 30, 1876 in Berlin. The work is scored for two violins, viola, and cello, and has four movements: I. Vivace II. Andante III. Agitato (Allegretto non troppo) — Trio — Coda IV. Poco Allegretto con Variazioni Brahms composed the work in Ziegelhausen, near Heidelberg, and dedicated it to Professor Theodor Wilhelm Engelmann, an amateur cellist who had hosted Brahms on a visit to Utrecht. Brahms was at the time the artistic director of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. The work is lighthearted and cheerful, "a useless trifle", as he put it, "to avoid facing the serious countenance of a symphony", referring to the work on his Symphony No. 1 which debuted a week later. The irony to this quartet is that although the quartet is dedicated to Engelmann, who is a cellist, throughout the entire quartet, there is no cello melody; the violins would have a melody throughout the piece and in the third movement, the Agitato, the melody of the movement is mainly played by a viola instead of the cello. In a letter about the quartet to Engelmann, Brahms said "This quartet rather resembles your wife—very dainty, but brilliant! ...It's no longer a question of a forceps delivery; but of simply standing by. There’s no cello solo in it, but such a tender viola solo that you may want to change your instrument for its sake!". By doing this, since Brahms favor mid-range instruments like the clarinet or French horn, and is aware of the viola's low popularity along with his strange sense of humor, he hopes that Engelmann might switch from cello to viola to support the viola's popularity from neglect, by muting all of the other string instruments so that the viola's sound can be heard, even when the violin gains the melody. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 6 - Vivace in D flat major The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular works and were the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four hands (piano duet: two players using one piano) and later arranged the first ten dances for solo piano. Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. The better-known Hungarian Dances include Nos. 1 and 5, the latter of which was based on the csárdás "Bártfai emlék" (Memories of Bártfa) by Hungarian composer Béla Kéler, which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong. A footnote on the Ludwig-Masters edition of a modern orchestration of Hungarian Dance No.1 states: "The material for this dance is believed to have come from the Divine Csárdás (ca. 1850) of Hungarian composer and conductor Miska Borzó." For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 2 Op. 100 The Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 ("Thun" or "Meistersinger"), by Johannes Brahms was written while spending the summer of 1886 in Thun in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. It was a very fertile and refreshing time for Brahms. His friend, the Swiss pastor and poet Josef Victor Widmann (1842–1911), lived in Berne and they visited each other. He was also visited by the poet Klaus Groth and the young German contralto Hermine Spies. Both Groth and Brahms were somewhat enamoured of Spies. He found himself so invigorated by the genial atmosphere and surroundings that he said the area was "so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any". In a short space of time, he produced, in addition to this violin sonata, the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, the Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, and various songs. The second Violin Sonata is the shortest and is considered the most lyrical of Brahms's three violin sonatas. It is also considered the most difficult of the three to bring off successfully, and to exhibit its balance of lyricism and virtuosity.[3] It maintains a radiant, happy mood throughout. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 5 - Allegro in F sharp minor The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular works and were the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four hands (piano duet: two players using one piano) and later arranged the first ten dances for solo piano. Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. The better-known Hungarian Dances include Nos. 1 and 5, the latter of which was based on the csárdás "Bártfai emlék" (Memories of Bártfa) by Hungarian composer Béla Kéler, which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong. A footnote on the Ludwig-Masters edition of a modern orchestration of Hungarian Dance No.1 states: "The material for this dance is believed to have come from the Divine Csárdás (ca. 1850) of Hungarian composer and conductor Miska Borzó." For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms Sixteen Waltzes (German; Sechzehn Walzer), Op. 39, is a set of 16 short waltzes for piano written by Johannes Brahms. They were composed in 1865, and published in 1866, dedicated to the music critic Eduard Hanslick. These waltzes were written for piano four hands, and were also arranged for piano solo by the composer, in two different versions – difficult and simplified. The three versions were published at the same time, and sold well, contrary to the composer's expectations. The waltzes were written while the composer lived in Vienna, a city where he would permanently settle in 1872. They were intended as a tribute to the waltz dance form which had become especially fashionable in his adopted city. In the solo versions, some of the keys were altered from the original duet version (the last four in the difficult version and No. 6 in the easy version). Waltz Number 15 in A major (or A♭) has acquired a life of its own. An arrangement of five of the waltzes (Nos. 1, 2, 11, 14, and 15) for two pianos, four hands was published after the composer's death. Almost all of the waltzes are in a recapitulating binary form. For each waltz, the first half moves to the dominant, the relative major, or a substitute key. Then, the second half begins with a developmental passage that leads back to the main theme and the tonic. In 1984, critic Edward Rothstein said that Joseph Smith "made a compelling case for taking them seriously as a unified cycle." 16 Waltzes Op. 39 1. em Si Maior 0:55 2. em Mi Maior 1:29 3. em Sol Sostenido Maior 0:58 4. em mi Menor 1:16 5. em Mi Maior 1:21 6. em Do Sostenido Maior 1:02 7. em Do Sostenido Menor 2:12 8. em Si Bemol Maior 1:35 9. em Re Menor 1:24 10. em Sol Maior 0:35 11. em Si Menor 1:46 12. em Mi Maior 1:35 13. em Si Maior 0:42 14. em Sol Sostenido Menor 1:21 15. em La Bemol Maior 1:35 16. em Do Sostenido Menor 1:21 For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms - Sinfonia No 2 em Re Menor - Adagio Non Troppo Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1877, during a visit to Pörtschach am Wörthersee, a town in the Austrian province of Carinthia. Its composition was brief in comparison with the 21 years it took Brahms to complete his First Symphony. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. The cheery and almost pastoral mood of the symphony often invites comparisons with Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, but, perhaps mischievously, Brahms wrote to his publisher on November 22, 1877, that the symphony "is so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning." The premiere was given in Vienna on 30 December 1877 by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Hans Richter; Walter Frisch notes that it had originally been scheduled for 9 December, but "in one of those little ironies of music history, it had to be postponed [because] the players were so preoccupied with learning Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner." A typical performance lasts between 40 and 50 minutes. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms
Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished. Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers. Embedded within his meticulous structures, however, are deeply romantic motifs. Johannes Brahms Tracklist: Sinfonia n. 2 em ré maior op. 73 1. Allegro non troppo 2. Adagio non troppo 3. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) 4. Allegro con spirito 5. Abertura para uma festa acadêmica op. 80 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Brahms