In a rare Friday evening Masterworks Series concert on Jan. 31, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by music director Andrew Constantine, presented “The Romance of Brahms: Part 2,” at PFW’s Rhinehart Music Center. The concert featured Johannes Brahms’ third and fourth symphonies.
The German composer, pianist, and conductor Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is considered a “Romantic” composer, which means there are lush melodies, rich harmonies, complex structures, and a true romantic style.
However, Brahms’ vision of romanticism contrasted with the more emotional side expressed by composers such as Antonin Dvorak, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Richard Wagner.
Indeed, Brahms tended to be critical of those who were more emotional and less focused on intellectual and introspective expression. His symphonies are NOT about anything; they are demonstrations of musical achievements with strong classical structures that are influenced by the music of Bach, Handel, and Beethoven. There is some emotion at times in his music, but as many have noted, the emotion tends to be subdued or controlled. That’s why Brahms famously complained of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies being too emotional, while Tchaikovsky said that Brahms was too controlled. Yet both composers clearly have their merits.
For this concert, Constantine moved the cellos to the front with the first violins on the left and the second violins on the right. The violas were near the cellos. The double bass were behind the first violins. Johanna Bourkova-Morunov served as concertmaster for the concert.
The third symphony, which is primarily in F major and is Brahms’ Opus 90, was written in the summer of 1883 in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is in four movements and is the shortest of Brahms’ symphonies.
It premiered on Dec. 2, 1883, by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Hans Richter conducting. It is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, a contrabassoon, two horns in C, two horns in F, two trumpets in F, three trombones, timpani, and strings. One curious thing about this symphony is that all the movements end quietly, so there is not a spectacular finale.
The first movement follows a sonata form and is in F major; it begins with a musical moto: F-A flat-F, that expresses Brahms own personal motto: “Free but happy.” These chords recur throughout the symphony, acting almost like a recurring theme or statement. The tempo is allegro con brio, so it is a fast and energetic movement. Brahms uses 6/4 time. From the beginning of this performance, the divided violins provided a wonderful stereophonic effect as they often played different musical lines. The winds typically provided color to the lush string writing. The development of the movement was built up to a great dramatic intensity. The French horns were excellent during this section. Then, the movement became a bit mysterious. Constantine had the intensity grow with strong use of the timpani. The music swelled and then diminished.
The second movement, which is in a modified sonata form, shifts to C major and is an andante or walking tempo.
The main melody is first played by a clarinet and then picked up by the entire orchestra. It is in 4/4 time, which is the march cadence, so it has a consistent driving manner. The Philharmonic winds began this sentimental movement with great charm. There were some musical comments by the violas and cellos until the full orchestra took over. Again, we had some mysterious moments leading to very beautiful string playing. It was very impressive and sensitive without being overly sentimental. The violins had a very touching unison passage along with more impressive playing by the winds and brass. The violins ended in unison.
The third movement, which follows a ternary form (also known as a song form A-B-A), is a graceful waltz that is actually in 3/8 time instead of the customary three-fourths time. Brahms marks this poco allegretto, so he avoids the usual fast scherzo often found in romantic third movements. The movement is in C minor, the key that began both Beethoven’s fifth symphony and Brahms’ first symphony. The strings introduced the waltz with contributions from the winds and brass. This was NOT a waltz that could be danced because there were shifts and changes, especially in the tonality. The French horns had the melody for a time, giving it a very noble and dignified touch. The melody passed to the winds, then back to the violins.
Brahms begins the fourth movement begins in F minor and ends in F major. It is primarily allegro or fast, but eventually slows down to a more reflective tempo and mood. He uses 2/2 or cut time. There is no pronounced coda, but Brahms does include an orchestral swell before ending quietly and subdued. The strings began the drama, soon joined by the other musicians. The melody was again passed around. There was some anguish and trouble as the drama increased.
I detected some influence from Brahms’ Hungarian dances. Then, the music slowed down and became softer. This was more reflective with touching contributions from the brass. It all led to the generally quiet ending. Everything was “right” in this performance with so many excellent contributions from the Philharmonic musicians.
The fourth symphony was composed in 1884. This four-movement work is primarily in E minor and is Brahms’ Opus 98. It was premiered on October 25, 1885, with Brahms himself conducting the Meiningen Court Orchestra in Meiningen, Germany. He scored the symphony for two flutes (with one flute doubling a piccolo in the third movement), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, a contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle (third movement only), and strings.
The symphony’s first movement is in E minor and is marked allegro non troppo (not too fast). It is in sonata form with some rather unique development. It is in cut time. The use of strings is quite impressive and very moving; there is a certain amount of tension as well. There are several key changes in the movement, which adds to the interest of the music. The Philharmonic performance had a dancelike quality with some impressive playing. Indeed, there was great virtuosity shown by the musicians. Constantine ensured strong, clear musical lines. The intensity reached inspiring and dynamic levels.
The second movement continues in E minor with use of the Phrygian mode. Brahms marks this in 6/8 time, which gives it a slow waltz tempo. It is marked andante moderato, which means a moderate walking tempo. Brahms uses a modified sonata form, which has no development section, but there is development in the recapitulation section. The strings had some precise pizzicato work with the winds playing the melody. Then, the violins achieved lyrical playing; they were unified and clear. I noticed impressive contributions by the violas. The performance achieved spiritual qualities. The shift to a faster section was quite exciting. This was followed by a more reflective passage with strong support from the timpani. There was beauty and charm in the final moments, leading to a final poignant statement.
Brahms shifts to C major in the energetic third movement, which is marked allegro giocoso (fast and playful). It is in 2/4 time and has the qualities of a scherzo. It is actually in sonata form without a trio. It is unique as being the only symphonic movement Brahms wrote that includes a triangle, adding some additional color to the music. (He did use additional percussion in some of his other orchestral works.) The playing was very exuberant and joyous. The triangle definitely added to the performance, which became very animated; there were a few spots where the triangle was difficult to hear. Constantine brought out the individual qualities of the musicians’ contributions. This became joyous and triumphant.
The fourth movement, which returns to E minor, is also unique because it is actually a symphonic passacaglia, with a strong ground bass. The musical subject appears in more voices than the bass. Brahms marks this allegro energico e passionate (fast with energy and passion); it is a rare example of the composer employing some emotion in his music. There is also a theme and a number of variations in this movement. During the variations there are a few key changes. The challenge for the conductor is to keep the tempo firm, avoiding the tendency to accelerate before the music comes to the actual coda. Constantine was able to maintain a steady tempo as the music increased in intensity. We heard some impressive solos by wind players. The French horns played nobly at one point. Finally, we reached the actual coda or ending and the pace and power increased to the end.
The next Masterworks Series concert is Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhinehart Music Center. The concert, which is scheduled to be conducted by Andrew Constantine, will include Patrick O’Malley’s “Obliviana;” Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 7 (with pianist Lucille Chung); Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” Opus 26 (with side-by-side performances by the Youth Symphony Orchestra); Ottorino Resighi’s “Fountains of Rome;” and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” Opus 34.