MSO | The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra

Johannes Brahms
German, 1833-1897
Symphony No. 3 in F Major Op. 90 (1883)

Johannes Brahms, a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period was born in Hamburg on May 7, 1833. His father, Johann Jakob, an innkeeper and a musician of moderate ability, taught him to play violin and piano. When Brahms was six years old he created his own method of writing music in order to get the melodies he created on paper. He played a private concert at the age of ten to obtain funds for his future education.

He is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. He composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, destroyed many of his works and left some of them unpublished.

Brahms composed Symphony No. 3 in the summer of 1883 after a five-year long sabbatical from symphonic work. At 50, Brahms was a dedicated bachelor. His legendary cantankerousness ill-suited him to domestic life, and his motto, “Frei, aber froh,” (Free but happy) indicates his feelings about his bachelor status. However, Brahms also had strong attachments to several women, most notably Clara Schumann, wife of Brahms’ friend Robert Schumann. The passionate nature of the music can be interpreted as a reflection of Brahms’ emotions, according to his biographer and contemporary Max Kalbeck. Kalbeck cites proof of Brahms’ state of mind by pointing out that Brahms used the notes F-A-F (corresponding to his motto Frei, aber froh) as the essential thematic building blocks of the symphony, and that Brahms indicated his emotional struggles by substituting A-flat for A. This changes the tonality of the music from major to minor, which affects listeners’ perceptions of the music in a fundamental way; we tend to hear major music as “happy,” and minor music as “sad.” The premiere performance of Symphony No. 3 was given on December 2, 1883 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Hans Richter.

The first movement, Allegro con brio, opens with a short prelude of powerful chords by the wind instruments, introducing the first theme, a majestic melody, which is given out by the violins, accompanied by the violas and cellos, and supported by the trombones. The theme, which is peculiarly brilliant and even heroic, is treated with masterly skill as it progresses from a steady and peaceful flow to the highest point of vigor and majesty. It then transitions to a delicate and more restful theme on solo clarinet. Overall, the movement is intense and personal, but also somewhat elusive, as Brahms alternates between forceful assurance and tentativeness.

The second movement, Andante, might almost be termed a rhapsody, as it is very short and is not elaborated after the customary manner. The greater part of the movement rests upon and grows out of the opening theme, which is a simple but graceful and joyous melody, in strong contrast with the epic character of the work. This theme is taken alternately by the wind instruments, violas, and cellos, and is freely treated in variations, which give beautiful tone-color to it. It has a brief rest while the clarinets and bassoons give out a resonant, stirring phrase as if foreshadowing what is to come and ends in a series of delightfully contrasted effects.

The third movement, Poco allegretto, which takes the place of a rapid scherzo, standard in a 19th century symphony, is mostly serious. Its principal theme is given out by the cellos, at first fanciful, tender, and full of simple grace, then reminiscent and contemplative, and at last dreamy; to which succeeds a passage for the wind instruments, soothing and almost suppliant. The allegretto dies away in soft chords which lead to the Finale.

The final movement, Allegro, is a passionate, agitated, and somber movement, yet heroic, elevated, and strong. Brahms breaks with symphonic custom by writing a minor-key final movement. Nineteenth century symphonies typically ended in major keys. The choice of key and a series of dramatic melodies make for an epic finale, but Brahms again defies convention; the symphony ends pianissimo, as the F-A-flat-F theme from the first movement floats by in the final measures. The theme with which it opens rushes past with all the haste and mystery of a vision in a dream, and then reappears in a new harmonic form, only to grow more sorrowful and gloomy with the entrance of the trombones preluding a new phrase, for now the sentiment changes and we have in its place a passionate conflict. Through the fierce and determined phrases of the violins, however, is heard the steady, jubilant song of the cellos. As they announce the victory, the gloom disappears and gives place to peace and rest once more, dignified and ennobled by the heroic theme of the first movement.

Brahms gave the score of his Symphony No. 3 to Clara Schumann, for her 64th birthday. In her thank-you letter, she wrote, “What a work! What a poem! … I could not tell you which movement I loved most.” Schumann goes on to describe the andante as “a pure idyll; … I hear the babbling brook and the buzz of the insects … one feels oneself snatched up into the joyous web of Nature.” Of the poignant Poco allegretto, Schumann wrote, “The third movement is a pearl, but it … is dipped in a tear of woe.”

Although Symphony No. 3 was an instant success at its premiere, Brahms, typically, could not rest on his laurels. He fretted that the symphony’s popularity with audiences would set up unreasonable expectations for his next work that he could never fulfill. About six weeks after the premiere, Brahms wrote anxiously to a friend, “The reputation the famous F-major has acquired makes me want to cancel all my engagements.”

When he was about sixty years old, Brahms began to age rapidly, and his production decreased sharply. Brahms' health took a turn for the worse after he heard the news of the death of Clara Schumann in 1896. On April 3, 1897, he died of cancer of the liver. He was buried next to Beethoven and Franz Schubert in Vienna where he spent much of his personal life.