Why Listen to Brahms?

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This video looks at the importance of Johannes Brahms, in the context of the War of the Romantics (against Wagner and Liszt, supported by Schumann and Mendelssohn), and also looking closer at his Geistliches Lied, and his First Symphony, the Symphony No. 1 in C minor. We look at how Brahms' music is motivic, using motifs and tiny cells to weave extraordinary tapestries of motivic music.

Пікірлер: 870

  • @pogeman2345
    @pogeman23453 жыл бұрын

    Brahms taking 14 years to finish his first symphony gives me renewed hope that I might one day finish my own.

  • @himanshuborkar959

    @himanshuborkar959

    3 жыл бұрын

    20 years*

  • @VisiblyJacked

    @VisiblyJacked

    3 жыл бұрын

    Tfw Schumann will never hail you as the new Prometheus tho

  • @MiloPaulus

    @MiloPaulus

    3 жыл бұрын

    I agree. That instills faith and hope in myself.

  • @SamTahbou

    @SamTahbou

    3 жыл бұрын

    Pretty sure he finished other works during that time, though.

  • @Wkkbooks

    @Wkkbooks

    3 жыл бұрын

    It's not as though he didn't write reams of great music during those 14 years. He just felt he hadn't the right to assemble 90 musicians and several thousand listeners until he had it just right.

  • @biomuseum6645
    @biomuseum66453 жыл бұрын

    Please continue doing this “why listen to” series, really hypes me seeing my personal favorite composers here, and other great musicians as well 💁🏽‍♂️

  • @niccolopaganini1782

    @niccolopaganini1782

    3 жыл бұрын

    Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Paganini etc. are some great suggestions

  • @JohnDoe-sx2ij

    @JohnDoe-sx2ij

    Жыл бұрын

    @@niccolopaganini1782 not Paganini. Paganini was not a great composer

  • @davidkolodziejczak71

    @davidkolodziejczak71

    Жыл бұрын

    maybe some lesser known composers like Carlos seixas from the baroque era

  • @bananabanana2887

    @bananabanana2887

    Жыл бұрын

    @@davidkolodziejczak71 or even household names like Bruckner or Britten but which are perhaps not as huge as ones like Brahms

  • @WoutDC
    @WoutDC3 жыл бұрын

    I found Brahms hard to get into, but once I got into a single symphony a whole world just opened for me and honestly, if anyone would ask me, he might even be my favourite composer.

  • @darionbuck8864

    @darionbuck8864

    3 жыл бұрын

    Just getting into classical music as of a few months. Not huge into Brahams atm.

  • @WoutDC

    @WoutDC

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@darionbuck8864 For me it took about a year and a half to really start loving his music. For me I think it was too abstract at first sight, and I probably didn't get the bigger structures either. Nothing you can do but listen to something of him every once in a while till something clicks! For me it all started with the Shicksalslied and the 4th symphony, but it could start with anything of course...

  • @jb1980ist

    @jb1980ist

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'm still not really in love with his symphonies but LOVE his chamber music and choral music.

  • @WoutDC

    @WoutDC

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jb1980ist I have what I'd call a 'complicated relationship' with them too, but I do love them very much, especially the third I've found to be a continious source of awe and inspiration... Also only really getting into his choral music as of lately to be fair, especially the requiem and the alto-rhapsody.

  • @jb1980ist

    @jb1980ist

    3 жыл бұрын

    The requiem is one of my favorite comfort pieces. If I'm having a bad day, on it goes.

  • @horker_loaf9467
    @horker_loaf94673 жыл бұрын

    I’ve spent the past year of my life (in my undergrad) studying Brahms. Specifically his 4 symphonies. I’ve conducted all but the 2nd, and I have fallen in love with his writing. In my graduate degree, I will study orchestral conducting and I will spend the rest of my life studying this beautiful music. Thank you, EJPF

  • @joeboyle5864

    @joeboyle5864

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hope you know how fortunate you are !

  • @greggoreo6738

    @greggoreo6738

    Жыл бұрын

    E. J. P. F. Let me wish you the very best in your studies, degrees and career choices. May you be Blessed Happy Healthy and Serene. Kindest regards, Gregg Oreo long Beach Ca Etats Unis Happy days of Celebration to you and your family. Gregg Oreo long Beach Ca Etats Unis

  • @Cloud-lx1ou

    @Cloud-lx1ou

    Жыл бұрын

    Can you please give me some insight on how you study music? Like what are the nuances that you look for when studying a particular score or a music piece?

  • @ronricherson6685
    @ronricherson66853 жыл бұрын

    Born into a blue-collar family, I was forced to learn the accordion while others played the guitar. I only learned popular songs so my knowledge of orchestral music was practically nil. I took a music theory class in high school in. 1972, but we never really discussed classical music and hardly listened to it. I saw a photo of a young Brahms in my textbook. He had long hair so I thought he might be cool (lol). I went to the record store where I bought lots of rock albums and found Brahm's Symphony #1 in C minor. I didn't really get it, but kept listening. I now agree with assessment of Von Bulow; it's easily on par with Beethoven best work and could have been his "10th." There is so much there! Thanks for this, I enjoyed it!

  • @baldintoki4065

    @baldintoki4065

    3 жыл бұрын

    I actually think knowing how to play the accordion is cooler than the guitar! :)

  • @ronricherson6685

    @ronricherson6685

    3 жыл бұрын

    Well Louisa, your the first person to ever say so to me! LOL. Thank you! It made my day.

  • @fearworks7249

    @fearworks7249

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ronricherson6685 Playing the accordion is cooler than playing the guitar.... TWO people have now said it.

  • @ronricherson6685

    @ronricherson6685

    3 жыл бұрын

    Clearly, you've not been on the receiving end of the mockery, jokes and so on that I got! Whenever I played accordion (when one was available), I used it for comedy as much as anything...Weird Al, anyone? LOL. My favorite Gary Larson comics (The Far Side) involved music; he was a musician too. He had one that was split into two panels. On top it had someone who had died and angels said, "Welcome to Heaven, here is your harp." On the bottom you can guess what it had, "Welcome to hell, here is your accordion." Not too many hit songs with the accordion... but I conced, it has its place. Two votes? Not exactly overwhelming... haha

  • @darionbuck8864

    @darionbuck8864

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's a great story. Ya I didn't get the first symphony at all. Just 45 minutes of playing notes. Took about 3 listens to hear the long drawn out melodies. Id say its unmatched. The emotion from the first movement at least.

  • @alexandrugheorghe5610
    @alexandrugheorghe56103 жыл бұрын

    It was Brahms who actually closed the door behind and ended Beethoven's era, opening the road for the rest of composers to become who they were in their music. For example, Mahler.

  • @LionKing-mv2uk

    @LionKing-mv2uk

    3 жыл бұрын

    Closed the door? You find many Beethoven elements in Brahms symphonies and Mahlers for that matter.

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    Malher was more Wagnerian than Brahmsian.

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    Ironically, Malher inserted voices in his symphonies, which has not been done by any other romantic composer while keeping the appellation of symphony (Berlioz, Mendelsohn, Liszt). Seems that Mahler is "born" from Beethoven and Wagner.

  • @hape3862

    @hape3862

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@richardtessier9436 Ehm, what about Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang" symphony and Liszt's "Faust" Symphony, both with choral movements? No, Mahler wasn't the first since Beethoven to use voices in his Symphonies.

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@hape3862 I always thought that the Faust symphony was a symphonic poem! As for Mendelssohn, I totally stand corrected! Nice to know. In my defense, that would be only two symphonies in the span of almost 100 years...

  • @flaviusaetius8358
    @flaviusaetius83583 жыл бұрын

    Wagner: "Beethoven ninth is the end of the symphony" Mahler : "Hold my beer"

  • @mojeo522

    @mojeo522

    3 жыл бұрын

    Bruckner: "Wait for me too!"

  • @randykern1842

    @randykern1842

    3 жыл бұрын

    RIGHTTTT

  • @Grapadapapa

    @Grapadapapa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not related to the video, but of all people, I happened to be reading the wiki page of Aetius earlier today

  • @clavichord

    @clavichord

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'm not sure Wagner ment this as literally as you seem to interpret

  • @Grapadapapa

    @Grapadapapa

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@clavichord I'm not sure Flavius Aetius meant this as literally as you seem to interpret

  • @harukanakamoto7755
    @harukanakamoto77553 жыл бұрын

    Everytime i hear Brahms 1st Symphony immediately i wanted to cry, it‘s such a beautiful and majestic piece😭❤️

  • @laurenth7187

    @laurenth7187

    2 жыл бұрын

    Could be a Pavlov reflex... :-)

  • @nicolasdelaforge7420

    @nicolasdelaforge7420

    6 ай бұрын

    There's nothing like it - but it has to be taken slow tempo...

  • @nicolasdelaforge7420

    @nicolasdelaforge7420

    5 ай бұрын

    My wife and I both consider the 1st to be the highest attainment in music. And his Violin concerto is #1 in the Violin repertoire. I've yet to figure out his Piano works.

  • @roryreviewer6598
    @roryreviewer65983 жыл бұрын

    Brahms is one of my favorite composers, especially his fantastic body of chamber works.

  • @LeGrandJohnson

    @LeGrandJohnson

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed on each point. Nothing beats his solo and chamber music for me. Especially his late works--ops. 116-119, the clarinet sonatas, the clarinet trio, the clarinet quintet. Academically complex and absolute masterpieces of craft, but you'd never know it by the aching, autumnal beauty.

  • @kalebzhu9947

    @kalebzhu9947

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@LeGrandJohnson I echo your sentiments about Op. 116-119 and the clarinet sonatas

  • @laurenth7187

    @laurenth7187

    2 жыл бұрын

    You mean Mozart i suppose ? ok.

  • @princeandrey

    @princeandrey

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@LeGrandJohnson An especially beautiful early chamber piece is the Trio, op. 8. And yes, the clarinet works are very, very wonderful!

  • @princeandrey

    @princeandrey

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@laurenth7187 Mozart's clarinet works are great, but that doesn't subtract from the beauty of Brahms', does it?

  • @1972Diogenes
    @1972Diogenes3 жыл бұрын

    Schoenberg himself orchestrated a Brahms pianoquartet. His admiration went that far. Speaking for myself, Brahms' music was something I needed repeated exposure to before I understood what was going on. So many orchestral masterpieces - and dont forget the chambermusic ! Great video.

  • @mesenteria
    @mesenteria Жыл бұрын

    I am in awe of Brahms' Requiem. I sang it with my fellow choristers three years ago, and it still resonates after the pandemic. It is a towering work.

  • @anthonyneale5321

    @anthonyneale5321

    Жыл бұрын

    Absolutely. One may speculate from where the inspiration came?

  • @dulcamarabuffo
    @dulcamarabuffo3 жыл бұрын

    I have been an opera singer for 26 year and it is no coincidence that Brahms is my favourite composer, never having written an opera. I enjoyed the video and send thanks from Weimar.

  • @LeGrandJohnson
    @LeGrandJohnson3 жыл бұрын

    This is my favorite composer so it was great to see this video. Thank you Brahms' larger works are great, but where I think he really shines is in his solo and chamber works. The Clarinet Sonatas are masterpieces, as are the Clarinet Trio and Clarinet Quintet. Both cello sonatas, his violin sonatas, all of his late piano solo music--there's just nothing but great pieces in this output. Also, if anyone wants to get this type of content on Brahms in greater depth, Jan Swafford wrote a great biography.

  • @rickrobson8122
    @rickrobson81223 жыл бұрын

    What a fan-tas-tic article! Congratulations for such an insightful essay on such an historical master of Classical Music that was Brahms!... And be sure that I'm eagerly looking forward to your others essays on your Channel "Inside the Score" 👏👏👏

  • @archie561
    @archie5613 жыл бұрын

    This channel is just brilliant! Its so good to see someone making an effort to make classical music more understandable and accessible! Gonna have a listen to Brahms' first with all this in mind! Thanks a bunch 😊

  • @ChatterjeyDa.AabeerDa
    @ChatterjeyDa.AabeerDa3 жыл бұрын

    Words are not adequate to express my appreciation and thanks for the commendable job that this channel is doing for making us understand the vast expanse of the beautiful universe of western classical music. Great job. Carry on. Want more on Brahms , Chopin and also on all the all-time great composers.

  • @PanJasnovidec
    @PanJasnovidec3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for this excellent and well researched series on the major composers, putting their work, lives and creative endeacours in the social, political, artistic and musical context of their times. They have given me a new understanding of many of the pieces which I thought I knew, and brought them to life in an engaging and fascinating way.

  • @vox4pax
    @vox4pax Жыл бұрын

    This KZread video was superbly done, and I greatly appreciate your efforts to educate and elucidate. I have always loved Brahms.

  • @dulcamarabuffo
    @dulcamarabuffo3 жыл бұрын

    As an opera singer who has been in the business for almost thirty years, it is no coincidence that my favourite composer wrote no opera.

  • @marinathr4890
    @marinathr48902 жыл бұрын

    your “why listen to-“ series are more engaging and informative than my lectures at music university were, please keep doing them!

  • @julianlutchen4108
    @julianlutchen4108 Жыл бұрын

    You are one of the music channels with the highest quality out there, keep up the good work👍👍👍

  • @EvanJHagen
    @EvanJHagen2 жыл бұрын

    Great!!! Took me a while to warm up to Brahms, I didn’t get it at first. Now I can’t get enough. No matter how many times I hear the 1st movement of the 2nd symphony, it never gets old.

  • @lenircotia
    @lenircotia3 жыл бұрын

    I LOVE THOSE KIND OF VIDEOS!!!! PLEASE CONTINUNE DOING THEM!!!! THANK YOUUUU

  • @mattnorman3915
    @mattnorman39153 жыл бұрын

    Brahms is such a giant! His music requires you to really listen in to those subtlety’s of phrase and harmony, that’s where his treasures are.

  • @c.contrafactum584
    @c.contrafactum5843 жыл бұрын

    “nobody died” Hans Rott begs to differ.

  • @justintroyka8855

    @justintroyka8855

    3 жыл бұрын

    in fact they all died, this was over 100 years ago

  • @paulbrower4265

    @paulbrower4265

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hans Rott was crazy. promising, but crazy.

  • @misterb5073

    @misterb5073

    2 жыл бұрын

    If Rott had lived, he might have surpassed even Mahler!

  • @alistairdriscoll101
    @alistairdriscoll1013 жыл бұрын

    This channel seems fantastic, subscribed and eager to watch more of your videos. Thank you very much!!

  • @Ivander85
    @Ivander853 жыл бұрын

    Check out Brahms' violin concerto if you haven't... it's absolutely beautiful from start to finish.

  • @alexanderfiebrandt6732

    @alexanderfiebrandt6732

    2 жыл бұрын

    Do you have an opus number? Is it 77?

  • @shreyakghosh1724

    @shreyakghosh1724

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@alexanderfiebrandt6732 yes Brahms violin concerto and piano concerto no 1 is a must to check out 😍😭

  • @adipsous

    @adipsous

    11 ай бұрын

    The dialogue between solo violin and orchestra in the first movement of Brahms' Violin Concerto . . . nothing like it.

  • @rdleonortiz
    @rdleonortiz3 жыл бұрын

    Brahms' 1st symphony is the first work by him I ever listened, and I was most thrilled when I first recognized the motivic relation between the opening of the 4th movement and its "triumphal" development. Since then, I fell in love with Brahms' music. This video opens a door to a huge world of exploring and analyzing Brahms from this "interwoven motives" point of view, so thanks a lot!

  • @bgarri57

    @bgarri57

    3 жыл бұрын

    Same with me. I could have written this post.

  • @curio_sphere
    @curio_sphere2 жыл бұрын

    Dude his violin concerto is absolute fire too! Basically all I've listened from him so far Ive loved

  • @samaritan29
    @samaritan293 жыл бұрын

    if Brahms wanted to write great melodies he could, I think his most famous and accessible works attest to that. but that's not what he was interested in. a lot of what Brahms was interested in followed in the footsteps of late Schumann, who was experimenting with thematic fragmentation and recombination within the framework of larger forms. the interest in his music mainly lies in the formal and harmonic tension and buildup he generates, rather than any "great theme" he wanted to impress upon his listeners. a performer who tries to mine Brahms for a catchy/attractive melody will miss the mark in his playing as much as a listener who tries to listen to Brahms for the same. Thematic fragmentation being akin to elements. And a composer is a chemist who creates "reactions" by combining things together

  • @GrimskyKorsakov

    @GrimskyKorsakov

    3 жыл бұрын

    This is absolute poetry. As a Liszt fan I think I shall have to go back to Brahms with your words in mind and relisten

  • @chedagoz7145

    @chedagoz7145

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'd like to understand music the way you do. What has been your learning path? Of course listening to music but as much as I listen, I just don't get it.

  • @fedegwagwa

    @fedegwagwa

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@chedagoz7145 it just takes time man. You gotta train the ear and the brain to follow the various melodic and harmonic lines, but it comes in spontaneously after a while (especially if you play an instrument)

  • @debwagner7505

    @debwagner7505

    3 жыл бұрын

    Samaritan Outstandingly valuable insight . Thank you !

  • @bgarri57

    @bgarri57

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Vox Daze Tchaikovsky and Brahms both were not impressed with each others music. Brahms thought Tchaikovsky was way too emotionally indulgent. Vulgar. He preferred more subtle means of expression. Brahms' music is highly distilled to express subtle combinations of emotion whereas Tchaikovsky had his heart on his sleeve. Both were great composers. Nobody could write melodies like Tchaikovsky. Brahms achieved the sublime through more sophisticated means.

  • @mattgreven7615
    @mattgreven76154 ай бұрын

    I'm going to hear 1st and 2nd live this weekend! Can't wait. I've played them both, and they're each among my favorite pieces to play (double bass). The writing lays so well in the hand.

  • @farahmohammed1963
    @farahmohammed19633 жыл бұрын

    Excellent episode!! Thank you!!🌺

  • @chadrenner
    @chadrenner3 жыл бұрын

    I adore Brahms and yet I have never heard of the Geistliches lied! Thank you for introducing me to this gorgeous piece!

  • @tacituskilgore2720
    @tacituskilgore27203 жыл бұрын

    As an Austrian who loves Brahms, I really appreciate this series! Keep it up!

  • @christophernewman5027
    @christophernewman50273 жыл бұрын

    I have been waiting for this a long time!

  • @liauchungren848
    @liauchungren8482 ай бұрын

    Outstanding introduction of my beloved Johannes Brahms, I highly praise your quality work, bravo and thank you. Please carry on.

  • @Joeh1154
    @Joeh11543 жыл бұрын

    My first day at College was having the Bass part for Brahms 4th Symphony in front of me in the student Orchestra rehearsal at 9:00 am. I had never played it or heard it before that day. I fell in love with it and immersed myself in Brahms' Orchestral music, the two Overtures and his Requiem. Wonderful stuff.

  • @tonybrock5288
    @tonybrock52882 жыл бұрын

    I'm pretty much a pleb when it comes to classical music. I know, however, that I love it deeply for some or other reason and your commentary somehow just hits the spot! Thank you!

  • @nikolinacsiffary1393
    @nikolinacsiffary13932 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for doing this series!

  • @jefft9729
    @jefft97293 жыл бұрын

    Brahms created so many masterpieces for an incredible variety of performers and forms. Very possibly the greatest composer of the all.

  • @marichristian1072
    @marichristian1072 Жыл бұрын

    I'm stunned by the number of works in Brahms' catalogue. I particularly love his choral music; it's wonderful to sing.

  • @johnga911
    @johnga9113 жыл бұрын

    Just discovering your channel, great video. Thanks very much for this.

  • @Erikf_r
    @Erikf_r3 жыл бұрын

    I really appreciate your effor by doing this interesting and helpful videos.

  • @picksalot1
    @picksalot13 жыл бұрын

    Never heard "Geistliches Lied" before. It really is a beautiful piece of music. Thanks

  • @gigogrom216
    @gigogrom2163 жыл бұрын

    Wagner: "Beethoven's ninth is the End of the symphony" Tchaikovsky: ha ha adagio lamentoso go awww

  • @danipar7388

    @danipar7388

    3 жыл бұрын

    Genius

  • @Wkkbooks

    @Wkkbooks

    3 жыл бұрын

    Exactly. Brahms was right, Wagner was wrong.

  • @user-jb5sk7pc2m

    @user-jb5sk7pc2m

    3 жыл бұрын

    But were there really any significant contributions to how symphonies are written between Beethoven and Mahler/Shostakovich?

  • @flaviusaetius8358

    @flaviusaetius8358

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@user-jb5sk7pc2m Bruckner

  • @user-jb5sk7pc2m

    @user-jb5sk7pc2m

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@flaviusaetius8358 how even?

  • @scottweaverphotovideo
    @scottweaverphotovideo3 жыл бұрын

    Enjoyed very much. Thanks! I'm less and less a Brahms fan as I grow older. I liked your analysis of the C minor symphony, and I recalled how much I used to admire it. The opening 30 seconds is still incomparable. Much of the rest seems too calculated to me now. My favorite works remain the Handel Variations and Fugue, the piano quintet, and D minor piano concerto, almost a symphony in itself!

  • @jhonwask
    @jhonwask2 жыл бұрын

    You can't forget his trios, quartets, sonotas, and concertos. The quintet in f is one of my favourites.

  • @JD..........
    @JD..........3 жыл бұрын

    At age 17, he wrote his first piano sonata. And it’s a masterpiece.

  • @segmentsAndCurves

    @segmentsAndCurves

    2 жыл бұрын

    At 20, he wrote his third piano sonata. And it’s a masterpiece. And he never wrote another.

  • @arinaina4262

    @arinaina4262

    Жыл бұрын

    At age 16. Mozart writes his Allelujah, it's a masterpiece.

  • @tomowenpianochannel

    @tomowenpianochannel

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes - Brahm's first sonata is like Beethoven's 7th Sonata or 18th Sonata - a huge work full of dynamism, 4 solid movements, a classic of the form just full of energy. I prefer it to his 2nd and 3rd Sonatas, based on pure 'Listen up!' announcement and self-confidence.

  • @nelsoncheng4638

    @nelsoncheng4638

    Жыл бұрын

    J.D. The first phrase of opening theme sounds like (exactly like?) Andrew Loyld Webber's "Don't cry for me Argentina"!!

  • @homeofcreation

    @homeofcreation

    Жыл бұрын

    @@nelsoncheng4638 Now you know where Lloyd Webber steals his stuff.

  • @chainuser1774
    @chainuser1774 Жыл бұрын

    Brahms music was hard for me to wrap my head around at one point but his Cello Sonata in E minor is a masterpiece and really opened my mind and ears to his compositional style. Truly remarkable composer.

  • @resathe6760
    @resathe6760 Жыл бұрын

    His first symphony is one of my favourite pieces of classical music ever. I got to play it when I was still in school. There was a project every summer where amateur musicians could learn and practice a piece of classical music with the help and addition of professional musicians and after a week we would perform it at an open air concert in front of the opera house. The first time I participated we played Brahms' first symphony and I instantly fell in love. Such a great symphony

  • @jamesolson6669
    @jamesolson66693 жыл бұрын

    I freaking love this channel man

  • @johnharvey2850
    @johnharvey2850 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this. Very informative and interesting.

  • @Claude1Rochon
    @Claude1Rochon2 жыл бұрын

    thank you very much . i think you have just saved me from boredom . yes . YOU are utterly compelling ! and you did fill gaps in my little fabric

  • @anonymusum
    @anonymusum Жыл бұрын

    Well, it´s always hard to reduce very complicated structures to a common denominator. I once analyzed a Brahms string quartet for a fellow student and I couldn´t believe how many contrapuntal relations there were. I talked with a professor of mine about this and he added: yes, and now keep in mind that this isn´t only very complex, it also sounds just great!

  • @MagnanimousDominion
    @MagnanimousDominion3 жыл бұрын

    Love your videos! Would you consider doing one on Scriabin? Whilst he is well known amongst classical music fans he is not so known to the public and, in my view he was a true visionary who must be counted amongst the great founders of modernism in music along with Schoenberg, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky. (And, just as Brahms and Wagner both lead to Schoenberg, so Scriabin led to other developments by composers who used some of the same scales he did - I.E. Stravinsky and Messiaen using octatonic scales, which Scriabin also did in his later compositions)

  • @suleimanalmustafa5044
    @suleimanalmustafa50443 жыл бұрын

    Thank you.. much appreciated material

  • @passage2enBleu
    @passage2enBleu3 жыл бұрын

    Reminds me of German New Medicine's philosophy: Disease begins in the mind. Of the making of music there is no end, in all it's forms.

  • @eddydelrio1303
    @eddydelrio1303 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent insights and impulse for teaching.

  • @robertjschroff6307
    @robertjschroff63073 жыл бұрын

    Great analysing, thanks for that. :)

  • @prototropo
    @prototropo2 жыл бұрын

    The opening measures of Brahms’ 1st, like Bach’s Matthau-Passion, sends glacial shivers down the entire spine of history.

  • @princeandrey
    @princeandrey2 жыл бұрын

    I loved this, but then I love this kind of thing! Thank you!

  • @abrahamgarza537
    @abrahamgarza5373 жыл бұрын

    Wow, that was intense. The jedi knights of music.

  • @stephenpopovichl122
    @stephenpopovichl1222 жыл бұрын

    Great presentation Thank you

  • @vincentecrepont4063
    @vincentecrepont40639 ай бұрын

    Really great to get some understanding into these composers when you are only a low level musician. Thanks ❤

  • @tonyanderton3521
    @tonyanderton35213 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for this video. I found it very instructive and interesting, without being too academic (for us non-musicians). If you have not already done one, I think that a piece on Liszt would be very popular. Or how about Debussy? Again, a trailblazer in harmony.

  • @coenvo
    @coenvo3 ай бұрын

    Ive played his first cello sonata before, such a great piece, i highly recommend the du pré recording

  • @webbophone3377
    @webbophone33773 жыл бұрын

    Very interesting. The 19th century has always been a mysterious hole in my knowledge of classical music; this video has provided some incentive to try and fill that hole.

  • @bgarri57
    @bgarri573 жыл бұрын

    Ya gotta love Brahms. Each symphony written by him is terrific. His 2nd is my favorite, but they're all great.

  • @bcarr1122
    @bcarr11223 жыл бұрын

    One can only imagine how appreciative the musical giants would be of your enthusiasm, commitment, and passion. I may not be a giant, but I am certainly thankful.

  • @ludewigmariendorf268
    @ludewigmariendorf2683 жыл бұрын

    Hehe, I find it somewhat comforting, at home, or flowing through a familiar celestial realm or something listening to this bit of history being narrated of a war of romantics feel as if I am watching or being immersed into the epic struggles and rivalry of Legend of the Galactic Heroes all over again.

  • @theoldar
    @theoldar3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. This is excellent.

  • @manny75586
    @manny755863 жыл бұрын

    Wagner is my favorite composer. His influence is incalculable. But Brahms is an undoubted genius. His harmonic innovation and craft are works of the highest order. His third symphony simply floors me with every listen.

  • @jb8256

    @jb8256

    Жыл бұрын

    His third is my favorite work of art by anyone in any medium. I've been in love with it for over 60 years. No composer rewards repeated listening like Brahms.

  • @benderocks788

    @benderocks788

    11 ай бұрын

    I'm floored by the 1st mov alone of Brahms' 4th symphony! 😁

  • @philipvlnst
    @philipvlnst3 жыл бұрын

    the way you explained it was breathtaking. Exhilirating even (now i sound like snagglepuss). Thank you for your series. You will be a great help to people uninitiated in classical music to enter the portals of the gods so to speak. My old boss in the university kept reminding us "idealistic and haughty" professors that "ignaramous students" if they stay ignaramous will be the fault of the teachers and the elders.

  • @PanchoQV
    @PanchoQV3 жыл бұрын

    incredible video!! Thanks! =)

  • @rhjiv4
    @rhjiv4 Жыл бұрын

    After almost 60 years of classic roc, from the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top. I stumbled on Rachmaninoff and became fascinated with the classics. I just now discovered this offer and you can be certain that I will be listening to your lessons.

  • @DeadlyBreadcrumbs
    @DeadlyBreadcrumbs3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, it took Brahms 20 years to finish his first symphony. What I find even more remarkable is that the following 3 symphonies are arguably even better than the first. The fourth symphony is an absolute masterpiece, equaled only by his second piano concerto...the final conclusion of a man dedicated to music entirely...

  • @ColinForBooks
    @ColinForBooks3 жыл бұрын

    what a fun, interesting video! I will listen to Brahms now!

  • @pchabanowich
    @pchabanowich2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this. I’ve felt Brahms to be a mystery - I lose the thread so easily, and it really must be my lack of musical education - I can follow Beethoven, Sibelius and Mahler (particularly) without a problem. I will try again, with perhaps some reading to help understand this undoubted master.🙏

  • @sethtaylor6410
    @sethtaylor6410 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent introduction and exposition of Brahms, but I would have loved to seen some discussion concerning Brahms’ music being possibly the most influential on film composition, in particular Williams’ work

  • @jamshidbastani
    @jamshidbastani Жыл бұрын

    I find most of his music, especially his orchestral output, academic and pedantic. His chamber music, such as the clarinet quintet and the piano trios are heavenly.

  • @franciscodanieldiazgonzale2096

    @franciscodanieldiazgonzale2096

    Жыл бұрын

    His 1st piano concerto is anything but academic (as the main feature that comes to my mind). But I admit there is something else going on in interpreting his music. That 1st Piano concerto is very often played as a pedantic academic monstrosity by many virtuosi. Thanks to Grimaud, in my case, I could finally connect the dots between the concerto and the turbulent moments in his life depicted in movies and biographies. My fear is that other symphonies that are recorded are suffering the same destiny.

  • @ruthdubb3274
    @ruthdubb32742 жыл бұрын

    As an amateur violinist in a community orchestra I love playing Brahms symphonies.

  • @christophmack7451
    @christophmack74513 жыл бұрын

    I always wonder in almost every video about the "battle" between the new german school and the conservatives especially in vienna people seem to ignore the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. He was a devoted Wagner fanboy, sure, but managed to create his very own language and style, adapting the new german school to a form that seemed dead to the likes of Liszt and Wagner, and even lay the groundwork for Mahler and his epicness. Could you maybe do a video or an episode of your podcast about the works of Bruckner?

  • @cziffra-eg9st

    @cziffra-eg9st

    3 жыл бұрын

    I love Bruckner too, but surely he is too much of an oddball and his symphonic works aren't as accessible as that of Mahler

  • @anthonyc6017
    @anthonyc60173 жыл бұрын

    Could you do a video for example why to listen to chopin? I loved this video very informative and would love to hear one on chopin

  • @ZenGrammy
    @ZenGrammy Жыл бұрын

    This is excellent, thanks.

  • @carlosmelo5211
    @carlosmelo52113 жыл бұрын

    Very good channel!

  • @displaychicken
    @displaychicken3 жыл бұрын

    This is a great concept for a video

  • @riftmanhun5243
    @riftmanhun52433 жыл бұрын

    Wow this video is so impressive good jobb thank you

  • @dlhuo2340
    @dlhuo23402 жыл бұрын

    Very much in love with Brahms music!!

  • @milesmartin4958
    @milesmartin4958 Жыл бұрын

    It really speaks volumes that while I was distracted at the gym listening to this and you described Brahms' approach to symphonies, I genuinely thought for a minute you were describing Wagners approach to opera. Two sides of a similar coin despite their differences

  • @1956paterson
    @1956paterson3 жыл бұрын

    This video excellent instruction in 19th Century Romantic Music is well worth viewing.

  • @SpecialUniverse
    @SpecialUniverse3 жыл бұрын

    Didn't that whole trend towards more and more motivic music already begin with Beethoven? I mean his music is full of short motifs being developed and woven together to create amazingly intricate music. Funnily, both Brahms and Wagner did the same thing, so they really are in that way both descendants of Beethoven.

  • @xura7CB

    @xura7CB

    3 жыл бұрын

    Short motivic music is a characteristic feature of the Classical period. Just listen to a first movement of the Mozart 40th. IMO Brahms has gone much further in this direction. Almost every phrase is linked by some way or another to the previous one. Also Brahms had enormous talent of creating long "romantic" melodies out of these little themes, which made his music both modern and classical

  • @TiqueO6

    @TiqueO6

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@xura7CB On the subject of long melodies: wasn’t there a competition of sorts among his contemporaries on who could create the longest Melody and still have it all together? I believe I read this in the biography or other authority works.

  • @steve.schatz
    @steve.schatz3 жыл бұрын

    Well done!

  • @danmitchell5470
    @danmitchell54702 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant explanation of Brahms.

  • @philthompson8574
    @philthompson85743 жыл бұрын

    my first exposure to was when I was 20 and student somebody had left a record of the 4th symphony in my room I played it before I was going to have a nap the opening minutes were very suprising the theme was extremely quiet almost like it was in the wrong order and should have been the second movement nevertheless it was hypnotic and beautiful I felt that I had entered into a fantasy land, a beautiful enchanted forest

  • @michaelwu7678
    @michaelwu76783 жыл бұрын

    Brahms (1896): "I always find Beethoven's C Minor concerto (the Third Piano Concerto) much smaller and weaker than Mozart's. . . . I realize that Beethoven's new personality and his new vision, which people recognized in his works, made him the greater composer in their minds. But after fifty years, our views need more perspective. One must be able to distinguish between the charm that comes from newness and the value that is intrinsic to a work. I admit that Beethoven's concerto is more modern, but not more significant! I also realize that Beethoven's First Symphony made a strong impression on people. That's the nature of a new vision. But the last three Mozart symphonies are far more significant. . . . Yes, the Rasumovsky quartets, the later symphonies-these inhabit a significant new world, one already hinted at in his Second Symphony. But what is much weaker in Beethoven compared to Mozart, and especially compared to Sebastian Bach, is the use of dissonance. Dissonance, true dissonance as Mozart used it, is not to be found in Beethoven. Look at Idomeneo. Not only is it a marvel, but as Mozart was still quite young and brash when he wrote it, it was a completely new thing. What marvelous dissonance! What harmony! You couldn't commission great music from Beethoven since he created only lesser works on commission-his more conventional pieces, his variations and the like. When Haydn or Mozart wrote on commission, it was the same as their other works."

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    I agree with Brahms there: Mozart was the greatest of them all, even greater than JS Bach who had the fortune of dying an old man.

  • @michaelwu7678

    @michaelwu7678

    3 жыл бұрын

    Richard Tessier Absolutely agree. He’s the most versatile and emotionally complex composer we have. To think what he could’ve done had he lived to just 50 years old makes me so sad. It’s hard to find people who give Mozart his due and appreciate his musical nuances. The reputation of his music in the popular imagination and even among musicians is terribly skewed. He’s not some simple, austere, merely pleasing composer who just wrote pretty melodies. Mozart spans the whole psychological spectrum. Here are some quotes you might like. www.spiritsound.com/music/mozartquotes.html

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@michaelwu7678 I particularly enjoyed these ones : The most tremendous genius raised Mozart above all masters, in all centuries and in all the arts. (Richard Wagner) Before Mozart, all ambition turns to despair. (Charles Gounod) Mozart is the greatest composer of all. Beethoven created his music, but the music of Mozart is of such purity and beauty that one feels he merely found it-that it has always existed as part of the inner beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed. (Albert Einstein) I never heard so much content in so short a period. (Pinchas Zukerman) Thank you

  • @historicwine1283

    @historicwine1283

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@richardtessier9436 Ha, Bach decidedly eclipses Mozart.

  • @richardtessier9436

    @richardtessier9436

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@historicwine1283 Nope. Consider that Bach had 30 years more of maturity to explore his genius. Even if you make abstraction of this, which is unfair (unfortunately, we can not know which work of Bachs would not have been composed had he died at 35 but we know that most of his cantatas were composed after his 40s...), we could pit one work against the other and Mozart would fare better. Its quite fun to do, by the way. Against the passions, I would put the operas: St-John vs Don Jiovanni St-Matheus vs The Magic Flute And concerning sacred music: For example, the mass in C vs the great mass We can do the same thing with the concertos and keyboard pieces. Mozart never wrote for solo violin nor cello but Bach never wrote a symphony nor a lied! There has never been such a great output of masterpieces in such a short time as with Mozart... One other contender would be Schubert, but he was so young! Who knows what would have been if they all died at 65?

  • @smb123211
    @smb1232113 жыл бұрын

    I play 6-7 Intermezzos and Capriccios daily. You find the same pattern - motifs that evolve, transform and evolve into new creatures. The F Sharp Minor, C Sharp Minor and G minor Capriccios are good examples, especially the G Minor with its "march" / "lop sideded" ending.

  • @DavidRLentz
    @DavidRLentz Жыл бұрын

    Oh, I have so much to say! More on much of that at another time. First, I prize greatly classical music, especially the symphony, with the full panoply of all the classical instruments and a comprehensive choir. The incomparable mix of the various devices--violins, flutes, French horns, etc.-- brings us is orders of magnitude beyond what any other form can even hope to provide. I very much would like something of an erudite, introductory tour guide through classical music. Your offer looks to be just that. More later.

  • @romulotorres6777
    @romulotorres67773 жыл бұрын

    Can an honest man request an analysis of Brahms' Third Symphony?

  • @Rom14DH

    @Rom14DH

    3 жыл бұрын

    Such a beautiful piece. The 3rd movement with the melody in the Cellos is heartbreaking

  • @andrewlankford9634

    @andrewlankford9634

    3 жыл бұрын

    An honest man needs no analysis of Brahms' Third Symphony.

  • @darionbuck8864

    @darionbuck8864

    3 жыл бұрын

    You need to follow Richard Atkinson! He just did seperate videos on each movement of the first symphony. Each movement gets its own video. Dude puts in the work. He said he plans on doing all 16.

  • @neilzukov2921
    @neilzukov29213 жыл бұрын

    Great video, now I understand why Glenn Gould played only Brahms from the romantic repertoire... Can you please make a video about the "Last Giant" - Max Reger...? One of the most genuine composers

  • @charliegold3227

    @charliegold3227

    Жыл бұрын

    Gould has also played Liszt

  • @juanpablovelez7656
    @juanpablovelez76563 жыл бұрын

    I love your channel.