Regular readers of this blog will know that Brahms holds a very firm place in my Holy Square of composers (Bach, Brahms, Beethoven and Britten, just in case you haven鈥檛 picked up on my fundamentalism yet). So, imagine my face when I realised that we would be part of 's celebration and exploration of the work of .
For five days, 成人论坛 Radio 3 will be taking a look at the life and work of Johannes Brahms with a series of concerts in Bristol from St George's and Colston Hall. The week will feature performances by the Skampa Quartet, Daniel Hope, Sebastian Knauer, the 成人论坛 Singers, Charles Owen, Katya Apekisheva and Stephen Kovacevich. There will also be talks throughout the four-day event by eminent speakers.
Johannes Brahms
Our contribution to the Brahms-aganza takes place on 8 October at the Colston Hall under the baton of our Conductor Laureate, the much loved, Tadaaki Otaka. It is a pleasure for us to be joined, yet again, by two fabulous young German artists, Veronika Eberle and Andreas Brantelid in Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, and we will also perform the Academic Festival Overture and the Symphony No 1 in C minor.
Many will know the story of how it took Brahms an incredibly long time to get round to writing his first symphony. So awed and humbled was he by Beethoven's contribution to that genre that somehow, the young Johannes couldn't quite screw up the courage to present his first symphony to the world. He kept the bust of Beethoven in his study, glowering down at him, which probably didn't help. However, I always feel very glad that he eventually got over that fear!
Tadaaki Otaka. Photo: Masahide Sato
We often see Brahms' music as a bit of a comfort blanket. We see his music as a fail-safe, go to crowd pleaser. After a prolonged period of relatively unknown works, it is not uncommon to hear the refrain (from both audience and players alike) 'Ooh, why can鈥檛 we have a nice bit of Brahms?', but I believe to think of his music in this manner is an insult to both the beauty of the writing and the genius of the man.
This music is so much more than just a lovely bit of mindless high romanticism to put on in the background. We imagine Brahms as this genial, grandfatherly, bearded figure, but he was so much more than that. Brahms was a deeply passionate man, an exceedingly loyal man, a man who confessed to be 'dying of love' for Clara Schumann, yet, it would appear, never acted on these out of love and loyalty for his great friend, Robert Schumann. His music is a love song to the German composers who came before him, but is also the conduit by which the Germanic musical tradition forged its way though the 19th and into the 20th century. Without Beethoven there may have been no Brahms, but without Brahms it is highly unlikely that there would have been a Schoenberg or a Webern.
Colston Hall, Bristol. Photo: Liz Eve
is so much more than dots on a page. Take this opportunity to immerse yourself in Brahms' world and music. If you can, attend the talks or tune in to on Radio 3, and get to know this incredible music within its social and political context.
The Orchestra perform at Colston Hall, Bristol, on Wednesday 8 October. For ticketing information, visit the .
Also, on 6 October you can hear 成人论坛 National Orchestra of Wales Principal Clarinet, Rob Plane, perform with the Skampa Quartet as part of this Festival at St George鈥檚, Bristol. The concert has free Cavatina tickets for people aged between 8 and 25.
Find out more about Radio 3's Brahms Experience on the .