symphony no . 1 in c minor , op . 68 JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Brahms invested a great deal of work in his first symphony. It took him, as he himself related, some twenty years to complete it, after hard "labor", in the autumn of 1876, when he was forty three. He left no sketches or notes, so it is hard to know what his difficulties or deliberations were during the writing process. According to the manuscript Brahms presented to Cambridge University, in the first performances of the symphony in England, in Cambridge and London under Joseph Joachim inMarch 1877, the secondmovement, Andante sostenuto, was played in a slightly different version from the final one known today. However, Brahms rejected the version played in England. He also refused to discuss his work or to explain it. His extra caution and doubts while writing the symphony might have had several possible reasons: primarily, the high esteem, bordering on awe, in which he held Beethoven's symphonies and string quartets. In addition, he was a perfectionist, very judgmental and selfcriticizing. "You have no idea how it is to always hear the giant striding behind you," he told conductor Hermann Levi. Indeed, there is no doubt that in Brahms' eyes Beethoven was the ideal model in creating wonderful and perfect symphonies. Brahms, who was already a renowned composer, changed and revised the symphony out of concern of being directly compared with Beethoven. Symphony no. 1 was premiered on 4November 1876 in Karlsruhe, conducted by Otto Dessof. The first performance in Vienna was on 17 December that same year. Brahms did not disappoint his admirers; he proved absolute proficiency in symphonic writing. After its premiere, some called the symphony "Beethoven's Tenth." Brahms, of course, took this as a great compliment. The eminent conductor Hans von Bülow stated: "Now we have the three great B's: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms." Brahms' critics at the time (most of them avid Wagner supporters) contended that he was cumbersome, unimaginative, conservative and risk averse. They did not appreciate that his greatness lay specifically in his innovation, imagination and rare ability to develop the musical possibilities of basic themes and musical ideas. He skillfully exhausted the qualities inherent in seemingly simple motifs, using them as departure points for future development. He designed his work with vision, human warmth, daring key changes, original harmonies and sensitivity to musical structure and architecture. His symphonic orchestra was the customary Classical orchestra used by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and later by Schumann and ca. 46 mins. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro Andante sostenuto Un poco allegretto e grazioso Adagio - Allegro non troppo ma con brio
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