Brahms
Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.
Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers. Embedded within his meticulous structures, however, are deeply romantic motifs.
Brahms
Recorded on 15, 17 November 1932, Beethovensaal, Berlin
Total Duration: 22:57
The Budapest Quartet:
Josef Roismann, violin
Alexander Schneider, violin
Boris Kroyt, viola
Mischa Schneider, cello
with:
Hans Mahlke, viola
STAFFORD SMITH The Star-Spangled Banner
BRAHMS Violin Sonata No. 1
SCHUBERT Rondo Brillant
BUSCH Violin Sonata No. 2
Live recordings, 1944-48
Total duration: 67:45
Adolf Busch, violin
Rudolf Serkin, piano
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
BRAHMS Tragic Overture
BRAHMS Nänie
Live and studio recordings, 1942-1950
Total duration: 2hr 25:36
Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Choir
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Fritz Busch
BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 1
Total duration: 2hr 13:36
The Busch Quartet
with
Rudolf Serkin piano
BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 1
BRAHMS String Sextet No. 1
Live concert recordings, 1949
Total duration: 70:36
Busch Quartet
Adolf Busch, Bruno Straumann, violins
Hugo Gottesmann, viola
Herman Busch, cello
with Rudolf Serkin, piano
Albert Bertschmann, viola
August Wenzinger, cello
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
Recorded live in 1954
Duration 42:00
Boston Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Guido Cantelli