English Commentary by Sergio Cánovas 

The First Symphony of Brahms was started in 1862, writing the piano score of the first movement. But the work was paralyzed because he did not felt strong enough to write a symphony which could be at the level of the ones composed by Beethoven. In a letter sent to Hermann Levi, he tells him that, in fact, he would never compose a symphony. He felt more comfortable on the piano and with chamber music compositions, much appreciated at the time in Vienna. Some of the themes of the work, such as the transcription of the alpine horn of the fourth movement, were already designed before, but we know little about the slow development of the work. Its elaboration process lasted until the summer of 1876. At the beginning of October he interprets a piano transcription of the work at Clara Schumann’s house. The symphony premiered on November 4, 1876 in Karlsruhe under the direction of Otto Dessoff. After some revisions it was published by Simrock, at the end of the year 1877.

The first movement is written in sonata form with a brief slow introduction. It’s worth to note that originally, the movement began directly with the allegro. It opens with a slow, tragic introduction over the blows of the timpani, Brahms introduces the themes he will develop in the main allegro. The main theme, presented by the violins, is passionate and strongly drammatic, with some reminiscences of the «fate» motif of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The second theme, presented by the woodwinds, is deeply lyrical, with solos of the oboe, clarinet. The development is turbulent and with several modulations. Starting with a murky rumble in the basses, the music gathers strength with a thrilling set of arpeggios in the violins with support from the brass, which repeat the «fate» motif with great alacrity. After the recapitulation of both themes, the coda begins with pizzicato strings which quickly decrescendo, leading to a set of modulations played out in the strings with their bows leading to the closing cadence. The movement ends peacefully in C major.

The second movement is written ina simple ternary form, being much lighter in spirit in a refreshing contrast, originally it was written as a rondo. It opens with a calm, lyrical main theme on the strings with interventions of bassoons and horns. The middle section begins with a warm solo from the oboe, followed by the clarinet and then by the rest of the woodwinds.The main theme is then recapitulated with some variations, with new solos of the oboe and first violin. In the final bars the timpani almost imperceptibly plays the tonic note with the rhythmic motive with which the symphony opened, Brahms reminds us of the latent tension. It ends with a sustained note on the violin.

The third movement is a light scherzo in spirit, but full of complex rhythms and interlaced textures. The allegretto opens with two lively themes that are repeated alternately through several instruments; the first (main) one presented by the clarinet and the second one by the flute. After a brief development, it ends with a brief restatement of the first topic. In the trio, Brahms plays with the first theme: stretches the musical phrases, overlaps and extracts melodic motifs from small cells of previous thematic material. The texture becomes denser towards the end of the section. The themes of the allegretto are recapitulated in an abbreviated form before concluding smoothly.

The fourth movement, like the first one, is written in sonata form with introduction. It opens with a tragic, slow introduction which leads to the più andante section, where we can hear the alpine theme presented by the horn. Brahms wrote it inspired by the alpine horns of Switzerland in one of his holidays. It continue with a chorale which is repeated in a solemn way. It seems that the composer wanted to unite nature with religion. But his thought was in Beethoven’s symphonies. Unity refers to a universal communion where nature and love are united between men. The main theme of the allegro is majestic, bearing some resembles to Beethoven’s «Ode to Joy», the second contrast is more melodic. In the development section we find a remarkable contrapuntal construction. Development and recapitulation are fused in the same section. In the coda the trombones interpret the chorale while the violins ascend to the high notes, concluding triumphally.

Picture: «Moonrise by the Sea» (1822) by the German painter Caspar David Friedrich. Sources: http://www.historiadelasinfonia.es/hi… and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphon…)