Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. This week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Music Featured:
Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52a No 1
Ballade in G minor, Op 118 No 2
Sandmännchen WoO 31, No 4 (Children’s Folk Songs)
Scherzo in E flat minor, Op 4
An die Nachtigall, Op 46 No 4
Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor, Op 17
Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor Op 25 (3rd mvt – Andante)
Einförmig ist der Liebe Gram, Op 113 No 13
Sonata in C major (4th mvt)
FAE Sonata (3rd mvt – Scherzo)
Piano Trio, Op 8 (3rd mvt – Adagio)
Geistliches Lied, Op 30
Intermezzo, Op 117 No 2
Sextet No 2 (1st mvt – Allegro non troppo)
Waltz in A flat
Six Quartets, Op 112 (No 1, Sehnsucht)
Piano Quartet No 2 in A major (3rd mvt – Scherzo)
Ein Deutsches Requiem: Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen; Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
Geistliches Wiegenlied
Piano Concerto No 2 (3rd mvt - Andante)
Wiegenlied, Op 49 No 4
Romance in F major, Op 118 No 5
String Quintet in F (1st movement)
Wie Melodien zieht es mir; Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer
Violin Sonata in A major (1st mvt)
Clarinet Quintet (1st movement)
Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52: Ein kleiner hübscher Vogel
Hungarian Dance in D major, WoO1 No 18
Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk, Op 109 No 3
Denn es gehet dem Mennschen (Serious Songs, Op 121 No 1)
Intermezzo in E flat major, Op 117 No 1
Intermezzo in B minor, Op 119 No 1
Piano Trio No 1 (1st mvt – Allegro con brio)
Double Concerto for violin and cello (2nd mvt – Adagio)
Intermezzo in A major, Op 118 No 2
Presented by Kate Molleson
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xvy4
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
