SCO Maxim Conducts Brahms Usher Hall Edinburgh 23rd February 2023 Review
SCO Maxim Conducts Brahms at The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh tonight was devoted to the music of one of the great names of 19th century music, German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). Two very distinctive compositions, one for each half of the concert, made up this evening’s concert programme.
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major (1878)
BRAHMS Symphony No 1 in C minor (1862-1876)
When most people (myself included) think of Brahms, one thing above all others comes into mind, his famous lullaby, and we either hear in our heads its music, or maybe the words to it, or probably both. This is the power of Brahms as a composer, an uncanny ability to get his music into our hearts and souls at many different levels, and for his music to be passed on from one generation to another. This passing on of music down the years is important as Brahms himself was also passing on music from one generation to another, in the case of both these works, the musical legacy of another great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Although Beethoven died a few years before Brahms was born, his music was to have a profound effect throughout the life of Brahms and his music. Standing somewhere in the shadows of both of tonight’s performance works is Beethoven, and Brahms himself was very comfortable with that fact during his lifetime.
The first work, Violin Concerto in D was written for (and in part with suggestions from) violinist and composer Joseph Joachim. Brahms and Joachim met when they were 14 and 16 years old respectively, and of course Joachim was playing a Beethoven violin concerto. The two were to remain friends throughout their lives. It is appropriate then that this evening this work was performed by two friends who have collaborated together on many performances, Maxim Emelyanychev (Conductor), and Aylen Pritchin (Violin), and together with the SCO, every emotion and colour that Brahms infused this work with was fully brought to life. Here contrasting darkness and brightness forever shift places to create a musical landscape that allows violin and other instruments of the orchestra (oboe for example in the 2nd movement) to be almost living things exchanging ideas and thought with each other, almost having a conversation together.
Symphony No 1 in C minor has perhaps one of the longest creation arcs in musical history with Brahms himself stating that the composition for him began in 1855. Even for a notorious perfectionist who is known to have destroyed work he was unhappy with, 21 years is a long time to work on anything. I am actually more impressed with the fact that Brahms did not abandon this work much earlier, as the discipline involved in going back and back to re-work ideas over such a long period is itself an outstanding achievement.
Again, Beethoven is casting his shadow over this symphony as Brahms not only incorporates some of his ideas but also develops upon them, taking the symphony form further in directions that his creative predecessor had already started to move in. The end result is something very new, something very distinctive, but underpinning everything here is Brahms’ belief that music should not be composed and played forsimply a display of technical ability, a belief that the number of notes played in a period of time is not what is really important. Virtuosity is nothing to Brahms without knowing when and where to place a note or a phrase for greatest effect. With Maxim Emelyanychev conducting the SCO this evening we were able to get that clarity of Brahms’ work and thoughts this evening and with the added addition of gut strings being used on instruments, we were able to get a little closer to how this work may have originally sounded to 19th century audiences. Certainly in some areas this did produce warmer tones than modern strings.
Brahms and Beethoven seem to have been bound to one another in many ways, not only musically. Strangely, both died at the same age, 56 years old.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major (1878)
BRAHMS Symphony No 1 in C minor (1862-1876)
When most people (myself included) think of Brahms, one thing above all others comes into mind, his famous lullaby, and we either hear in our heads its music, or maybe the words to it, or probably both. This is the power of Brahms as a composer, an uncanny ability to get his music into our hearts and souls at many different levels, and for his music to be passed on from one generation to another. This passing on of music down the years is important as Brahms himself was also passing on music from one generation to another, in the case of both these works, the musical legacy of another great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Although Beethoven died a few years before Brahms was born, his music was to have a profound effect throughout the life of Brahms and his music. Standing somewhere in the shadows of both of tonight’s performance works is Beethoven, and Brahms himself was very comfortable with that fact during his lifetime.
The first work, Violin Concerto in D was written for (and in part with suggestions from) violinist and composer Joseph Joachim. Brahms and Joachim met when they were 14 and 16 years old respectively, and of course Joachim was playing a Beethoven violin concerto. The two were to remain friends throughout their lives. It is appropriate then that this evening this work was performed by two friends who have collaborated together on many performances, Maxim Emelyanychev (Conductor), and Aylen Pritchin (Violin), and together with the SCO, every emotion and colour that Brahms infused this work with was fully brought to life. Here contrasting darkness and brightness forever shift places to create a musical landscape that allows violin and other instruments of the orchestra (oboe for example in the 2nd movement) to be almost living things exchanging ideas and thought with each other, almost having a conversation together.
Symphony No 1 in C minor has perhaps one of the longest creation arcs in musical history with Brahms himself stating that the composition for him began in 1855. Even for a notorious perfectionist who is known to have destroyed work he was unhappy with, 21 years is a long time to work on anything. I am actually more impressed with the fact that Brahms did not abandon this work much earlier, as the discipline involved in going back and back to re-work ideas over such a long period is itself an outstanding achievement.
Again, Beethoven is casting his shadow over this symphony as Brahms not only incorporates some of his ideas but also develops upon them, taking the symphony form further in directions that his creative predecessor had already started to move in. The end result is something very new, something very distinctive, but underpinning everything here is Brahms’ belief that music should not be composed and played forsimply a display of technical ability, a belief that the number of notes played in a period of time is not what is really important. Virtuosity is nothing to Brahms without knowing when and where to place a note or a phrase for greatest effect. With Maxim Emelyanychev conducting the SCO this evening we were able to get that clarity of Brahms’ work and thoughts this evening and with the added addition of gut strings being used on instruments, we were able to get a little closer to how this work may have originally sounded to 19th century audiences. Certainly in some areas this did produce warmer tones than modern strings.
Brahms and Beethoven seem to have been bound to one another in many ways, not only musically. Strangely, both died at the same age, 56 years old.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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