2nd symphony (Brahms)

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The Symphony No. 2 in D major op.73 was composed by Johannes Brahms in 1877.

Emergence

Brahms began working on the symphony in the summer of 1877 during a stay in Pörtschach am Wörthersee ( Carinthia ). On September 17, 1877, he went to Lichtental near Baden-Baden , where Clara Schumann was staying and where he had completed Symphony No. 1 the previous summer . At this point the concept of the symphony was in place, the first movement and parts of the last (probably also the remaining movements) were written down and played to close friends on the piano. The score was ready in mid-October. While Brahms worked on his first symphony for many years, the second symphony was completed in a relatively short time.

During the working phase, Brahms often misled his friends and the publisher Simrock by describing the work as particularly sad or wistful. So he writes z. B. on November 22, 1877 to Simrock:

“The new symphony is so melancholy that you can't stand it. I've never written something so sad or chubby: the score must appear with a black border. "

The first performance of the symphony took place in Vienna on December 30, 1877 under the direction of Hans Richter and was very successful. Later performances were also well received (with the exception of the second performance on January 10, 1878 due to poorly playing wind instruments).

In August 1878 the score, the orchestral parts and the four-hand piano reduction were published by Simrock. Brahms received 5,000 Reichstaler for this.

reception

The second symphony is often considered to be Brahms’s most popular symphony. After the very successful Viennese premiere, it quickly caught on. Almost everywhere it was performed in 1878 it was enthusiastically received and with a few exceptions received good reviews. In the (contemporary and current) reviews and reviews of the work, the following aspects are often emphasized:

  • the cheerful, pastoral mood of the work (but the work also has melancholy moments), associations with "natural idyll",
  • the strong contrast to the 1st symphony in mood, expression and comprehensibility.

Example of a positive contemporary criticism ( Eduard Hanslick in the Neue Freie Presse on January 3, 1878):

“The novelty was crowned with a great, general success; seldom has the audience's delight in a new tone poem spoken so sincerely and warmly. The first symphony by Brahms, performed a year ago, was a work for serious connoisseurs who could follow his branching blood vessels without interruption and, as it were, hear them with the loudspeaker. The second symphony shines like the sun warming connoisseurs and laypeople, it belongs to everyone who longs for good music. [...] Brahms' new symphony shines with healthy freshness and clarity; consistently comprehensible, it makes everyone sit up and ponder. All contained it shows new thoughts and yet nowhere the tiresome tendency to want to produce something new in the sense of the unheard of. "

Example of a negative contemporary criticism (Illustrated Wiener Extrablatt, January 1, 1878):

“On the whole, we did not get the impression that a blood-true symphony always made on us. From every movement one felt that a larger, purely piano-like composition had been very superfluously blown up into a symphonic affair. We would like to ask every fine, sensitive musician to his musical conscience whether he can prove to us a place in this symphony in which this or that instrument, this or that instrumental group appears or occurs with that undeniable necessity, as it is, for example, so striking in all of them Haydn's symphonies are the case line by line; A place in which the piano would not perform the same service as the orchestra treated in a Brahmschian way! At least we don't find any. In a word: Brahms's Second Symphony is not intended to be symphonic. It may be whatever, it names a symphony with the same injustice as a colored chalk drawing the name of a painting. "

To the music

Orchestra instrumentation: two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , 1st violin , 2nd violin, viola , cello , double bass .

Performance time: Carl Ferdinand Pohl reports on the world premiere on December 29, 1877: "Duration of movements: 19, 11, 5, 8 minutes". This corresponds to a performance of 43 minutes. In current recordings, the performance time varies depending on the repetition of the exposition in the first movement. Reinhold Brinkmann gives an overview of the duration of the recordings of various recordings . After that, none of the newer recordings at that time (1990) have the tempo proportions of the premiere. The spread of the tempi was large overall, with the first and last movements almost consistently being played more slowly than at the premiere.

“This embodies a unifying conception of work. Brahmsen's Second Symphony, played as an image of a serene, pastoral mood of nature, is generally thought to have a medium tempo level: no real Allegro in the first movement, more a cozy moderato, similarly no drastic, gripping Brio finale and - the other pole avoiding - no great adagio pathos, no extreme depth of expression in the second movement. "

The following structure is to be understood as a suggestion. Depending on the point of view, other delimitations and interpretations are also possible.

First movement: Allegro non troppo

D major, 3/4 time, 523 bars

First movement (Musopen Symphony Orchestra)
Orchestral works Romantic themes.pdf

The beginning of the sentence can be understood as a double theme in that the upper and lower voices are performed independently. The cello and double bass begin with a pendulum motif on which the horns and woodwinds begin one after the other with their vocal melody (main theme, first theme). The pendulum motif continues in the lower parts, but also occurs in the upper parts. The diatonic , the instrumentation, the performance designations piano and dolce give the beginning of the sentence a pastoral character. Both the theme and the pendulum motif are important for the further structure of the sentence, the pendulum motif even for the entire symphony.

The main theme ends as a “meaningful four-bar sequence” of kettledrum, trombone and bass tuba, which is repeated three times. Pianissimo then sets in bar 44 a "blossoming eighth configuration" of the main theme in the strings, which contrasts with the previous event and which seems like a new beginning. The thematic variation is then taken over by the flutes until the dynamics increase with the pendulum motif alternating from upper and lower voice to forte. In addition, there is an acceleration through the shortening of phrases and motivic condensation. The scherzando-like eighth note variant of the pendulum motif from bar 66 with the piano dialogue of woodwinds (staccato) and violins (legato) is striking.

The secondary theme (second theme) with voice-leading violas and cellos in parallel thirds begins in the dominant parallel F sharp minor, then switches between different keys. The theme is similar to the song “Guten Abend, Gute Nacht” op. 49 No. 4 by Brahms. While the secondary theme hardly seemed contrary to the main theme, there now follows a “contrasting part” (bars 118–155) in the forte with a distinctive, dotted rhythm, the pendulum motif in rhythmic transformation (bars 127 ff.) Enriched with syncope , which is in the established sixteenth note movement Increase to fortissimo. In the “large esspressivo” from bar 136, the bassoon and bass play a dialogue with the violins, a forward-pressing, wide-span three-note motif to strong syncopation of the violas, horns and clarinets. The final group from bar 156 takes up the secondary theme with voice guidance in 2nd violin and viola (now in the dominant A major), accompanied by a figurative counterpart in the flutes, derived from the pendulum motif. After the theme repetition with changed instrumentation, the exposition ends in measure 182 and is repeated.

The implementation (bars 183-301) can be divided into five sections:

  • Section 1 (bars 183–203) takes up the main theme in F major (horns) and in B major (flutes).
  • Section 2 (bars 203–223): Fugato of the main theme (with counterpart from staccato eighth notes) over the figure from bars 6–8 of the main theme, enriched with two counterpoints. Brahms changes (up to bar 238 in section 3) downwards in the circle of fifths (C minor, G minor, D minor, A minor, A major, E minor, B major).
  • Section 3 (bars 224–246): Narrowing and implementation of the pendulum motif.
  • Section 4 (bars 246–281): passage with combinations of the pendulum motif together with the upward third (head from the main theme, bar 1) in fortissimo, the “blossoming eighth configuration” from bar 44 in the (mezzo) forte) followed by the pendulum motif sequenced downwards in the piano. Beginning of passage in measure 246 from G minor, repetition in measure 258 from B major.
  • Section 5 (bars 282–301): Bringing out the third from the top of the theme (bar 1) by repeating it several times in fortissimo. Chromatic shift from F to F sharp with the following D major. From bar 290, return to the recapitulation with the third from the top of the theme and the “blossoming eighth configuration” from bar 44.

The recapitulation (bars 302–446) begins “completely undramatic”: the tonic in D major was already indicated in bar 290, directly before the reprise in bar 301 Brahms uses the minor subdominant in G minor and from bar 302 on cello and double bass does dominant A as the lying tone. The main theme is now played by the oboe, enriched with the "blossoming eighth configuration" as a counterpoint in the viola. A garland of eighth notes wrapping around the main line develops from this. The calm fading of the main theme according to bar 19 is extended until after changing different keys only the eighth note garland remains. The section ends as a chord progression in the winds similar to the end of the main movement (bar 33). After the secondary theme (bars 350–385, tonic parallels in B minor) and the contrasting part (bars 386–423), the recapitulation closes with the final group (bars 423–446), similar to the exposition.

The coda (bars 447-523) can also be divided into five sections:

  • introductory eight-stroke (bars 447–454).
  • the “extremely expressive horn section with very bold deviations” that begins with the pendulum motif (bars 455–476).
  • Main theme and pendulum motif in strings and horn. In contrast to the beginning of the sentence, the metric fluctuations that resulted from the staggered use of the pendulum motif and main theme are now canceled.
  • Scherzando passage (bars 497-512) with staccato and pizzicato. This corresponds to the passage from measure 66 ff., Which was missing in the recapitulation. From bar 502, flutes and oboes quote the beginning of the song “It loves itself so sweetly in the Lenze”, op. 71 No. 1, written in 1877.
  • the "fading end" (bars 513-523) with the head of the main theme in horns and trumpets, ending with minor subdominant (G minor in bar 516) and dominant (A of the horns and trumpets to D major - tonic of the strings, bar 517-520) component.

The importance of shifts in the meter within the sentence is often emphasized in the literature, e.g. B. the unstable beginning of the movement with the staggered use of lower and upper voices, the indicated 6/8 time (bars 64–65, bars 236–237), the up and down rhythm of the motif from the “contrasting part” in bars 118 ff ., the combination of 3/4 time, 6/8 time and hemiole in bars 246–249.

Reinhold Brinkmann points out several structural similarities to the first movement from Ludwig van Beethoven's 3rd Symphony .

Second movement: Adagio non troppo

B major, 4/4 time, 101 bars

Second movement (Musopen Symphony Orchestra)
Orchestral works Romantic themes.pdf

In the main theme (first theme, bars 1–16), the cello leads the part with a sweeping cantilena (initially bassoons in countermovement). The melancholy character of the theme arises from several major-minor changes. The beginning of the topic is up-to-date, but is perceived by the ear as off-cycle. From bar 13, the theme is repeated with voice guidance in the violins, now with counter-movement of the flutes and cellos. In contrast to the beginning of the movement, the following section from bar 17 is held like chamber music due to the dominance of the winds. The motif of oscillating fourths and thirds, initially played by the solo horn, is gradually adopted by the oboes, flutes and double bass. From bar 28, the cantilena with the motif from bar 3 is taken up briefly in the strings.

In the secondary theme (second theme, bars 33–44, F sharp major), Brahms changes to 12/8 time with the designation L´istesso tempo, ma grazioso. The action contrasts with the previous section through the friendly to exuberant character and the numerous syncopations. The woodwinds dominate the voices, the strings mostly accompany pizzicato. The final group (bars 45–48) contains a two-bar, cantilene-like motif with voice leading in the violins and, when repeated, also in the woodwinds. The final group goes into the development without a break (bars 49-61, B minor). The development processes the motif of the final group through minor clouding, changes to different keys and imitation processing. In bars 55/56 and 60/61 the pendulum motif from the first movement appears in the bass tuba, in bars 58–59 the head motif from the main theme (of the Adagios) in the violins. The crescendos , tremolos , diminished seventh chords and the abrupt change from forte and piano give the development a dramatic character.

The recapitulation (bars 62-96) begins as at the beginning of the movement with the main theme in 4/4 time, but with different instrumentation (e.g. bar 62 theme in oboe instead of the cello, countermovement in the violins) and in a different form ( The beginning of the theme shifted half a measure in relation to the beginning of the movement, the beginning of the theme on the subdominant e with a turn to B in measure 64, from measure 67 figurative decoration of the theme with triplets in the 1st violin).

The following section (bars 80–86) with the pendulum-like motif has been shortened by two inserts, and the passage corresponding to bar 28 is now kept dramatic by changing the instrumentation (“great sonority”), reducing the note values ​​and the performance designation forte. The side theme is left out. The final section (12/8 time), which is varied in terms of instrumentation and shape compared to the exposition, merges seamlessly into the coda (4/4 time), which takes up the head of the main theme and “in which the combination of string section and timpani becomes one of the most impressive examples of Brahms's art of instrumentation count. "

In literature, the form of the movement is usually considered a mixture of song and sonata form.

“Several commentators have spoken of the melancholy character of this Adagio. It may be that this characterization fits the main theme and the coda to some extent. In any case, it is certain that the expressive world of the sentence […] is rich in shades, nuances and contrasts. It opens up the lyrical (grazioso) as well as the dramatically moving (development) and in the climax of the recapitulation (mm. 86–91) also the solemn. "

"Is in the III. Movement everything clear and clear, the harmony unrestricted by the major key and the structure in the form parts clearly marked, the second movement lingers in the melancholy shadow of the idyll, in which clear contours are blurred and become intangible. Despite the major key, the harmony is darkened by the inclusion of chromatic colors, and the extremely differentiated instrumentation contributes to lending the movement its kaleidoscopic richness of expression, which includes anything but cheerful tones. "

Third movement: Allegretto grazioso (Quasi Andantino)

G major, 3/4 time, 240 bars

Third movement (Musopen Symphony Orchestra)
Orchestral works Romantic themes.pdf

The sentence is structured in five parts:

Part A (bars 1–32), 3/4 time: in the dominant woodwind sound of oboes, clarinets and bassoons, the leading oboe, accompanied by the pizzicato of the cellos, plays an elegant lander with repetition and suggestions. The country is structured in three parts: the eight-bar theme is followed by a development section from bars 9-22, followed by the varied theme repetition with opacity in G minor. The instrumentation (from bar 12 onwards the horns join) and the musette-like, "lying" parts in the bassoon and horn create a pastoral color.

Part B1 (bars 33–106) Presto ma non assai, 2/4 time: The “gallop” or the “speed form of the Länders theme” is based on two contrasting motifs:

  • Motif 1 (leggiero), bar 33 ff .: rhythmic eighth note variation of the theme from the beginning of the movement in the strings in the piano. Shortly afterwards a dialogue between woodwinds and strings.
  • Motif 2 (ben marcato), bar 51 ff .: march-like motif of the whole orchestra with dotted rhythm in the forte. The motif can be derived from the dialogue in bar 40.

From bar 63 the strings first play staccato eighth notes pianissimo (the eighth note movement continues in the following), then from bar 71 onwards they pick up motif 2, before the woodwinds switch to motif 1 from bar 83 and the dialogue from bar 40 from bar 91 appears again. - Bars 41–50 and 63 ff. In particular have a Scherzo character.

Part A1 (bars 107–125), tempo I, 3/4 time: the opening theme is repeated starting from E major, also with the woodwinds leading. From bar 115 the triplet figure from bar 4 in E minor with a turn to B major. The section ends in E major.

Part B2 (bars 126–193), Presto ma non assai, 3/8 time, “Geschwindwalzer”: The beginning, descending phrase (bars 126–129) takes up the figure of the clarinets from bars 21 f. on. From bar 130, motif 2 is varied by the woodwinds from A major, then the motif changes to the strings in C major. Measure 172 ff. Bring motif 1 and the string-woodwind dialogue as a pianissimo variant.

Part A2 (bars 194–224), 3/4 time, tempo I: The strings begin with the theme in F sharp major, then change from bar 201 with the second step from bar 8 f. in B major. The thematic repetition from bar 219 in G major with similar instrumentation as at the beginning of the movement is noticeable through its major-minor changes.

The coda with woodwind dominance and the “extensive lyrical gesture of the violins” again contains the head motif of the opening theme and is strongly chromatic.

Reinhold Brinkmann points out similarities to the third movement of Antonín Dvořák's 8th Symphony .

"A basic melody ... appears first as a minuet-like country dealer ... then as a gallop ..., then as a tingling speed waltz."

Fourth movement: Allegro con spirito

D major, 2/2 time, 429 measures

Fourth movement (Musopen Symphony Orchestra)
Orchestral works Romantic themes.pdf

The main theme (first theme) is eight bars and is presented piano by the strings. Its unison beginning and the falling fourths repeated in bars 5–6 are striking. This fourth motif is repeated four times from bar 9 (offset by a quarter), adding the bassoon first, then flutes and clarinets. From bar 23 the theme forte is taken up by the whole orchestra in a varied manner and expanded by splitting off / varying components: The third bar of the theme (bar 26) is interrupted by a "doubled rotating eighth figure" derived from bar 1. This rotating eighth figure plays an important role in the further course of the sentence, e.g. B. from bar 56 in fortissimo. The single-bar, unscrewing increase motif from bar 32 has the same dotted rhythm as the figure in bar 7. The fourth motif appears in bar 44 in quarters and from bar 47 as a mixture of eighths and quarters.

Bar 61 changes abruptly with falling figures of the woodwinds in half notes to the piano with a calmer impulse (the rotating eighth figure, however, continues in the strings). Brahms changes from the double dominant E major to the dominant A major.

In A major, from bar 78, the strings introduce the secondary theme (second theme) with voice leading in 1st violin and viola. The theme is repeated with vocal guidance in the woodwinds (rotating eighth note motif still accompanying) and from bar 102 onwards it merges into a dialogue between woodwinds and strings, at the end of which the head of the secondary theme appears again in bar 106.

In addition to the rotating eighth note (from bar 122 also in thirds), the final group from bar 114 contains a lot of “brilliant running value”. The exposition closes with a series of Lombard rhythms . These rhythms are also used to transition to the development (bars 148–154).

The development (bars 155–243) begins with the main theme in the tonic D, but then processes its elements by splitting off motifs from bar 1 and bar 4 (bars 155–169), by inversion technique and further splitting (bars 170–183) and through Processing of the fourth motif (bars 184–205). A strong contrast to the preceding fortissimo is the quieter Tranquillo passage from bar 206 in F sharp major, which is divided into three parts: In the A section (bars 206–214) the strings play the main theme as a triplet variant in dialogue with the woodwinds. The B part (bars 214–221) brings the fourth motif in the woodwinds in staggered use with hoquetus-like accompaniment of the strings, before the A part is repeated in various ways . After several key changes, C is reached in bar 234. The subsequent return to the recapitulation in pianissimo leads via G minor and D minor to the dominant A minor. The passage with the fourth motif repeated three times in flute, clarinet and trombone and the octave tremolo of the strings is strongly reminiscent of the introduction to Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 .

The recapitulation begins in bar 244 pianissimo, similarly inconspicuous as in the first movement. The fourth motif from the ninth thematic measure now appears in reverse. In contrast to the exposition, the transition to the secondary theme lacks the quiet woodwind passage corresponding to bar 61 ff. The structure from the secondary theme (bar 281 ff.) Is similar to the exposition.

The coda from bar 353, with its change to D minor and the gloomy variation of the secondary theme in trombones and bass tuba, forms a strong contrast to the previous event. The varied figure of the secondary theme is repeated from C major and then in fortissimo of the entire orchestra from B major and from bar 375 in the piano combined with the Tranquillo variant of the main theme. From bar 387 the rotating eighth note motif, tremolo and tone repetitions dominate. The virtuoso scale runs from bar 405 are interrupted three times in the fourth bar and repeated "taking a breath in general pauses for the new approach", first on the tonic D, then the double dominant E and finally on the dominant A. The third attempt leads to the goal, the “Mighty plateau of the pure tonic in D major” with fanfare-like echo of the head from the secondary theme in the winds.

“There seems to be no more holding back. A Brio finale - at the right pace - not even nine minutes long, from the driving thematic beginning onwards incessantly cranked and hardly coming to your senses, at the very end even [...] with brilliant, thunderous, compact octaves of the heavy brass bass, which once in the first movement were introduced for completely different reasons - a sweep, organized with all available means, concludes the symphony. […] The melodic lines themselves are suddenly emptied of any thematic quality, all that remains is a pure figure drive, and the characteristic gestures of the second theme in bars 417 ff. Are immediately leveled again. If Clara Schumann had not wrongly criticized the Stretta at the end of the First Symphony as an unnecessary externalization, at the end of the Second the cheerfulness turns out to be almost violently brilliant, it appears to have been organized. "

"The actual coda (mm. 387–429) forms the brilliant conclusion, and one has to agree with Tovey if he thinks it is one of the most brilliant climaxes in symphonic music since Beethoven."

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Reinhold Brinkmann: Späte Idylle. The second symphony by Johannes Brahms. In: Music Concepts. Issue 70, 1990, ISBN 3-88377-377-8 , 123 pages
  2. ↑ a b c d e Christian Martin Schmidt: Brahms symphonies. A musical factory guide. Chapter III. Folk tone and natural idyll. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-43304-9 , pp. 57-69.
  3. ^ Letter to the publisher Simrock of November 22, 1877, quoted in Constantin Floros 1998, p. 86.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Constantin Floros: Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 73. In: Giselher Schubert, Constantin Floros, Christian Martin Schmidt: Johannes Brahms: The symphonies. Introduction, commentary, analysis. Schott-Verlag, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-7957-8711-4 , pp. 77-138.
  5. ↑ a b Robert Pascall: From the serious and monumental pastoral. Symphony in D major, op. 73. In Renate Ulm (Ed.): Johannes Brahms. The symphonic work. Origin, interpretation, effect. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-423-30569-X , pp. 217-229.
  6. ↑ Wolfram Steinbeck, Christoph von Blumröder: The symphony in the 19th and 20th centuries. Part 1: Romantic and National Symphony. In: Siegfried Mauser (Ed.): Handbook of musical genres. Volume 3.1. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2002, ISBN 3-89007-126-0 , pp. 199-201.
  7. ↑ Reinhold Brinkmann (1990: 75 ff.) Refers to several melancholy moments in the symphony, e.g. B. in the first movement the first appearance of the trumpets in measure 33. See also the second movement.
  8. ^ Eduard Hanslick in the Neue Freie Presse on January 3, 1878, quoted in Robert Pascall 1996, p. 229.
  9. ↑ Illustrated Wiener Extrablatt from January 1, 1878, quoted in Constantin Floros 1998, p. 103.
  10. ↑ Reinhold Brinkmann (1990: 18f.)
  11. ↑ Appearances of the pendulum motif z. B. in the second movement: bars 45 ff., 55 f., 60 f .; at the beginning of the third movement, at the beginning of the fourth movement.
  12. ↑ The previous 43 bars can act as an introduction to the theme entry in bar 44 (e.g. Kelly Dean Hansen: Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 73. www.kellydeanhansen.com/opus73.html, accessed October 1 2015.); Wolfram Steinbeck & Christoph von Blumröder 2002; Gerhardt von Westermann: Knaur's concert guide. Th. Knaur Nachf. Verlag, Munich 1951, pp. 237-240.) According to Reinhold Brinkmann (1990: 47), the following aspects speak against it: a) bars 1–43 presented the basic material of the entire symphony, b) the formal meaning from bar 44 ff. can only be understood as an increase in bar 1 ff., c) recapitulation and coda refer to bar 1 ff., not to bar 44 ff., d) the “central polarity” of the symphony is in the first 43 Bars presented, e) the repetition of the exposition begins with bar 1 and not with bar 44.
  13. ↑ a b c Dietmar Holland: Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 73. In: Attila Csampai & Dietmar Holland (ed.): The concert guide. Orchestral music from 1700 to the present day. Rowohlt-Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-8052-0450-7 , pp. 508-511.
  14. ↑ The repetition is not kept in some recordings. Elisabeth von Herzogenberg wrote on March 13, 1878 in a letter to Brahms after the Dresden performance of the symphony on March 6, 1878: “Herr H., the chief critic in Dresden, does not understand why the first part of the D -Dur is repeated. ”(Quoted in Constantin Floros 1998: 107).
  15. ↑ In the sense of the song form, the passage can also be understood as a contrasting middle section (Brinkmann 1990: 85).
  16. ↑ L´istesso tempo (Italian) = the same time measure, stay in the same time measure even when changing the measure; ma grazioso = but graceful / lovely.
  17. ^ Christian Martin Schmidt: Reclam's music guide Johannes Brahms. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-15-010401-7 , pp. 54-57.
  18. ↑ Constantin Floros points out the similarity with the minuet from Brahms Serenade op. 11 .
  19. ↑ a b c Max Kalbeck : Johannes Brahms , 4 volumes, Berlin 1912–1921, Volume III / 1, p. 171.
  20. ↑ According to Reinhold Brinkmann (1990: 96), the figure is from the figure from bar 8 f. derivable.
  21. ^ Alfred Beaujean: Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 73. In Wulf Konold (Ed.): Lexicon Orchestermusik Romantik, Part A – H. Schott Verlag, Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-7957-8226-0 , pp. 78-81.
  22. ↑ Presentation title: calm, quiet, serene.
  23. ↑ Reference: from measure 379 (Brinkmann 1990: 119).
  24. ↑ Reinhold Brinkmann (1990), quotations from page 100 f. and page 119.

Further literature, web links, notes

  • Rudolf Klein: The constructive foundations of the Brahms symphonies. In: Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 23. 1968, pp. 258–263.
  • Carl Schachter: The First Movement of Brahms' Second Symphony: The Opening Theme and its Consequences. In: Mysic Analysis. Volume 2, No. 1, March 1983.
  • Constantin Floros : Johannes Brahms. Symphony No. 2 - Introduction and Analysis. Mainz 1984.
  • Wolfram Steinbeck : Song theme and symphonic process - On the first movement of the 2nd symphony. In: Friedhelm Krummacher , Wolfram Steinbeck (Ed.): Brahms analyzes. Lectures of the Kiel conference (= Kieler Schriften zur Musikwissenschaft. Volume 28). Kassel 1984, pp. 166-182.
  • Reinhold Brinkmann: The "cheerful symphony" and the "heavily melancholy man", Johannes Brahms answers Vincenz Lachner. In: Archives for Musicology . Volume 46, Issue 4, 1989.
  • Giselher Schubert : Themes and Double Themes: The Problem of The Symphonic in Brahms. In: 19th Century Music. 18, 1994.
  • Walter Frisch: The Four Symphonies. New York 1996.
  • Johannes Brahms: Symphony, No. 2 D major op. 73. Ernst Eulenburg Ltd No. 426, London / Zurich (pocket score, no year). With a foreword by Wilhelm Altmann .
  • 2nd Symphony : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project