CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Berliner Philharmoniker

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 8:00 PM

Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor

BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 (orch. Schoenberg)

BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

Program is approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes, including one intermission

The Carnegie Hall presentations of the Berliner Philharmoniker are made possible by a leadership gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

Program Notes:

THE PROGRAM

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)

In 1853, composer Robert Schumann announced a promising young talent to readers of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, the leading musical journal of the day. "Sooner or later," Schumann imagined, "someone would and must appear, fated to give us the ideal expression of the times, one who would not gain his mastery by gradual stages, but rather would spring fully armed like Minerva from the head of Jove." His prophecy proved true: He had discovered Beethoven’s heir. "His name is Johannes Brahms, from Hamburg," Schumann declared.

At the time, Brahms was just five years past his solo debut as a pianist, which he made in 1858, playing works by Bach and Beethoven. His earliest extant compositions date from 1851—only two years prior to Schumann’s fateful pronouncement. He likely destroyed his early writings; subjecting himself to intense self-criticism, he mercilessly censored his own oeuvre throughout his life. He worked first in the genres of the piano sonata and lied, saving the most exalted genres of the string quartet and symphony for much later in life.


Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 (orch. Schoenberg)

In 1933, composer Arnold Schoenberg delivered a radio address titled Brahms the Progressive, arguing against the notion that Brahms was a conservative composer wedded to traditional Classical forms and aligned against the likes of Franz Liszt, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Wagner. While Brahms composed piano sonatas, string quartets, and (eventually) symphonies, the so-called "New German" school of composers wrote tone poems and dramatic, narrative works. Yet Brahms had reconceived the nature of his musical material within these traditional forms, Schoenberg claimed, to blur the boundary between theme and development. The process by which a small musical idea grew to generate an entire form was named developing variation. Thus Schoenberg used Brahms to advance his own argument about the intimate relationship between form and content, style and idea.

In 1937, Schoenberg turned again to Brahms, choosing to orchestrate the Piano Quartet, Op. 25, and thus fully realize what he heard as the symphonic possibilities of the chamber work.

The Piano Quartet begins by setting out two groups of themes of very different characters. The first is more motivic than melodic, composed of a four-note idea rather than a complete thought; Schoenberg highlights the thematic ambiguity with a mysterious, dark orchestration. This first thought in the minor mode is immediately contrasted with a new idea in the major. Hints of the opening return in the strings by way of a transition to the second theme, heard first in the cellos. It too moves into the major mode and is unabashedly lyrical. The development preoccupies itself with the first idea, relentlessly varied.

Schoenberg’s emphasis on the oboe and clarinet in the second movement lends the music an air of the pastoral, while the sprightly strings suggest something of the fantastic. Yet constantly pulsing or held notes in the bass tether the music to the ground. The Andante exposes a facet of Brahms’s talent often overlooked in discussions of his instrumental music and progress toward the symphony: He was a gifted vocal composer who published well over 200 lieder and a host of major choral works.

The finale is a rollicking rondo in the Hungarian style. The main theme generates momentum through sharp, irregular accents; it is juxtaposed with a whirling-dervish of a figure in the winds. Schoenberg makes surprising and effective use of the percussion to lend even greater color to the dance. In the third major section, the orchestra, in unison, presents a stately processional that then moves into a poignant minor mode lament. The movement comes to a crashing conclusion of such symphonic force that it is difficult to remember the work was originally for only four players.

Premiere: Orchestrated in 1937, Schoenberg’s version of Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. received its Carnegie Hall premiere on December 21, 1940, with Leon Barzin conducting the National Orchestral Association.


Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68

Brahms heard Schumann’s pronouncement that he (Brahms) was Beethoven’s heir, literally fleeing from the heightened expectations. Between 1856 and 1860, he published nothing. He continued to perform, conduct, and compose, spending most of the 1850s laboring on a piano concerto, which actually developed from a two-piano sonata and might have even become his first symphony. But he approached writing a symphony cautiously, wary of contending with the legacy of Beethoven. So he tested his abilities with the orchestra in other genres: the First Piano Concerto, Op. 15 (1859) and two orchestral serenades, Op. 11 (1858) and Op. 16 (1859).

He also honed his skills in writing complex, multi-movement compositions in a series of chamber pieces beginning with the First Piano Quartet, Op. 25. In its contrapuntal complexity, thematic richness, and sheer density of musical ideas, the Piano Quartet reveals symphonic aspirations. Yet no symphony appears among these works from Brahms’s first maturity. He confessed his anxiety to a friend: To write a symphony was to "follow in the footsteps of a giant"—namely Beethoven.

Finally in June 1862, Brahms drafted the first movement of a symphony in C minor, but he did not complete the work until 1876.

The symphony falls in the traditional four movements and traces a path similar to Beethoven’s Fifth (also in C minor). Both works move from a stormy, unsettled, restless minor mode in the first movement to a glorious, triumphant finale in the major. The portentous slow introduction to the first movement begins with pounding timpani strokes and leads into the exposition of a sonata-allegro form wherein two groups of themes are presented, developed, and iterated. The beginning of the first group is marked by a momentary silence and a sharp strike on the timpani; the second group is less troubled and more lyrical, with longer lines and an emphasis on the woodwinds.

Whereas classical sonata form lays out distinct musical themes that are then dissembled and reassembled, however, Brahms’s musical ideas and processes are never so discrete. His music is open-ended, churning along without pause but for a moment’s peace thick in the middle of the development. The music is "not exactly charming," Brahms admitted, and the C-major ending of the first movement is unconvincing in the sense that it only momentarily sweeps aside, rather than properly resolving, whatever conflict animates the tumultuous music.

The middle movements offer some respite: The lovely Andante is as halting and demur as the first movement is unrelenting and brash. Yet the introduction to the finale plunges us back into the fray.

As Walter Frisch notes in his guide to Brahms’s four symphonies, the introduction divides into two sections and two very different worlds: "On the one side are agitation, chromaticism, thematic fragmentation, and the minor mode; on the other, hope and redemption, conveyed by the major-mode tuneful themes." The magisterial horn-call that caps off the introduction was originally composed in 1868 as a birthday greeting for Clara Schumann: "Thus sounded the alphorn today," he wrote, setting the music to words. "High on the peak, deep in the vale, I greet three many thousand times." The movement proper begins with the gorgeous chorale theme that led conductor Hans von Bülow to dub the work the Tenth Symphony—referring again, of course, to Beethoven.

Performance Time: approximately 45 minutes

More Information:

The realization that Schoenberg grew up while Brahms was alive, and admired him deeply, offers a different way to hear the two composers together. This supreme orchestra performs all four Brahms symphonies over three concerts, beginning with the sweeping, magisterial First. And they also include Schoenberg, starting with his orchestration of a Brahms chamber work. “Brahms’s Fifth Symphony!” was what Schoenberg called it, adding wild gypsy percussion in the final movement.

Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
THE ARTISTS

Sir Simon Rattle

Born in Liverpool in 1955, Sir Simon Rattle has been Principal Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmonie since September 2002.

After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he took on various engagements in England and the US, where he was principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was 25 when he began his close association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), first as principal conductor and artistic adviser, then—until the 1998 season—as musical director. His tireless work and visionary artistic projects helped turn the CBSO into one of the world’s top-ranked orchestras.

In the concert hall and opera house, Simon Rattle’s extensive repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to contemporary music. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and works with leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. Even before taking up his post as Principal Conductor, Simon Rattle had already collaborated regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker for 15 years. Of the many recordings he has made with the orchestra, several have received prestigious awards. All of these releases were recorded live at the Philharmonie.

One of Sir Simon’s special passions is for bringing the work and music of the Berliner Philharmoniker to young people of diverse social and cultural backgrounds. To that end, he has established the education program Zukunft@BPhil, which enables the orchestra to pursue new approaches to promote its music. In 1994, Simon Rattle was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and has since received numerous distinctions. For his commitment to outreach work, Simon Rattle was awarded a Golden Camera and the Urania Medal in 2007.


Berliner Philharmoniker

The Berliner Philharmoniker, long considered one of the world’s finest orchestras, was founded in 1882 as a self-governing body. Its current artistic director is Sir Simon Rattle, who was appointed in September 2002.

The orchestra gave its first concert on October 17, 1882, under conductor Ludwig von Brenner, who was chosen by the musicians themselves. His successor, Hans von Bülow, went on to turn the Berliner Philharmoniker into one of Germany’s leading orchestras. Under Arthur Nikisch (1895–1922), its repertory grew to include works by Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Strauss, Ravel, and Debussy. On Nikisch’s death, the then 36-year-old Wilhelm Furtwängler took over as principal conductor. Furtwängler concentrated on Classical and German Romantic repertoire, but also performed contemporary pieces. At the end of World War II, Leo Borchard became the orchestra’s principal conductor; following Borchard’s death in August 1945, the young Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache became artistic director. Furtwängler returned as chief conductor in 1952. The postwar period also saw the founding, in 1949, of the Society of Friends of the Berliner Philharmonie, which in subsequent years sponsored the building of the new Philharmonie and continues to provide the hall with financial support.

When Furtwängler died in 1954, Herbert von Karajan became the permanent conductor and artistic director. In the ensuing decades, he worked with the orchestra to develop a distinctive tonal quality and performing style that made the Berliner Philharmoniker famous all over the world. In October 1989, the players appointed Claudio Abbado their new principal conductor. Abbado devised a new type of programming that included thematic cycles of contemporary works performed alongside standard repertoire. An increased number of chamber recitals and concert performances of operas provided further distinction and variety to the orchestra’s activities.

With the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle, the orchestra began introducing a number of innovations. The orchestra’s change of status to a charitable foundation (the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker) has created new opportunities and ensured the economic future the ensemble’s 129 full-time members. The foundation is supported by the generosity of its principal sponsor, Deutsche Bank. Central to this support is the orchestra’s education program, Zukunft@BPhil, which was set up at the time of Sir Simon’s appointment and which is intended to ensure that the orchestra reaches a broader and younger audience. Within the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker, this signifies an important expansion of the orchestra’s cultural mission, one to which it commits itself with unswerving dedication. In recognition of this commitment, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle were named international UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors in 2007—the first time this distinction has ever been bestowed upon an artistic ensemble.


BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director

FIRST VIOLIN
Guy Braunstein, First Concertmaster
Daishin Kashimoto, First Concertmaster
Daniel Stabrawa, First Concertmaster
Rainer Sonne, Concertmaster
Zoltán Almási
Maja Avramović
Simon Bernardini
Wolfram Brandl
Peter Brem
Armin Brunner
Andreas Buschatz
Alessandro Cappone
Madeleine Carruzzo
Aline Champion
Felicitas Clamor-Hofmeister
Laurentius Dinca
Sebastian Heesch
Aleksandar Ivić
Rüdiger Liebermann
Kotowa Machida
Helmut Mebert
Bastian Schäfer

SECOND VIOLIN
Christian Stadelmann, First Principal
Thomas Timm, First Principal
Christophe Horak, Principal
Daniel Bell
Holm Birkholz
Philipp Bohnen
Stanley Dodds
Cornelia Gartemann
Amadeus Heutling
Rainer Mehne
Christoph von der Nahmer
Raimar Orlovsky
Bettina Sartorius
Rachel Schmidt
Armin Schubert
Stephan Schulze
Christoph Streuli
Eva-Maria Tomasi
Romano Tommasini

VIOLA
Neithard Resa, First Principal
Naoko Shimizu, Principal
Wilfried Strehle, Principal
Micha Afkham
Julia Gartemann
Matthew Hunter
Ulrich Knörzer
Sebastian Krunnies
Walter Küssner
Martin von der Nahmer
Zdzisław Polonek
Martin Stegner
Wolfgang Talirz

CELLO
Georg Faust, First Principal
Ludwig Quandt, First Principal
Martin Löhr, Principal
Olaf Maninger, Principal
Richard Duven
Rachel Helleur
Christoph Igelbrink
Solène Kermarrec
Martin Menking
David Riniker
Nikolaus Römisch
Dietmar Schwalke
Knut Weber

BASS
Matthew McDonald, First Principal
Janne Saksala, First Principal
Esko Laine, Principal
Fora Baltacigil
Martin Heinze
Wolfgang Kohly
Peter Riegelbauer
Edicson Ruiz
Janusz Widzyk
Ulrich Wolff

FLUTE
Andreas Blau, Principal
Emmanuel Pahud, Principal
Prof. Michael Hasel
Jelka Weber

OBOE
Jonathan Kelly, Principal
Albrecht Mayer, Principal
Christoph Hartmann
Andreas Wittmann
Dominik Wollenweber, English Horn

CLARINET
Wenzel Fuchs, Principal
Alexander Bader
Walter Seyfarth
Manfred Preis, Bass Clarinet

BASSOON
Daniele Damiano, Principal
Stefan Schweigert, Principal
Mor Biron
Markus Weidmann
Marion Reinhard, Contrabassoon

HORN
Radek Baborak, Principal
Stefan Dohr, Principal
Stefan de Leval Jezierski
Fergus McWilliam
Georg Schreckenberger
Klaus Wallendorf
Sarah Willis

TRUMPET
Gábor Tarkövi, Principal
Tamás Velenczei, Principal
Thomas Clamor
Georg Hilser
Guillaume Jehl
Martin Kretzer

TROMBONE
Prof. Christhard Gössling, Principal
Olaf Ott, Principal
Thomas Leyendecker
Stefan Schulz
Jesper Busk Sörensen

TUBA
Paul Hümpel
Alexander von Puttkamer

TIMPANI
Rainer Seegers
Wieland Welzel

PERCUSSION
Raphael Haeger
Simon Rössler
Franz Schindlbeck
Jan Schlichte

HARP
Marie-Pierre Langlamet

CHAIRMEN
Stefan Dohr
Andreas Wittmann

MEDIA CHAIRMEN
Olaf Maninger
Emmanuel Pahud

ORCHESTRA COMMITTEE
Stanley Dodds
Ulrich Knörzer
Nikolaus Römisch
Christian Stadelmann
Martin Stegner