# Brahms symphony no.1



## deprofundis (Apr 25, 2014)

Im a newbie to brahms, i dont hate it, i like it but i find it a tad and i said a tad dull, but it may grow on me.It was feature on a Bela Bartók record whit the miracelous mandarin suite what a joy ride this was, the best 21 minute of my existence(ockay maybe not but rather close).

But i can't naively attack brahms and says he borring, because he is one of the 3 B, this would be a blasphemy.Perhaps Brahms has better to offer than this symphonie.I dont know all is repertoire either so i can discriminate is music

I did not says it was ain't good but it's conventional, nothing wrong whit this.albinoni adagio conventional and i love it.Brahms music may grow on me eventually,im lisening to it wright now for the second time.

Sometime you need to lisen a record more than once or twice to see it inner beauty...than you lisen and you heard melodie subtility you did not heard before.

have a nice day folks i hope i wont get bash too hard for criticizing Brahms a bit.

:tiphat:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

deprofundis said:


> Im a newbie to brahms, i dont hate it, i like it but i find it a tad and i said a tad dull, but it may grow on me.It was feature on a Bela Bartók record whit the miracelous mandarin suite what a joy ride this was, the best 21 minute of my existence(ockay maybe not but rather close).
> 
> But i can't naively attack brahms and says he borring, because he is one of the 3 B, this would be a blasphemy.Perhaps Brahms has better to offer than this symphonie.I dont know all is repertoire either so i can discriminate is music
> 
> ...


 Thanks for your post, deprofundis!

If you can hear the Brahms First Symphony with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony. It is a great performance.

Learning to appreciate Brahms or any composer comes from repetition; listening again and again. After a while you hear the "greatness".

Good luck!


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## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

Brahms has a large variety or works, so you might want to check out other pieces. In fact, of the four symphonies, it took me the longest to appreciate no 1. because it's the most heavy, and it's not very cheery either. Even the final C major "triumphant" ending to me sounds really stressed! The 2nd and 3rd are in major key and are much more accessible, and then I recommend the 4th especially for its powerful finale.

Also, recently I've been just loving the second string sextet which is just so awesome! Check that out as well as the clarinet quintet if you like chamber music!


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

I recommend the 4th Symphony as well, I would check that out before his others. If you dig it, try his 3rd and 2nd. If all goes well, revisit the 1st.

I also recommend smaller scale things like Six Pieces for piano, Op. 118 and his Piano Trio No. 1

Check out his violin concerto as well.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

deprofundis said:


> Brahms music may grow on me eventually,im lisening to it wright now for the second time . . . I hope i wont get bash too hard for criticizing Brahms a bit.


I think there are a lot of listeners who had to grow into Brahms. I didn't like him at first, either. I've noticed, especially with the symphonies, that Brahms builds them with little motifs that stick in your head, and as they whirl around in your head, you understand how all these little pieces fit together.

If you can look up BBC Radio Three's Discovering Music archives, they have a great presentation on Brahms' 1st which may help you appreciate it more.


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## Declined (Apr 8, 2014)

The more I listen to Brahms, the more I like him.


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## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

Brahms' Symphony No. 1 is one of my all time favorite symphonies, but yes, it also took me a while to love symphony no. 1 but when I did, wow, it really is a masterpiece. Symphonies 3 and 4 are also very good and easier to get into, so to speak; I urge you not to give up on Brahms, just listen and listen again and again and again, there is no other composer that has grown so much on me like Brahms.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

The Brahms First, which I first heard on the radio as a kid, from an NPR concert, struck a chord with me from the very start. (Quite a few chords, in fact.) I recall that first hearing vividly. The work to me was astounding. (And I had only recently, at the time, come to an interest in classical music, by way of Tchaikovsky.) I didn't know what it was until the work was announced at the end of the broadcast, but when I heard it was the Brahms First Symphony, I made certain to pick up a copy of the work, which I did, by way of a William Steinberg record on the COMMAND CLASSICS label. And I was sold, not just on Brahms, but on classical music.









I have admired this work ever since, and it still charms with all the magic of that first hearing.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

The first one is the hardest of the four, the third is the easiest and the fourth is fairly straightforward. It seems most listeners start to get the genius of Brahms from his wonderful chamber music and concerti instead of directly from the symphonies.

For 'easier reading' somebody uploaded it with the score to YouTube.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

deprofundis said:


> It was feature on a Bela Bartók record whit the miracelous mandarin suite w


Brahms 1 paired with The Miraculous Mandarin? That's an interesting coupling.


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## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

I find Brahm's 1st to be challenging. I've listened to it a good dozen or more times and I still don't understand it. However, that doesn't mean I don't absolutely love it! It is a difficult and rewarding piece. I'm not there yet, but the journey has been well worth it.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Listen to the 4th symphony and the piano concertos! Do it! Now!


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

I used to find Brahms stuffy and dull. But he kind of grew on me. Now he's one of my favorite composers.

I think the First Symphony may not be the best place to start. It's a great work, but I think it's kind of forced, and the last movement strikes me as rather self-important and bombastic, like I find some Beethoven symphonic movements.

I'll suggest a few works in which the emotion is less forced, listed roughly in order of increasing length:
_Rhapsody in g minor_ for piano
_Drei Interezzi_ for piano (I think this is enough data to identify the work)
both overtures: _Academic Festival Overture_ and _Tragic Overture_
both cello sonatas: the F major sonata has a catchier opening and may be best to listen to first
_Double Concerto_ for cello, violin & orchestra
_Piano concerto #1_



deprofundis said:


> Im a newbie to brahms, i dont hate it, i like it but i find it a tad and i said a tad dull, but it may grow on me.It was feature on a Bela Bartók record whit the miracelous mandarin suite what a joy ride this was, the best 21 minute of my existence(ockay maybe not but rather close).
> 
> But i can't naively attack brahms and says he borring, because he is one of the 3 B, this would be a blasphemy.Perhaps Brahms has better to offer than this symphonie.I dont know all is repertoire either so i can discriminate is music
> 
> ...


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## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

spradlig said:


> I used to find Brahms stuffy and dull. But he kind of grew on me. Now he's one of my favorite composers.
> 
> I think the First Symphony may not be the best place to start. It's a great work, but I think it's kind of forced, and the last movement strikes me as rather self-important and bombastic, like I find some Beethoven symphonic movements.
> 
> ...


In my opinion his Piano Concerto No. 1 is also pretty heavy with the almost spooky beginning. I would suggest starting with symphonies No. 3 and 4, and the overtures and maybe even his Hungarian Dances.


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