Brahms: The Composer And His Music

Brahms composed his ?Violin Sonata In A Major? during the summer of 1886. The work quickly became part of the standard repertoire and has remained so until today. It is presented here in a fine Bärenreiter Urtext edition and comes with an unmarked Urtext part as well as a second part marked with fingering and bowing by Clive Brown which are based on the practices of Brahms? contemporaries.An important part of this edition is the extensive preface. Firstly it informs about the works? origins its compositional process pre-publication performances its publication history as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is theunique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors take the premise that already a few decades after Brahms? death a widening gulf developed between the composer?s expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. In a very concrete and practical way the editors summarize some of the key issues in understanding Brahms? notation with regard to rhythm and timing dynamics and accentuation dots and strokes slurring and non legato Piano pedalling and overholding Piano arpeggiation and dislocation string instrument fingering string instrument harmonics and vibrato. In this way the edition offers an exciting and often surprising insight in Romantic musical interpretation.A pioneering Urtext edition.With an unmarked Urtext part.With a second part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of Joseph Joachim and other contemporaries of Brahms.With an extensive Performance Practice Commentary.For further information on Romantic performance practice we recommend: ?Performance Practices in Johannes Brahms? Chamber Music? text booklet BA 9600.

Par BRAHMS JOHANNES. Academic Festival Overture by Johannes Brahms, arranged for Clarinet Choir by Hendrik Jan Lindhout. Brahms composed the Academic Festival Overture (Op. 80) as part of a pair of contrasting concert overtures, the other being the Tragic Overture (Op. 81). Brahms composed the overture during the summer of 1880 and conducted the premiere at the University of Breslau on January 4, 1881. / Date parution : 2022-11-29/ Répertoire / Ensemble de Clarinettes

Par BRAHMS JOHANNES. '… and so gladly would I have given you a hundred-thousand kisses!”- Georg Friedrich Daumer A circle of friends as a vocal quartet alternating with solo voices and two good pianists - Brahms wrote his 'Liebeslieder Walzer” not for the grand concert hall but as chamber music for use at home. His first collection op. 52 was so successful that in 1874 he wrote a new set on poems by Daumer and Goethe entitled 'Neue Liebeslieder”. In 2010 the Swiss bank UBS placed the autograph of the Neue Liebeslieder on permanent loan to the music room of the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. For this occasion the library, together with the Brahms Institute of Lübeck University of Music and the musicology department of Zurich University, organised a symposium on the 'Liebeslieder Walzer” and their context. Brahms' lavishly reproduced manuscript appears in its own hand-stitched volume accompanied by the papers featured at the authoritative symposium in a separate booklet. All of this is presented in a handsome cloth-bound box along with an audio CD, allowing the work to be experienced both visually and aurally./ Répertoire / Fac-similé

With the new Urtext Primo series, the Wiener Urtext Edition wants to close the gap arising at the point of transition to additional lessons after having studied a piano method. Beginning with a performance level which is outlined by pieces such as Bach's Minuet in G (BWV Anh. 116), Mozart's Minuet in F (KV 5) or Schumann's Wilder Reiter (Op. 68/8), works by three different composers are selected for each volume of the Urtext Primo series, with the aim of offering piano pupils (or even adults who want to resume piano playing) a wide range of repertoire pieces on the basis of which they can enhance their technical and musical skills. The pieces' range of levels of difficulty is relatively narrow so that the volume can be used continuously over a period of about two years. This is what distinguishes the Urtext Primo approach from almost all common anthologies. The selected repertoire takes into account not only pieces of the classic canon of lessons, but also lesser known works which are in no way of less importance for piano lessons. The Urtext Primo volumes are published in the internationally recognised standard of the Wiener Urtext editions. The explanations included in each volume shall help to deepen the knowledge of musical styles, music history and piano playing. A repertoire chart at the end of each volume gives a rough overview of the levels of difficulty of the selected pieces.Volume 4 combines works of the German Romanticism by Schumann, Brahms and Theodor Kirchner. Apart from well known pieces from Schumann's 'Album for the Youth' and the easiest waltzes from opus 39 (in the easier version) by Brahms, the selection contains the attractive set of variations from Schumann's first Youth Sonata Op. 118/1 and Brahms' Saraband in A minor WoO 5/1 as well as a number of pleasant pieces by Theodor Kirchner which continue the tonal air of Schumann and Brahms in easy playable pieces. / Piano

Op. 89. Par BRAHMS JOHANNES. The Three Fates or Parcae were the goddesses of fate in Greek-Roman mythology and sang on themes of curse and fate. The Parzenlied in Goethe’s verse drama “Iphigenie auf Tauris” is concerned with these themes and became the model for Johannes Brahms’s setting. His Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates) op. 89 describes in thrilling eruptive sounds the fight to overcome the mythical curse through the purity of truthful noble actions and the power of hope.With a duration of around 12 minutes the work can be combined with Brahms’s “German Requiem” in concert. / Date parution : 2023-03-11/ Répertoire / SAATBB et Orchestre

Johannes Brahms?s Piano Sonatas opp. 1 2 and 5 were among the first works that the 20-year-old composer published. They were composed in 1852/53 although the Sonata in f-sharp minor was apparently the first of the three to becomposed as it was finished by November 1852. This work has a special place in his oeuvre. Besides its passionate atmosphere his contemporaries discerned it to be ?serious and dignified in character?. Brahms dedicated thissonata to Clara Schumann whose husband Robert wrote to the composer that ?Your second sonata my friend has brought me much closer to you?. The ingenious fingerings have been provided by the pianist Andreas Boyde a recognisedBrahms expert.

for Viola and Piano-Brahms had already announced his 'retirement' from composition when in the spring of 1894 he played chamber music with the cellist Robert Hausmann and the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. This encounter apparently renewed his enthusiasm for Mühlfeld?s much admired playing and inspired him to write two Clarinet sonatas in the summer of the same year. It remains unclear when exactly Brahms drafted Viola parts to his two sonatas. In any case the Viola and Clarinet versions of the works were first published by Simrock at the same time in 1895. Today there is no doubt about Brahms? authorship of the Viola parts. They include important differences fromthe Clarinet original in order to do justice to this string instrument.An important part of this edition is the extensive preface. Firstly it informs about the sonatas? origins their compositional process pre-publication performances their publication history as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is the unique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors start from the premise that already a few decades after Brahms' death a widening gulf developed between the composer's expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. On the basis of manifold sources which include memoirs by pupils and chamber music partners treatises and essays early instructive editions and historical recordings the editors deal with key issues in understanding Brahms' notation. By a section-by-section analysis of rhythm and timing dynamics and accentuation dots and strokes slurring and non legato Piano pedalling and overholding Piano arpeggiation and dislocation string instrument fingering string instrument harmonics and vibrato the editors provide an indispensable assistance for a historically informed interpretation of the works.At the same time the edition offers an exciting and often surprising insight into musical interpretation of the German Romantic Era in general.A pioneering Urtext editionWith an unmarked Urtext partWith a second part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of contemporaries of BrahmsWith an extensive Performance Practice

Brahms completed his Cello Sonata op. 99 during the productive summer of 1886. The first public performance took place in Vienna on 24 November of the same year. Robert Hausmann played the cello part and the composer himself was his partner at the piano. Even though the work was generally received positively, it took some years until it was fully appreciated and gained its irrevocable place in the cello repertoire.Of particular value to the editors were the two early performance editions of the Cello Sonata op. 99 by Hugo Becker and Carl Friedberg, as well as by Julius Klengel. Both cellists, Becker and Klengel, had a connection to Brahms who very much admired and trusted Becker's playing and who performed together with Klengel. This edition not only incorporates Becker's and Klengel's performance markings but also Hausmann's for whom the piece was written. As such, the Barenreiter edition comes with a cello part marked with fingering and bowing by the editors which are based on the practices of Brahms' contemporaries. We also provide an unmarked Urtext part.An important part of this edition is the extensive Preface. Firstly it informs about the work's origin, early performances, its publication as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is the unique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors take the premise that already a few decades after Brahms' death, a widening gulf developed between the composer's expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. In a very concrete and practical way, the editors summarize some of the key issues in understanding Brahms' notation with regard to rhythm and timing, dynamics and accentuation, dots and strokes, slurring and non legato, piano pedalling and overholding, piano arpeggiation and dislocation, string instrument fingering, string instrument harmonics and vibrato. In this way, the edition offers an exciting and often surprising insight into Romantic musical interpretation.- A pioneering Urtext edition- With an unmarked Urtext part- With a second part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of contemporaries of Brahms- With an extensive Performance Practice Commentary- For further information on Romantic performance practice we recommend the text booklet: 'Performance Practices in Johannes Brahms' Chamber Music?, BA 9600 / Violoncelle Et Piano

Cradle Song was first written in 1868 and published in German as Wiegenlied (Op. 49 No. 4). It has since become commonly known as Brahms' Lullaby.The lyrics have been translated intoEnglish by Florence Hoare and the music arranged for Male Voice Chorus (TTBB) by Percy E. Fletcher. A Piano reduction is provided for rehearsal purposes.The German composer and pianist JohannesBrahms (1833-1897) spent most of his working life in Vienna where his influence and stature were unmatched during his lifetime. He was a noted perfectionist and often destroyed works he thought unworthy of publication.

for Piano Violin and Horn (Viola / Violoncello)-This Trio’s unusual scoring for horn violin and piano prompted speculation early on about a possible background to it that had no connection with music. Brahms’s biographer Max Kalbeck saw in it a lament for thecomposer’s mother recently deceased to whom he had supposedly played folk songs on the horn in his childhood. There is no doubt that Brahms loved the sound of the natural horn and bestowed several of his most inspiredmelodies on the instrument. Horn players justifiably adore this Trio op. 40 and this Henle Urtext edition now offers an optimal basis for studying and performing this masterpiece. This edition follows the musical text of the NewBrahms Complete Edition and thus guarantees the greatest fidelity to the sources and reflects the current state of research. The pianist Klaus Schilde has added helpful fingerings to the piano part. Extra parts are also providedfor the alternative scoring authorised by Brahms (with viola or cello instead of horn).

A year after their composition in 1866, Brahms?s popular 16 Waltzes op. 39 for piano duet were arranged by the composer for piano solo, thus fulfilling the request of his publisher for a simplified version. Brahms himself described the first version as suitable for reasonable hands , that is for proficient players, and the easier version as perhaps for prettier hands , that is, for domestic music-making. He initially described the latter version to his publisher as a children?s edition . The catchy and musically easily accessible pieces are among the composer?s most popular works and are particularly suitable for piano students and lovers of the Romantic repertoire.

Both versions of the Waltzes op. 39 (BA9602, BA9603) are available in separate editions and form an important contribution to Bärenreiter?s series of Brahms?s works in scholarly-critical Urtext editions. Both editions include fingering, a well-presented musical layout and optimum page-turns. The Urtext editions are complemented by explanations on performance practice used by Brahms, an informative foreword on the genesis, sources and significance of the works together with comments on the primary sources.

- A key work in the Romantic piano repertoire
- All known sources and the latest research findings taken into account
- Well-presented musical layout with optimum page-turns
- Includes fingering
- Suggestions on performance practice and interpretation (Ger/Eng)
- Informative foreword (Ger/Eng) and critical commentary (Eng)

The editor
Christian Köhn has been awarded several scholarships as well as winning major international music competitions in Germany.
He has released 24 CDs to date, including the first ever complete recording of the piano duo works of Johannes Brahms. Christian Köhn is a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Detmold. / [Valses op. 39] / Classique / Partition / Agrafé /

for Violin and Piano-Brahms had already announced his ?retirement? from composition when in the spring of 1894 he played chamber music with the cellist Robert Hausmann and the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. This encounter apparently renewed his enthusiasm for Mühlfeld?s much admired playing and inspired him to write two Clarinet sonatas in the summer of the same year.Brahms conceived an alternate version of the works for Viola from the beginning and already before the publication of these two versions he intended to do another one for Violin a version which was to require changes and was to result in an independent edition. While the Clarinet and Viola versions havedeveloped a rich performance tradition the Violin version is almost unknown. Yet for the Violin version the composer revised the original Clarinet part much more extensively than he did for the Viola version and also rewrote the Piano part to achieve a thoroughly convincing Violin and Piano idiom. This Bärenreiter edition aims to bring the neglected Violin Sonatas Op. 120 back into players? hands.An important part of this edition is the extensive preface. Firstly it informs about the sonatas? origins their compositional process pre-publication performances their publication history as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is the unique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors start from the premise that already a few decades after Brahms' death a widening gulf developed between the composer's expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. On the basis of manifold sources which include memoirs by pupils and chamber music partners treatises and essays early instructive editions and historical recordings the editors deal with key issues in understanding Brahms' notation. By a section-by-section analysis of rhythm and timing dynamics and accentuation dots and strokes slurring and non legato Piano pedalling and overholding Piano arpeggiation and dislocation string instrument fingering string instrument harmonics and vibrato the editors provide an indispensable assistance for a historically informed interpretation of the works.At the same time the edition offers an exciting and

Johannes Brahms showed an interest in the music of previous epochs at an early age. In this context he also came across the variation theme of George Frideric Handel which in turn inspired him to write an extensive work of variations for the Piano. The new edition of the Wiener Urtext Edition is based on a meticulous comparison of autographs first edition and personal copies. Brahms' autograph copy served as an essential corrective; subsequent corrections of the composer in the personal copy of Max Kalbeck were taken into account as well. Changes in tempo and indications of expression of Brahms' first version until the first edition allowconclusions about the composer's interpretational ideas; they are analysed in the notes of interpretation. The clear and readily legible notation makes this edition a convenient basis for studying this masterpiece.