NSO: Brahms, Schumann

National Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Shelley conductor 
Simone Lamsma violin
 
Brahms Violin Concerto 
Schumann Symphony No. 3, Rhenish

With the ‘impeccable’ (Bachtrack) Alexander Shelley on the podium, two major works by Brahms and Schumann. In the soul-bearing Violin Concerto by Brahms two rugged outer movements frame a bewitchingly beautiful slow movement with the ‘absolutely stunning’ (Chicago Tribune) Simone Lamsma as soloist. Schumann’s simmering, slow-burning Rhenish Symphony is a romance-filled celebration of the Rhineland’s natural beauty that bursts into exuberant life.

Did you know?

Brahms’s only Violin Concerto was originally composed for the great virtuoso Joseph Joachim.

Schumann was an early champion of Brahms, the two enjoying a close friendship until Schumann’s early death.

Schumann’s last symphony, the Rhenish, was inspired by a trip to the Rhineland. His ‘Fourth’ Symphony was composed much earlier and only numbered so because a substantial revision came after his Third. 

Listen out for…

The dramatic entry of the violin in Brahms’s concerto and the twin themes that follow: one warm and expansive, the other a yearning melody.

The tranquil oboe melody, filtered and framed by winds, in the middle movement Adagio.

The gradually slowing tempo of the first four movements of the Rhenish before the last bursts into a brilliantly exuberant display.

Its various impressions of the Rhineland, including the second movement sunrise above rolling countryside, and the awed grandeur of the fourth movement depicting Cologne Cathedral.

Presented by NCH