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Brahms’s First Symphony premiered 150 years ago after 21 years in the making
Johannes Brahms’s First Symphony premiered in Karlsruhe on 4 November 1876, 150 years ago. It took 21 years to complete, in part because Brahms felt the weight of Beethoven’s influence and struggled to find his own voice within the symphonic tradition.
The four-movement work lasts about 45 minutes and moves from C minor to C major, echoing the key journey of Beethoven’s Fifth. Its ending consciously recalls the “Ode to Joy” theme, but the article argues that Brahms uses this inheritance to express a more intimate personal struggle. The article also reports that Iván Fischer withdrew from planned Berlin Philharmonic concerts after the orchestra declined his request to reposition the double-basses for Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.
In short
- Brahms’s First Symphony premiered 150 years ago.
- It took 21 years to write.
- Iván Fischer withdrew over the orchestra’s seating arrangement.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Guardian as “Brahms’ First is 150 years old today. Here’s how he grappled with ‘a giant on his back’ to write a masterpiece”.