Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1

Francesco Piemontesi is the soloist in Brahms's first piano concerto When Johannes Brahms was in his early twenties, he experienced two life-defining events almost simultaneously. He met his musical mentors Clara and Robert Schumann, and he began work on his first major orchestral work. What began as an attempt to write a sonata gradually developed into Piano Concerto No. 1. More than twenty years later, in Symphony No. 3, Brahms weaves his life motto "Frei aber froh" – free but happy – into the fabric of the music, creating one of his most emotionally charged symphonies. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) developed a close relationship with Clara and Robert Schumann at the time he was composing his first piano concerto. This was his first orchestral work, but the road to it was long. Robert Schumann's suicide attempt affected Brahms deeply, and many historians believe parts of the piano concerto were written as a direct reaction to this terrible news. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor was completed in 1858, two years after Robert Schumann passed away, and was premiered the following year. Brahms: Symphony No. 3 Johannes Brahms lived alone for almost his entire life, but denied that this was a lonely existence. He did so, among other things, by writing a musical quotation "Frei aber froh", which means "free but happy". In Symphony No. 3 he uses this quotation again, and the F-A-F motif is already used in the opening of the work. This suggests that Brahms was in a melancholy mood when he composed the symphony during the summer of 1883. It is a dramatic work with great emotional contrasts. At one moment the work is intense and extrovert, at the next reflective and nostalgic. Performers: Francesco Piemontesi, piano Manfred Honeck, conductor

• Francesco Piemontesi
• Manfred Honeck

RECORDINGS OF THE WORKS

Johannes Brahms: Klaverkonsert nr. 1 i d-moll, op. 15

Watch on NRK TV (2018)All 2 parts on KulturbaseMore recordings on Kulturbase

Johannes Brahms: Symfoni nr. 3 i F-dur, op. 90

Whole work

Open on Bergenphilive (2016)More recordings on Kulturbase

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