Does anyone else thnk Brahms Symphony No. 4 is the most beautiful piece of music they have ever heard?

Question

This piece is such an amazing work. Every movement has a little bit of the last one, and each movement gets progressively more complex. Symphony No. 4 is the most complex of his four, and it just amazes me how he could write such intricate music and still make it beautiful. The more i listen to it, the more i love the call and response type of melodies in IV - Allegro energico e passionato-Piu allegro. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

Well, if you'll pardon me for saying, you've got a good pair of ears on your head, and you're not shy of using them well, too! :-)

Not only was the Fourth Brahms' valediction in symphonic form, but also the apogee of his achievement. And highly characteristically, for the somanieth time he faced down the pair of monkeys that had been sitting on his back all his life: Beethoven the symphonist and Bach the contrapuntalist. To have the sheer nerve to crown your symphonic output with a fourth movement that is a highly wrought passacaglia -- a continuously evolving set of variations on a bass line that is heard at the outset and never ceases to be heard while the variations happen seamlessly all around it, all the time -- which in itself had never been done before in so strict a manner to form a symphonic finale. Hmm, if you're going to prove a point, as much to yourself as to anyone else, you might as well do it as comprehensively as is humanly possible: knock 'em well and truly dead, you might say... ;-)

I don't tend to do 'bests' and 'mosts', but I've always admired the Fourth hugely, for its craft, its tremendous courage and the sheer monumental quality of its scale, impeccably executed.

Answer 2

Many had their say so I'll try to add something original. The key in Brahms's 4th is the resort to archaic forms, especially in 2nd movement, based on the so called phrygian scale, and in the monumental finale (curiously passionato is bad italian, you would say appassionato). 4th movement is probably what an answerer calls intricate waste of notes, because it is a passacaglia theme from a Bach cantata varied 33 times. Interesting hints: this 33 is a magic number (the age of Christ) and Bach's Goldberg Variations are just 33. An orchestral passacaglia was the first work of Anton Webern and originally that was a spanish dance that would have poor fortune in our discotheques. The sense of landsliding that leads to the dramatic closing is unforgettable, like the flute variation or the drei posaunen (3 trombones) chanting the requiem of classic symphony. What makes this a unique listening experience is the impression of flowing music while it's always the same theme. Interesting again: the original theme comes after 2 initial variations, with the drums one, which I challenge you to spot out as a variation. 1st movement is a wonderful picture of fall colors, a melancholic walk in the woods, with a fantastic beginning line that catches you forever. I don't feel it as a rageful act of rebellion to his enemies, as some (e.g. Bernstein) said. Only the accelerated closing with a final surrender marked by drums before the final chord leaves a sense of defeat in a peaceful adieu.

Answer 3

Albinoni- Adagio Bach: Brandenberg Concerto 2 Handel: For Unto Us a Child Is Born from The Messiah Mozart: Second Movement from Eline Kleine Nachmusik Haydn: The Heavens are telling Beethoven: Symphony 7 Schubert: Overture to Rosamunde Rossini: Una Voce Poco Fa (Song) from The Barber of Seville Chopin: Ballad in A Flat Major Mendelssohn: Duet from Songs Without Words (Piano solo) Lizst: Rigoletto Paraphrase ( piano solo) Verrdi: Nessun Dorma ( Solo) from the opera Tourendot Puccini: Mi Chiamano Mimi - aria) from La Boheme Saint- Saens: The Swan from Carnival of the Animals Strauss JR- Tales From The Vienna Woods (Waltz) Tchaikowsy: The Nutcraker Suite Bizet: The Opera Carmen, period! Brahms: A Major Intermezzo Sinding- Rustles of Spring Ravel: Pavanne for a Dead Princess Debussy: Claire de Lune and the list goes on and on... one compser at a time

Answer 4

I agree. Brahms is beautiful if the listener does some work. One really has to listen and think while listening to Brahms. If you just zone out, you'll think it's boring.

The reason his music sounds so "intricate" is because he was a master of counterpoint. He was probably the best contrapuntal composer of his generation. He lived at a time when musicology was being born and the first complete edition of Bach's works were being published. He took careful notes on the counterpoint of the masters, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. He even helped "correct" the "mistakes" made by younger composers like Dvorak. He really approached composing like a skilled master craftsman.

He also was very innovative with the use of rhythm and harmony, but unlike his contemporaries, Wagner or Liszt for instance, these innovations were not crammed down the listener's throat--he stayed true to the classical aesthetic of his predecessors.

Answer 5

Well, I wouldn't say that it's the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard. I think that would have to be either Beethoven's 5th piano concerto or his violin concerto. But Brahms' 4th symphony is a marvelous work, just the same.

Answer 6

YES! Although I much like the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony as well! Being a flutist and having the priviledge of performing this piece with a symphony orchestra as principal flute was one of the highest points of my musical playing career thus far. A performance in which I openly wept and will certainly never forget!

Good choice! = )

Answer 7

Being a many year fan of opera, i Have been "in love" with Boheme since I was about 13. About Nesun Dorma , it was not Verdi of course and the very best recording was by Bjorling. I am sure the answerer was kidding.Nebucco---the choral music is magnificent.

Answer 8

Its a Good one, as is his second symphony.

However, I really believe the most beautiful piece is Nessun Dorma by Verdi from his opera Nabucco. You've heard it on commercials. Download it. it has so much beauty and passion.

If you are only referring to symphonic works, the first movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto.,

Answer 9

No i think its a ridiculously intricate waste of notes and human emotion. The fact that you asked this question on yahoo answer site and not on some music forum is beyond me.

Answer 10

I love Brahms, I really do.. it is beautiful. But it is also some seriously boring music.