Symphony No. 1 in C Minor

Burdened by the expectation of producing a work that furthered the monumental symphonic legacy of his great predecessor Beethoven, Johannes Brahms spent 21 years composing his First Symphony. Performed for the first time in Karlsruhe in 1876, the work did not initially satisfy the notoriously self-critical composer, who subjected it to extensive revisions before agreeing to publish the score. Without doubt, the shadow of Beethoven looms large. Sharing the same central key of C minor as Beethoven’s Fifth and following a similar emotional trajectory, from turmoil to eventual triumph, the First Symphony abounds in further Beethovenian allusions, most obviously the glorious string melody in the Finale, which pays tribute to the famous “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth. Yet despite these surface connections, the First Symphony is very much a work of its time—an entirely original and profoundly Romantic contribution to the genre. The anguished harmonies that dominate the first movement, and return with even greater vehemence in the Finale, project an almost demonic character. No less remarkable are the warmth and ardour of the “Andante sostenuto”, with its extended violin solo, and the relatively relaxed demeanour of the ensuing “Un poco allegretto e grazioso”—a lyrical intermezzo movement which replaces the rhythmically dynamic scherzos that were more favoured by Brahms’ predecessors, Schumann and Mendelssohn.