Jump to content

Serenades (Brahms): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m IMSLP link
 
(78 intermediate revisions by 51 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The two '''Serenades''', Opp. 11 and 16, represented two of the earliest efforts by [[Johannes Brahms]] to write [[orchestra]]l music. They both date from the 1850s when Brahms was residing in [[Detmold]].
The two '''Serenades''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 11 and 16, represent early efforts by [[Johannes Brahms]] to write [[orchestra]]l music. They both date from after the 1856 death of [[Robert Schumann]] when Brahms was residing in [[Detmold]] and had access to an orchestra.{{sfn|Geiringer|1984|p=55}}


Brahms had a goal of reaching [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s level in writing [[symphony|symphonies]], and worked long and hard on his [[Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)| first symphony]], completing it only in 1876 when he was 43 years old. As preliminary steps in composing for orchestra, he chose early on to write some lighter orchestral pieces, these Serenades. The second was first sent to [[Clara Schumann]], who was delighted by it. <ref>{{cite web|author1=Phillip Huscher|title=Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16|url=https://cso.org/uploadedFiles/1_Tickets_and_Events/Program_Notes/ProgramNotes_Brahms_Serenade2.pdf|publisher=Chicago Symphony Orchestra|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>
==Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11==
The first [[serenade]] was completed in [[1857]]. At that time, Brahms was also working on his [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)|First Piano Concerto]]. Originally scored for wind and string [[octet (music)|octet]] and then expanded into a longer work for [[chamber music|chamber]] [[nonet (music)|nonet]] [http://www.riverdaleensemble.com/Conc0202.html], the serenade was later adapted for orchestra.


==Serenade No.&nbsp;1 in D, Op.&nbsp;11==
It consists of six [[movement (music)|movements]] and lasts slightly less than forty minutes.
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=103]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=104]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=105]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=106]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=107]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=108]]


The first [[serenade]] was completed in 1858. At that time, Brahms was also working on his [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)|Piano Concerto No.&nbsp;1]]. Originally scored for wind and string [[nonet (music)|nonet]] and then expanded into a longer work for [[chamber music|chamber]] [[orchestra]], the serenade was later adapted for orchestra;{{sfn|Geiringer|1984|pp=249–250}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riverdaleensemble.com/Conc0202.html|title=Program Notes&nbsp;– ''Last Night of the Brahms''|publisher=Riverdale Ensemble performance, 2002-11-16}}</ref> Brahms completed the final version for large orchestra in December 1859.{{sfn|Avins|1997|loc=p. 193, footnote}} In the orchestration of the Concerto Brahms had solicited and got a great deal of advice from his good friend [[Joseph Joachim]]. For this Serenade Joachim also gave advice, although to a lesser extent.{{sfn|Avins|1997|p=180}} The first performance of the Serenade, in [[Hanover]] on 3&nbsp;March 1860, "did not go very well" in Brahms's opinion,<ref name=Avins193>{{harvnb|Avins|1997|p=193}}</ref> but evidently the unusually large audience of 1,200 did not notice any mistake during the performance. At the end, applause "persisted until I came out and down in front." After every piece in the concert "the audience was shouting."<ref name=Avins193/> This was a vastly better reception than the Piano Concerto had in either of its first two performances. But at its third performance, 24 March, also in Hamburg, it had been a success, perhaps not to the same degree as the Serenade.
*''[[Tempo#Italian tempo markings|Allegro molto]]'' ([[D major]])
*''Scherzo. Allegro non troppo'' ([[D minor]]) – ''Trio. Poco più moto'' ([[B flat major]])
*''Adagio non troppo'' (B flat major)
*''[[Minuet|Menuetto I]]'' ([[G major]]) – ''Menuetto II'' ([[G minor]])
*''Scherzo. Allegro'' (D major) – ''[[Ternary form|Trio]]''
*''Rondo. Allegro'' (D major)


The Serenade consists of six [[movement (music)|movements]] and lasts around 45 minutes.
==Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16==
{{Ordered list |list_style_type=upper-roman
The second serenade was written in [[1859]] and dedicated to [[Clara Schumann]]. It was revised in 1875. It is scored for a standard orchestra, but without violins. The five movements take just under thirty minutes to perform.
|[[Tempo#Italian tempo markings|Allegro molto]] ([[D major]])
|[[Scherzo]]. Allegro non troppo ([[D minor]]) – ''Trio. Poco più moto'' ([[B-flat major|B{{music|b}} major]])
|[[Tempo#Basic_tempo_markings|Adagio]] non troppo (B{{music|b}} major)
|[[Minuet|Menuetto I]] ([[G major]]) – ''Menuetto II'' ([[G minor]])
|Scherzo. Allegro (D major) – ''[[Ternary form|Trio]]''
|[[Rondo]]. Allegro (D major)
}}
Scorings for Serenade&nbsp;1 are:
* Nonet: flute, 2 clarinets in A (movements I, V, VI) and B flat (movements II, III, IV), bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass
* Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (as in the nonet}, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings (violins I and II, viola, cello, double bass)


{{clear}}
*''Allegro moderato'' (A major)

*''Scherzo. Vivace'' (C major) – ''Trio'' (F major)
==Serenade No.&nbsp;2 in A, Op.&nbsp;16==
*''Adagio non troppo'' (A minor)
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=109]]
*''Quasi menuetto'' (D major) – ''Trio'' (F sharp minor)
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=110]]
*''Rondo. Allegro'' (A major)
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=111]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=112]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|right|300px|page=113]]

The second serenade was written in 1859 and dedicated to [[Clara Schumann]].<ref name="MCook-Rev">{{cite web|last1=Cookson|first1=Michael|title=Review...Chailly|url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Feb/Brahms_serenades_4786775.htm|website=Musicweb International|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref> The first public performance, reportedly for full orchestra (version lost?), was in [[Hamburg]] on 10&nbsp;February 1860.

Brahms himself reworked the piece for piano 4 hands in 1875. The same year he revisited the orchestral version,<ref name=a>{{harvnb|Geiringer|1984|p=250}}</ref> this time for chamber orchestra. The new scoring was for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A for movements I, IV, V; in C for movement II; and in B flat for movement III), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, violas, cellos, and double basses, omitting violins, brass, and percussion.<ref name=a /><ref name="MCook-Rev"/>

The five movements take approximately thirty minutes to perform.
{{Ordered list |list_style_type=upper-roman
|''Allegro moderato'' (A major)
|''Scherzo. Vivace'' (C major) – ''Trio'' (F major)
|''Adagio non troppo'' (A minor, ends in A major with a [[Picardy third]])
|''Quasi menuetto'' (D major) – ''Trio'' (F{{music|#}} minor)
|''Rondo. Allegro'' (A major)
}}

{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

'''Sources'''
*{{Cite book|editor-last=Avins|editor-first=Styra|year=1997|title=Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-816234-0}}
* {{cite book
| last = Geiringer
| first = Karl|author-link=Karl Geiringer
| title = Brahms: His Life and Work&nbsp;– Third Enlarged Edition
| publisher = Da Capo Press
| year = 1984
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-306-80223-2
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/brahmshislifewor0000geir_m4x9
}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMSLP2|id=Serenade_for_Orchestra_No.1%2C_Op.11_(Brahms%2C_Johannes)|cname=Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11}}
*{{IMSLP|work=Serenade No.1, Op.11 (Brahms, Johannes)|cname=Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11}}
*{{IMSLP|work=Serenade No.2, Op.16 (Brahms, Johannes)|cname=Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16}}

{{Johannes Brahms}}


[[Category:Compositions by Johannes Brahms]]
[[Category:Orchestral compositions by Johannes Brahms]]
[[Category: Compositions for symphonic orchestra|Brahms Serenades]]
[[Category:Serenades|Brahms]]
[[Category:Serenades|Brahms]]
[[Category:1857 compositions]]
[[Category:1859 compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions in A major]]
[[Category:Compositions in D major]]


[[es:Serenatas (Brahms)]]
[[de:1. Serenade (Brahms)]]
[[fr:Sérénades]]

Latest revision as of 01:51, 17 March 2024

The two Serenades, Op. 11 and 16, represent early efforts by Johannes Brahms to write orchestral music. They both date from after the 1856 death of Robert Schumann when Brahms was residing in Detmold and had access to an orchestra.[1]

Brahms had a goal of reaching Ludwig van Beethoven's level in writing symphonies, and worked long and hard on his first symphony, completing it only in 1876 when he was 43 years old. As preliminary steps in composing for orchestra, he chose early on to write some lighter orchestral pieces, these Serenades. The second was first sent to Clara Schumann, who was delighted by it. [2]

Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11

[edit]

The first serenade was completed in 1858. At that time, Brahms was also working on his Piano Concerto No. 1. Originally scored for wind and string nonet and then expanded into a longer work for chamber orchestra, the serenade was later adapted for orchestra;[3][4] Brahms completed the final version for large orchestra in December 1859.[5] In the orchestration of the Concerto Brahms had solicited and got a great deal of advice from his good friend Joseph Joachim. For this Serenade Joachim also gave advice, although to a lesser extent.[6] The first performance of the Serenade, in Hanover on 3 March 1860, "did not go very well" in Brahms's opinion,[7] but evidently the unusually large audience of 1,200 did not notice any mistake during the performance. At the end, applause "persisted until I came out and down in front." After every piece in the concert "the audience was shouting."[7] This was a vastly better reception than the Piano Concerto had in either of its first two performances. But at its third performance, 24 March, also in Hamburg, it had been a success, perhaps not to the same degree as the Serenade.

The Serenade consists of six movements and lasts around 45 minutes.

  1. Allegro molto (D major)
  2. Scherzo. Allegro non troppo (D minor) – Trio. Poco più moto (B major)
  3. Adagio non troppo (B major)
  4. Menuetto I (G major) – Menuetto II (G minor)
  5. Scherzo. Allegro (D major) – Trio
  6. Rondo. Allegro (D major)

Scorings for Serenade 1 are:

  • Nonet: flute, 2 clarinets in A (movements I, V, VI) and B flat (movements II, III, IV), bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass
  • Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (as in the nonet}, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings (violins I and II, viola, cello, double bass)

Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16

[edit]

The second serenade was written in 1859 and dedicated to Clara Schumann.[8] The first public performance, reportedly for full orchestra (version lost?), was in Hamburg on 10 February 1860.

Brahms himself reworked the piece for piano 4 hands in 1875. The same year he revisited the orchestral version,[9] this time for chamber orchestra. The new scoring was for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A for movements I, IV, V; in C for movement II; and in B flat for movement III), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, violas, cellos, and double basses, omitting violins, brass, and percussion.[9][8]

The five movements take approximately thirty minutes to perform.

  1. Allegro moderato (A major)
  2. Scherzo. Vivace (C major) – Trio (F major)
  3. Adagio non troppo (A minor, ends in A major with a Picardy third)
  4. Quasi menuetto (D major) – Trio (F minor)
  5. Rondo. Allegro (A major)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Geiringer 1984, p. 55.
  2. ^ Phillip Huscher. "Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16" (PDF). Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. ^ Geiringer 1984, pp. 249–250.
  4. ^ "Program Notes – Last Night of the Brahms". Riverdale Ensemble performance, 2002-11-16.
  5. ^ Avins 1997, p. 193, footnote.
  6. ^ Avins 1997, p. 180.
  7. ^ a b Avins 1997, p. 193
  8. ^ a b Cookson, Michael. "Review...Chailly". Musicweb International. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. ^ a b Geiringer 1984, p. 250

Sources

[edit]