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The '''''Tragic Overture''''' ({{lang-de|Tragische Ouvertüre|link=no}}), [[opus number|Op.]]&nbsp;81, is a [[Overture#Concert overture|concert overture]] for [[orchestra]] written by [[Johannes Brahms]] during the summer of 1880. It premiered, under [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]], on 26 December 1880 in Vienna.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcQAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA361|title=Brahms and His World: A Biographical Dictionary|first=Peter|last=Clive|date=October 2, 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461722809|via=Google Books}}</ref> Eight days later, it was repeated at the [[University of Breslau]] on a program with the premiere of the ''[[Academic Festival Overture]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.redlandssymphony.com/|title=Fascinating Insights into Brahms's ''Tragic Overture''|website=Redlands Symphony|access-date=2019-10-16|archive-date=2019-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117215205/https://www.redlandssymphony.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most performances last between twelve and fifteen minutes.
The '''''Tragic Overture''''' ({{langx|de|Tragische Ouvertüre|link=no}}), [[opus number|Op.]]&nbsp;81, is a [[Overture#Concert overture|concert overture]] for [[orchestra]] written by [[Johannes Brahms]] during the summer of 1880. It premiered, under [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]], on 26 December 1880 in Vienna.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcQAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA361|title=Brahms and His World: A Biographical Dictionary|first=Peter|last=Clive|date=October 2, 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461722809|via=Google Books}}</ref> Most performances last between twelve and fifteen minutes.


Brahms chose the title "[[tragedy|tragic]]" to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the ''Academic Festival Overture''. Despite its name, the ''Tragic Overture'' does not follow any specific dramatic [[program music|program]]. Brahms summed up the effective difference in character between the two overtures when he declared "one laughs while the other cries."{{cite quote|date=July 2020}}
Brahms chose the title "[[tragedy|tragic]]" to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the ''[[Academic Festival Overture]]''. Despite its name, the ''Tragic Overture'' does not follow any specific dramatic [[program music|program]]. Brahms summed up the effective difference in character between the two overtures when he declared "one is laughing, the other crying."<ref>{{cite book |last=Neunzig |first=Hans A. |title=Brahms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9To5t5rZn0cC&dq=Brahms+%22One+is+laughing,+the+other+crying%22&pg=PA160 |translator-last1=Mitchell |translator-first1=Mike |year= 1997 |publisher=Haus Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-904341-17-9 |page=160}}</ref>


==Structure==
== Structure ==


{{Listen|type=music
{{Listen|type=music
| filename = Brahms, Tragic Overture.ogg
| filename = Brahms, Tragic Overture.ogg
| title = ''Tragic Overture'' (13:50)
| title = ''Tragic Overture'' (13:50)
| description = Courtesy of [[Musopen]]
| description =
}}
}}
The ''Tragic Overture'' comprises three main sections, all in the [[key (music)|key]] of [[D minor]].
The ''Tragic Overture'' comprises three main sections, all in the [[key (music)|key]] of [[D minor]].
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[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|450px|page=115]]
[[File:Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf|450px|page=115]]


==Analysis==
== Analysis ==


Theorists have disagreed in analyzing the form of the piece: [[Timothy L. Jackson|Jackson]] finds [[James Webster (musicologist)|Webster]]'s multifarious description{{citation needed|date=January 2021|reason=Where is Webster's description?}} rather obscurist and prefers to label the work's form as a "reversed [[sonata form|sonata design]]" in which the second group is [[recapitulation (music)|recapitulated]] before the first, with [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Coriolan Overture]]'' as a possible formal model.<ref>[[Timothy L. Jackson]], "Bruckner and tragic reversed sonata form", ''Bruckner Studies'' 1997, Cambridge University Press, pp. 172–178</ref>
Theorists have disagreed in analyzing the form of the piece: [[Timothy L. Jackson|Jackson]] finds [[James Webster (musicologist)|Webster]]'s multifarious description{{citation needed|date=January 2021|reason=Where is Webster's description?}} rather obscurist and prefers to label the work's form as a "reversed [[sonata form|sonata design]]" in which the second group is [[recapitulation (music)|recapitulated]] before the first, with [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Coriolan Overture]]'' as a possible formal model.<ref>[[Timothy L. Jackson]], "Bruckner and tragic reversed sonata form", ''Bruckner Studies'' 1997, Cambridge University Press, pp. 172–178</ref>


==Instrumentation==
== Instrumentation ==


The work is scored for [[piccolo]], two [[Western concert flute|flute]]s, two [[oboe]]s, two [[clarinet]]s, two [[bassoon]]s, four [[French horn|horn]]s, two [[trumpet]]s, three [[trombone]]s, [[tuba]], [[timpani]], and [[string section|strings]].
The work is scored for [[piccolo]], two [[Western concert flute|flute]]s, two [[oboe]]s, two [[clarinet]]s, two [[bassoon]]s, four [[French horn|horn]]s, two [[trumpet]]s, three [[trombone]]s, [[tuba]], [[timpani]], and [[string section|strings]].


==References==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Compositions by Johannes Brahms]]
[[Category:Orchestral compositions by Johannes Brahms]]
[[Category:Compositions in D minor]]
[[Category:Compositions in D minor]]
[[Category:Concert overtures]]
[[Category:Concert overtures]]

Latest revision as of 12:48, 27 October 2024

The Tragic Overture (German: Tragische Ouvertüre), Op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. It premiered, under Hans Richter, on 26 December 1880 in Vienna.[1] Most performances last between twelve and fifteen minutes.

Brahms chose the title "tragic" to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the Academic Festival Overture. Despite its name, the Tragic Overture does not follow any specific dramatic program. Brahms summed up the effective difference in character between the two overtures when he declared "one is laughing, the other crying."[2]

Structure

[edit]

The Tragic Overture comprises three main sections, all in the key of D minor.

  1. Allegro ma non troppo
  2. Molto più moderato
  3. Tempo primo ma tranquillo

Analysis

[edit]

Theorists have disagreed in analyzing the form of the piece: Jackson finds Webster's multifarious description[citation needed] rather obscurist and prefers to label the work's form as a "reversed sonata design" in which the second group is recapitulated before the first, with Beethoven's Coriolan Overture as a possible formal model.[3]

Instrumentation

[edit]

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Clive, Peter (October 2, 2006). Brahms and His World: A Biographical Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461722809 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Neunzig, Hans A. (1997). Brahms. Translated by Mitchell, Mike. London: Haus Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 1-904341-17-9.
  3. ^ Timothy L. Jackson, "Bruckner and tragic reversed sonata form", Bruckner Studies 1997, Cambridge University Press, pp. 172–178

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]