Johannes Brahms had a habit of making promises that turned out pretty hard to keep. Chief amongst them was his declaration in 1872 that he’d ‘never write a symphony.’
Sure enough, and despite the thuds of Beethoven’s epoch-making footsteps still ringing in his ears, Brahms eventually proved himself spectacularly wrong. When the composer’s First Symphony finally arrived, it certainly made an entrance – launching mid-sentence with a turbulent, energetic face-off between pounding drums, defiantly climbing strings and ominously plunging woodwinds.
Pietari Inkinen introduces, contextualizes and conducts Brahms’s masterful Symphony No. 1 in this short concert that will bring you closer to the work itself - a symphony of gripping turbulence, deep conviction and exuberant joy.
Image: Pietari Inkinen, photo: Kaupo Kikkas