Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 2 in D, Op.73

Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Hans Vonk

PTC 5186 042

DSD recorded

Symphony No. 2 · “Tragic” Overture
Johannes Brahms did not write his first symphony until he was 43 years old, and then only subsequent to lengthy and self-critical reflection. His fear of the shadow of the unattainable and admired example of Beethoven was too great. Yet after he finally and successfully made up his mind to try his hand at this genre, he completed his fourth symphony within less than ten years. Contrary to other major composers, instead of spreading the composition of his symphonies throughout his entire career, Brahms completed this oeuvre within a surprisingly short period of time,
Brahms struggled for almost two decades with his Symphony No. 1, yet his Symphony No. 2 seemed almost to write itself. Only a few months lay between the first sketches and the completion of the score. During a happy summer holiday, the composer, who was by nature pensive, had felt inspired by the idyllic background of the Wörther lake. The carefree atmosphere of Pörtschach made it easy for Brahms to develop and complete the composition: “The Wörther lake is a fertile base, melodies come flying out so fast, that one has to take care not to tread on them,” thus he wrote to his publisher Simrock in 1877. In fact, following its first performance in Vienna on December 30, 1877, the work was praised by the critics as “poetic”, “blossoming like spring” and in the best Beethovenian sense of the word, “pastoral”. Nevertheless, one should take care not to search for “naturalistic” examples, as there were in Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony. Brahms was opposed to all programme music, and nothing could have been further from his mind than providing pictorial references to be interpreted.
Behind the apparently playful levity of his Symphony No. 2 is hidden an elaborate construction which, despite all external transparency, is based on complex structures. In the first movement (Allegro non troppo, 3/4), following the inconspicuous, comfortable three-note motif in the basses and the ensuing horn melody, a complicated movement structure with subtle subdivisions forces its way through. The motif, which alternates between the tonic and the leading note, turns into a dominant set phrase: no theme in the movement can escape its influence. In the lyrical second theme, Brahms quotes his own song “Guten Abend, gute Nacht” Op. 49 No. 4. The expansively elaborate coda also contains lyrical melodies. The dominant trait in this movement is the balance between his short-motif technique and the impression of a simple melodic naturalness.
In the second movement (Adagio non troppo, in B, 4/4, 12/8), which presents four main motifs during the first 12 measures and creates from these the basis of a sonata movement form, the summery idyll appears to have temporarily vanished. Here Brahms’ characterization of this symphony as a “delightful ogre” is proven to be well-founded. The movement, which is introduced by a wistful cantilena in the cellos, captivates the listener with its concentrated thematic development. Following a horn melody, which subsequently returns in a higher octave in the wind instruments, one again encounters the three-note motif in the last bars of the development – running, so to speak, like a motto throughout the entire work.
The third movement (Allegretto grazioso, in G, 3/4) leads to a different world. In the complacent, bucolic flow of this “brass-band music”, which does not contain any sudden abysses, the transition from the Minuet to the Scherzo has become blurred. Here, the atmosphere is more that of an intermezzo, dominated by a folk-song tone, which offers melodic phrases here and there, seeming to hint at Bohemian influences. Yet before the listener is aware of how elaborately this movement – which appears to be so simple – has also been constructed, everything is already over. Like the first movement, this one also ends in a string pizzicato.
In the Finale (Allegro con spirito, in D, alla breve), Brahms again returns to the alternating-note motif from the beginning of the work. This movement, which starts off mysteriously, is almost without exception based on this motif (although the rhythm is different here). It saturates both groups of themes as well as their derivatives. After the activity which follows the beginning, the second theme behaves in an essentially more restful manner. However, during the course of the theme, it becomes merrier and more powerful, and, together with the cheery main theme and the main motif from the first movement, it leads the symphony to a magnificent conclusion.
Brahms wrote his “Tragic” Overture – nowadays seldom played – in between his second and third symphonies. It is the counterpart to his “Academic Festival” Overture, which he composed more or less simultaneously, and in its style it already points towards the late works of the composer. Brahms wrote his “Academic Festival” Overture with a reason in mind, namely to thank the Breslau University for granting him an honorary doctorate. However, nothing precise is known about his reason for writing the “Tragic” Overture. In this case too, there is no specific programme. However, it is conceivable that Brahms, who refused to try his hand at opera, wished to express his idea of tragedy in this work.
Like a signal, the profoundly serious, melancholy character of this entire Overture is announced straight away in the two powerful orchestral “blows” based on a drum roll at the beginning. Yet the fateful mood set by the basic key of D minor, which appears to brighten up only in the comforting key of F during the second group of themes, is not overcome – as would be the case with Beethoven, for instance – by aggressive heroism and defiant rebellion: rather, it is left to founder in loneliness and hopelessness. After the dramatic, passionate development which, in accordance with the solemnity of the title, offers contrapuntal techniques, a syncopated rhythm appears out of nowhere, which expands to become a conveyor of grief. Finally, the pathetic main theme once again asserts itself. The première of the Overture took place in Vienna on December 26, 1880.

“This performance by Hans Vonk and the Netherlands Radio symphony Orchestra is among the best I’ve heard, having all the lyricism and drama the music calls for, combined with a wonderful precision, sense of rhythm and articulateness. This PentaTone disc is in the empyrean class; it ranks amongst the finest I’ve been privileged to hear. The soundstage is excellent, with great stability and specificity of position, but it is the dynamics and timbre of the instruments, and the seemingly perfect acoustic of Studio 1 (at Hilversum, The Netherlands), that are most responsible for the sense of presence, the realism.”
---Russell Lichter, The Stereo Times

“At last a Brahms symphony in SA-CD. This is a good steady reading and recording, well done by the PentaTone team. Can only jope the other three symphonies are to come in the future.”
---SA-CD.net

“This excellent offering from PentaTone and the recently departed Hans Vonk (RIP) is the only readily available Brahms 2 on SACD. The superb recording is all DSD, and provides an expansive soundstage and impressive recreation of the recorded acoustic. The performances are first-rate as well.”
---Tom Gibbs, Audiophile Audition

“ Brahms second is presented here with great expressiveness…This PentaTone CD belongs to the best of what has been presented by the Dutch radio orchestras since years”.
---Roland de Beer, De Volkskrant

“ Vonk convinces with a very cautiously and sensitively developed tension which in a sovereign way transforms into a triumphant climax in the finale”.
---Attila Csampai, FONO FORUM