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Flying the Nest

Kate Molleson explores the life and relationships of Johannes Brahms through the keyhole of the places he called home. Today, his love-hate feeling towards his home city of Hamburg.

Kate Molleson looks at Brahms鈥 love-hate relationship with his home city of Hamburg.

Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer 鈥 the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.

Today, we begin in Brahms鈥 birthplace, Hamburg, where he had a cramped and chaotic upbringing. Despite not being able to afford an instrument at home, he was sent out as a child to play piano in bars and brothels. But just beyond the confines of the city centre, headspace and opportunities await.

Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52a No 1
Wyneke Jordans, piano
Leo van Doeselaar, piano

Ballade in G minor, Op 118 No 2
Paul Lewis, piano

Sandm盲nnchen WoO 31, No 4 (Children鈥檚 Folk Songs)
Anna Lucia Richter, mezzo
Ammiel Bushakevitz, piano

Scherzo in E flat minor, Op 4
Gerhard Oppitz, piano

An die Nachtigall, Op 46 No 4
Simon Keenlyside, tenor
Malcolm Martineau, piano

Vier Ges盲nge f眉r Frauenchor, Op 17
RIAS Kammerchor
Stefan Jezierski, Manfred Klier, horns
Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Marcus Creed, conductor

Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor Op 25 (3rd mvt 鈥 Andante]
Martha Argerich, piano
Gidon Kremer, violin
Yuri Bashmet, viola
Mischa Maisky, cello

Produced by Amelia Parker for 成人快手 Audio Wales and West

59 minutes

Last on

Mon 8 Apr 2024 16:00

Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52a, No 1

    Performer: Wyneke Jordans. Performer: Leo van Doeselaar.
    • PASSACAILLE : PAS1089.
    • PASSACAILLE.
    • 17.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Ballade in G minor, Op 118 No 2

    Performer: Paul Lewis.
    • Brahms: Late Piano Works, Opp. 116-119.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 13.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Sandm盲nnchen WoO 31, No 4 (Children's Folk Songs)

    Performer: Ammiel Bushakevitz. Singer: Anna Lucia Richter.
    • PENTATONE.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Scherzo in E flat minor, Op 4

    Performer: Gerhard Oppitz.
    • RCA : 82876678872.
    • RCA.
    • 3.
  • Johannes Brahms

    An die Nachtigall, Op 46, No 4

    Performer: Malcolm Martineau. Singer: Simon Keenlyside.
    • SONY : 88697-566892.
    • SONY.
    • 10.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Vier Ges盲nge f眉r Frauenchor, Op 17

    Performer: Stefan Jezierski. Performer: Manfred Klier. Performer: Marie鈥怭ierre Langlamet. Performer: RIAS Chamber Choir. Singer: Marcus Creed.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI : HMC-901592.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.
    • 4.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor, Op 25 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Performer: Gidon Kremer. Performer: Yuri Abramovich Bashmet. Performer: Mischa Maisky.
    • DG : 479-0359.
    • DG.
    • 3.

Broadcast

  • Mon 8 Apr 2024 16:00

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