Johannes Brahms was often labelled the last representative of the German classical tradition, initiated by Bach and continued by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Even in his own time, in the second half of the 19th century, some considered him old-fashioned or, worse, anachronistic. He partly brought this on himself, consistently expressing strong objections whenever his music was described as "modern."
Yet, his music was indeed very innovative. It is true that Brahms's first two symphonies are deeply influenced by Beethoven. However, his Third Symphony ends in a manner far removed from Beethoven's models – quietly. His Symphony No. 4, the last in his oeuvre and the highlight of this concert, goes even further. Here, Brahms perfected his compositional technique of seamlessly evolving one melody into another, creating an intricate web of musical connections. This technique had a significant impact on the development of music. Most importantly, though, Brahms left us with profoundly personal music. If any of his masterpieces give us insight into how the composer viewed the world, it is the Fourth Symphony.
Brahms Symphony No. 4 performed by the Oslo Philharmonic conducted by Klaus Mäkela:
