b'PROGRAM NOTESJOHANNES BRAHMSSymphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98COMPOSER: Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg; died April 3, 1897, ViennaWORK COMPOSED: Brahms composed the Fourth Symphonyduring the summers of 1884-1885 in Mrzzuschlag, his summerretreat in the mountains southwest of Vienna.WORLD PREMIERE: Brahms led the Meiningen Court Orchestraon October 25, 1885.INSTRUMENTATION: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets,2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones,timpani, triangle, and stringsESTIMATED DURATION: 40 minutesI n a 1947 essay titled Brahms the Progressive, Arnold Schoenberg described Johannes Brahms as one of only a few composers whose music emerges from a simultaneous and indivisible combination of inspiration and intellectual skill. Brahms Fourth Symphony is an exquisite synthesis of heart and mind; its elegance suggests a mathematical equation whose deceptively simple formula expresses new, startling, and intriguingly complex concepts. Brahms composed the Fourth Symphony during the summers of 1884 to 1885 in Mrzzuschlag, his summer retreat in the mountains southwest of Vienna. In September 1885, Brahms wrote to Hans von Blow, conductor of the Meiningen Orchestra, expressing his hope that von Blow would take on the new symphony. Brahms also admitted his doubts about the works appeal: Im really afraid it [the Fourth Symphony] tastes like the climate here. The cherries dont ripen in these parts; you wouldnt eat them! Brahms neednt have worried. After his first rehearsal of Opus 98, von Blow wrote, No. 4 gigantic, altogether a law unto itself, quite new, steely individuality. Exudes unparalleled energy from first note to last. Despite Brahms misgivings that the public would not respond well to his neue traurige Symphonie (new tragic symphony), the audience reacted enthusiastically at the premiere, applauding each movement. The influential 19th-century critic Eduard Hanslick, a lifelong champion of Brahms music, included this encomium in his review: Brahms is unique in his resources of genuine symphonic invention; in his sovereign mastery of all the secrets of counterpoint, harmony, and instrumentation; in the logic of development combined with the most beautiful freedom of fantasy.The main theme of the Allegro non troppo reveals Brahms gift for economy: the essence of this lyrical sighing melody is its first four notes. Brahms endlessly inventive elaborations and development of these four notes generate much of the music of this movement. Countering the criticisms of his work as too cerebral, Brahms writes music of pure aural pleasure in the Andante moderato. The Allegro giocoso begins with an energetic wallop of sound and an amusingly odd rhythm; here, Brahms gives us a glimpse of his humorous side. At the premiere, the audience delighted in this rowdy, ebullient music and called for an encore. While Brahms was pleased with the reaction, he declined the request.For many years, Brahms had been drawn to the Baroque form of the chaconne, a series of variations in a slow tempo, usually intime. In an 1877 letter to Clara Schumann, Brahms shared his fascination with this format: If I could picture myself writing, or even conceiving, such a piece, I am certain that 20 Santa Rosa Symphony(707) 546-8742'