For
several weeks previously I had been reading about the life of Brahms. At the
time of composing his 4th Symphony he was about to enter the last decade or so
of his life. His long and deeply felt friendship with the widow of Robert
Schumann, Clara, had not developed into anything more and his drive and passion
had become increasingly focused upon realising the potential of his music. His
drive to compose was so strong that when he eventually ‘retired from
composition’ at the age of 57 he was unable to keep to it, writing several
acknowledged masterworks during his final years.
Overall,
the impression I was gaining of Brahms was of a man of great passion, integrity
and resolve.
As I
listened to his 4th Symphony my newly acquired knowledge of Brahms’s life
intertwined with his music and for the first time in my life I ‘got it’. I
could hear the heart felt resolve and integrity of the man in his music, and
also something of the disappointments that he had overcome. Indeed, these
disappointments were the wellspring of the symphony’s emotional intensity.
In the
past I had perceived Brahms as too tightly buttoned up by classical structures
and forms to be truly expressive and emotional. Now, however, I understood that
he used the structures not just for aesthetic reasons but also because they
enabled him to articulate his emotions in a clear, focused and controlled way.
I finally put the character of the man beside his music and it all made
immediate sense. I became instantly aware of the emotional intensity he had
packed so skilfully and carefully into his compositions.
Sometimes
we cannot take a convenient short cut towards understanding something. Now and
then we simply need to allow ourselves the time and space for our understanding
to grow, as it finally did for me and my appreciation of Brahms's symphony.
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