Brahms' Piano Concerto

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Image courtesy of L'Auditori

The first piece on the program is the premiere of Songs for Júlia, by Catalan composer Josep Maria Guix, with soprano Anna Devin as soloist.

It is followed by Jean Sibelius’s unusual Seventh Symphony, written in a single movement. Not only is it the last of his symphonies but, although he lived for more than thirty years after it was first performed, it is also one of the last pieces in his catalogue. Shortly afterwards, fire destroyed all traces of his other works, and the author fell silent after years defending Finland’s national identity and suffering war and illness.  

A long period of time—two decades—passed between the failure of Johannes Brahms’ First Piano Concerto and the enormous success of his Second Piano Concerto. While preparing it, the composer commented that he was writing “a very small piano concerto, with a small, beautiful scherzo.” However, the public applauded an ambitious, overwhelming work, deemed a symphony with piano by many.

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