Brahms: Symphony No. 1 | Charles Dutoit & the Verbier Festival Orchestra

A symphonic classic played by young musicians: Brahms‘ Symphony No. 1 is performed by the Verbier Festival Orchestra under the baton of Charles Dutoit. The concert took place during the Verbier Festival in the year 2014.

00:00 Coming on stage
00:12 Un poco sostenuto – Allegro
14:14 Andante sostenuto
23:13 Un poco allegretto e grazioso
27:59 Adagio – Allegro non troppo ma con brio

“Beethoven’s 10th” – was how Brahms’ champion Hans von Bülow described the first symphony by Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897). And that’s a huge compliment, as the symphonic genre had reached a zenith after Beethoven’s Ninth, which could just as easily have been an end point. Johannes Brahms’ first symphony was by no means an easy birth: he worked for a total of 14 years on the composition; he was 43 years old when he finally completed it. Initially, Beethoven’s powerful symphonic legacy was an impediment for Brahms: "I’ll never compose a symphony! You can’t have any idea what it’s like always to hear such a giant marching behind you." Words written by Brahms in 1870 to his friend, the conductor Hermann Levi. But with time, that giant turned out to be an inspiration and ultimately, with the composition of his first symphony, Brahms managed to set himself apart from Beethoven and to a certain extent, even overcome his gargantuan legacy. Meanwhile Brahms’ antipode Wagner postulated that the symphony genre was finished and turned his attentions to musical drama. Franz Liszt, on the other hand, pursued a programmatic development of the symphony into what became known as the symphonic poem. Thus, Brahms became Beethoven’s true heir. Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor Op. 68 is bursting with references to Beethoven. These were also certainly intended as nods of appreciation, but ones that should first and foremost be heard. For example in the final movement there are clear shades of the Ode to Joy theme from Beethoven’s Ninth: “Any jackass can hear that!” remarked Brahms.

The concert was performed during the 2014 edition of the Verbier Festivals, seen as a top international gathering of classical music stars. The festival has been taking place every year in the Swiss Alps since 1994. As well as staging a varied concert program, the Verbier Festival also provides upcoming artists with the opportunity to work with major names in the world of classical music. The Verbier Festival Orchestra is made up of highly talented young musicians and was founded in the year 2000. The festival also gives young performers the chance to gain live concert experience under the guidance of leading conductors.

During the course of his long professional life, the conductor Charles Dutoit (born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1936) has led more than 150 orchestras – making his a superlative musical career. He began conducting the Canadian Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in 1977 and went on to record more than 80 CDs with the ensemble. He’s seen as particularly open to performing pieces of music that seldom get a hearing. Following metoo allegations against him in 2018, several orchestras severed all ties with Dutoit.

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