"We buried her at one o'clock yesterday afternoon, and she looked unchanged, as sweet and kind as she had been in life. ..." - This is Johannes, February 6, 1865 ?The content of a letter written by Brahms (1833-1897) to Clara Schumann. A few days ago, Brahms’ beloved mother died of a heart attack. I’m afraid this One of the saddest things in his life. Brahms had a love for his mother that surpassed that of other family members. This love was pure and deep. It originated from his mother's understanding, recognition, support and tenderness towards him. When Brahms was not recognized by the world, It was his mother who encouraged him to continue struggling and gave him firm support; when he first achieved success, it was his mother who was the first to write to him, saying that she was proud of him. The grief of losing his mother was finally merged into the "German Requiem" (Op. 45), which comforted the living. Among the important works completed by Brahms in this year, he also included a unique "Deutschland". Horn Trio in E major (Op. 40), its adagio movement is regarded as his elegy for his mother.

Brahms spent the summer of 1865 in Lichtentau, where there was a holiday house owned by Clara and a green forest. Brahms often spent time here. Spend the summer and enjoy nature's bounty in the nearby forest. One summer morning, when Brahms was walking in the forest, he saw the sunrise in the forest. The rising sun quietly radiated light, making the forest walk out of the darkness of the night. ——That romantic moment inspired him, and soon the beauty and silence of the sunrise appeared in his new work "French Horn Trio". This work is a unique and extraordinary work in the history of chamber music. Brahms specifically used the natural horn, making an unusual combination with the violin and piano to produce a very unique sound, especially the timbre of the natural horn. , often makes people imagine the golden brilliance of the rising sun; in this work, the music interweaves various different feelings such as warmth, tranquility, melancholy, sadness, etc., so that the seemingly contradictory feelings are unified together , and this is precisely the reality in life.

Young Brahms

"Horn Trio" starts with the "Andante" tempo instead of the traditional "Allegro". A refreshing melody first begins with The violin accompanies the piano, and then the horn blows leisurely. This melody may be Brahms's impression of the sunrise in the forest; then, the expression mark changes to "slightly lively", and the music becomes very exciting, The sound of the French horns echoed, and the whole movement was filled with a sweet and warm atmosphere. The second movement is a cheerful and powerful "Scherzo". The music gives people the feeling of jumping. There is a singing lyrical paragraph in the middle of the movement, and the melody is lingering and low, with continuous ups and downs. The third movement is "Sorrowful Adagio", a trio of horn, violin and piano. This is Brahms's elegy to his mother. The peaceful and gloomy melody contains memories and excitement, and more More lingering dreams, and more endless thoughts about life. The final movement is "Vibrant Allegro", the music seems to be running and beating, showing vitality. ——Life revives at this moment, just like the forest wakes up at sunrise.

Brahms’ chamber music is not only the most outstanding part of his own creation, but also the most exciting part of the entire development history of chamber music. His chamber music continues the classical form from Haydn to Beethoven, but is purely romantic in content. In this way, the classical charm and romantic passion collide, creating exquisite and profound inner emotions. works. Among all music forms, chamber music is the most suitable form of music to express the deep world of the soul, especially for Brahms, a lonely classicist in the Romantic era, and also for Brahms, who lives alone on the long journey of life. For Brahms, chamber music was the best way to express his unique personal thoughts and record his poetic emotional world. ——Melancholic and nostalgic, but also exuding sweetness and luster, this is the overall feeling of his chamber music. Each of these music is a work of love, each song is the sound of the soul, and each one is worth it. Listen with your heart and experience with your heart, because they are the imprint of Brahms' life.

Portrait of Clara

The love affair with Clara, who was 14 years older than him, was an important part of Brahms' life. In September 1853, Brahms, who was only 20 years old, met Schumann and was warmly received by the family. The next year, when Schumann was hospitalized for mental illness, Brahms brought a lot of comfort to Clara, who was in despair. This was the beginning of their love affair; they later exchanged letters and wrote to Clara in December of that year. In a letter from Ra, Brahms confided his love: "If I had God's permission, let me tell you that I love you madly, instead of writing this letter to tell you, then How good it would be. At this moment, the tears in my eyes make me unable to speak anymore..." Later, Clara destroyed the letters she wrote to Brahms during this period. For them, perhaps reason is more important. of.

After Schumann's death in July 1856, Clara and Brahms continued to maintain a rational attitude. Instead of developing a romantic relationship, the two became lifelong close friends, which must have saddened Brahms. Sadly, he never opened his heart to another woman again like he did to Clara. Brahms was just 23 years old at that time.

Time flies, and the long life seems to be just a short moment. “Our world is becoming hollower every day,” this is what Clara wrote in a letter to Brahms after the death of her son Ferdinand in 1890. At this time, Brahms had already He was 57 years old; in this year, he completed the "B minor Clarinet Quintet" (Op. 115), the only one in the history of music comparable to Mozart's "A major Clarinet Quintet". ——"B minor" has always been known as the "black tone", which determines the melancholy temperament of this work. This quintet contains emotions about the shortness of life and memories of the beautiful scenery of the past. There is melancholy and warmth in it. Brahms' figure can be vaguely seen in the dusk, like an autumn leaf. Sublimated in the holy sunset; the unique timbre of the clarinet is particularly suitable for expressing such emotions. In the music, Brahms diffuses this emotion in a very controlled and even very gentle way, allowing it to penetrate into every in the listener's dream.

"Clarinet Quintet in B Minor" has little cheerful mood from beginning to end, even in the Allegro movement. In the first movement "Allegro", the violin and cello lead to a gloomy and cold song played by the clarinet. You can feel that there is a trace of warmth of the setting sun in the song, and there is still a trace of what you once had in the song. In the second movement "Adagio", the clarinet slowly plays a gloomy melody. There is deep melancholy and a little sadness in it. This melody stretches and changes. Maybe this It is a portrayal of a long life. After going through vicissitudes of life, it finally disappeared into the blur; the third movement is the more cheerful movement of the work, starting with "Slightly Faster Andante" and then transitioning to "Emotional but Emotional" "Controlled Presto", the music speed is slightly faster, giving people a fresh feeling, like the past, flashing by; the last movement is five variations with different emotions derived from a theme, the theme has a soft melancholy. The first variation is a continuous low melody played by the cello. When it turns to the second variation, the mood becomes extremely exciting, followed by the brighter third variation. The fourth variation exudes an inexplicable indifferent emotion. Some people Said to be a kind of detachment, this emotion extends to the final fifth variation, with the viola playing a soft and deep melody. Then, the music returns to the gloomy theme at the beginning. In the endless loneliness, everything Return to peace. ——Night is falling...

In the last six years of his life, Brahms did not create many works. Among them, the most important works include two sonatas for clarinet or viola (Op. 120 ), they hide distant memories; in May 1896, Brahms completed "Four Solemn Songs" (Op.121), whose lyrics are derived from the Bible and involve death and sublimation , and the final affirmation of love; it was in this month that Clara died of illness. Brahms could not get over the grief of losing Clara. In this state of mind, he completed the "Prelude to Eleven Hymns for Organ" (Op. 122), the last one of which is titled " oh! World, I must leave you." On April 3 of the following year, Brahms had been bedridden for a week due to illness. He woke up this morning but could not speak, and his life passed away quietly. It was only more than ten months before Clara died. When Clara was seriously ill, Brahms once wrote in a letter to her daughter Mary: "...because when her eyes close, it is also the moment when my life ends.

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Brahms in Aging

Recommended records:

1. Complete works of Brahms chamber music: composed by the Beaux-Arts Trio and the Berlin Philharmonic Octet , Italian Quartet, Grumio Trio and other famous chamber orchestras, philips 454073-2

2. Horn Trio: F.Orval plays the horn, A. Grumio plays the violin, G.Sebok plays Piano,

philips (small double sheet), 438 365-2

3. Clarinet Quintet: 1) H. Stahr plays clarinet, member of Berlin Philharmonic Octet, < /p>

philips (small double sheet), 446 172-2

2) K. Leister plays clarinet, Vermeer Quartet, ORFEO, C 068831 A

4. Deutsche Requiem: Schwarzkopf, Fischer-Dieskau singing, Klemperer conducting the British Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, EMI, 5 66903 2

5. Viola Sonata: N.Imai plays viola, R.Vignoles plays piano, CHANDOS,CHAN855