Brahms Symphony No. 1

Brahms was only 20 years old when Robert Schumann wrote his
famous Neue Bahnen(New Paths) article that proclaimed Brahms as
the future of music and the heir of Beethoven. Beethoven had only
been dead for 26 years at this point, and his shadow still loomed
large over every single composer living in Germany, and beyond.
Brahms knew that the most concrete way he would be compared with
Beethoven would be through a symphony, and so…he studiously
avoided writing one. It’s not like he didn’t try. Brahms began
sketching symphonies only one year after the Neue Bahnen article,
but he kept revising the sketches, or more often, burning them as
inferior products. This would go on for 23 more years, until
1876. Brahms was 43 when he finally completed his first symphony,
and it was worth the wait. What Brahms came up with would inspire
symphonists to this day, and would carry on the tradition that
Beethoven laid out with both a respectful and loving look back
into the past, with a clear eye forwards into the future. Today
we'll dissect this piece in detail, taking it down to its
foundational elements in order to see how Brahms created this
masterpiece of a first symphony. Join us!