'I had the great pleasure of having my father with me for some
weeks. We made a pleasant tour through Styria and Salzburg. Imagine
what enjoyment my father's pleasure gave me, he had never seen a
mountain....
'Now I think of remaining here quietly; it is unfortunately useless
for me to make plans, for only that happens which comes of itself.
'Nevertheless I wish to have the Requiem in my own cupboard again,
so send....'[22]
To this note Dietrich returned no answer, and Brahms, becoming
impatient, applied for information as to the whereabouts of his work to
Joachim, who wrote back that it was in Reinthaler's keeping. Possibly
Brahms may have been a little startled at finding that Dietrich, in his
eager friendship, had put such an elastic interpretation upon the
mention of the Bremen director quoted in our last chapter as to pass
over the injunction not to part with the manuscript; but however this
may be, he cannot but have been gratified at finding, as the result,
that the musician of his own selection had been so impressed by the work
as to wish to produce it at the earliest appropriate opportunity in the
cathedral of Bremen. It is known to some of Reinthaler's old friends
that he suggested the enlargement of the work to the dimensions of an
oratorio. That Brahms did not entertain the proposal is matter of
history.
The first performance of the Requiem, as originally completed, to be
given under Brahms' direction in Bremen Cathedral, was fixed for Good
Friday, April 10, 1868. Meanwhile the composer's engagements kept him in
Austria. The first three numbers of the new work were to be produced
under Herbeck at the Gesellschaft concert of December 1, and a tour
arranged with Joachim for the ante-Christmas concert-season included
concerts in Vienna, Budapest, and various provincial towns. The journey,
which opened at Vienna on November 9, was triumphantly successful.
Joachim performed the great solos of his répertoire by Bach, Tartini,
and Spohr, and shorter pieces by Schumann and Paganini, with all of
which concert-goers are now familiar, appearing also on his own account
in several great orchestral concerts. Brahms played works by Bach,
Schumann, Schubert, and some of his own compositions. Together the
concert-givers were heard in several of Beethoven's duet Sonatas,
Schubert's Fantasia, Op. 159, and Rondo Brilliant, Op. 70, etc.
'When Brahms and Joachim play Beethoven, Bach, Schubert together, the
conceptions are like living tone pictures,' says Billroth, who, called
to Vienna about a year after his first acquaintance with Brahms at
Zürich and settled there for good, had the delight of receiving and
hearing his two great artist friends at his house several times during
the two months of Joachim's stay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account