Fernsy expains:
Why Brahms 4? well, take for instance the beginning of the scherzo, where all the flurry of activity seamlessly melts into the most lip-chewingly gorgeous lyricism - and the tension when the music stops on notes bare octaves apart: Brahms gets away with murder here. And not by the skin of his teeth either. And those final bars of the symphony - what a way to end off a piece of music - take all that time building up the bass, and then destroy it with such awesome tremors. As a fanciful comparison, compare the end of Haydn's Seven Last Words. I'm not saying the two are linked musically, but the Brahms suggests an earthquake to my imagination. Compare that to the limpid beginning of the symphony (and the way that that sequence is treated so rigidly by the brass later on in the movement). Other Fernsy Brahms faves: 3rd Racket (thank you John Cleese), Piano Concerto 1, Piano Concerto 2, Violin Concerto.
Haydn Symphony no. 94 "Surprise": All Haydn symphonies I've heard basically kick arse, but this one kicks more arse than most (you may not find that in Robbins-Landon). I used to have the Sir Thomas Beecham recording (a brilliant introduction) and now I have the Leonard Bernstein (!) recording with the Oxford and symph. no 88, which is not among my very favourites, I have to admit. But back to 94. What can you say but that the first movement defies humming (ok, so does Schoenberg, but in a different way), and the way the repeat comes in is comparable to the finale of Beethoven 5 (probably my favourite exposition-repeat passage). How many times do we have extended tonic harmony in this movement? Am I naive in thinking it was this sort of thing that inspired Schubert to 'hang' notes in the air while he shuffled about with harmonics?
After which it is only natural to have such a simple 'slow' movement. What an introduction to his music though. Things to listen out for here - the delicate decorations, the bad tempered minor variation, the moment he lets rip with descending scales, the two contrasting bits of woodwind (the foot-tapping oboe and the creamy response), the martial timpani (heard for one section of the tune before giving way to the creeping of the strings, and then returning to stamp its authority again), the harmonic change which brings the pause, and the peaceful mahasamadhi of the movement. 'Understanding' isn't something out there accessible to a few musical toffs - 'understanding' is realizing your inherent reactions to sections of a piece of music.
Minuet thumps along, pausing for some tart appoggiaturas from the woodwind. Trio meanders like a thought process.
Finale skims along. Bernstein makes it all so clear where Beecham's sound quality lacks a bit (and Beecham can't be accused of being 'graceful' here - for him this movement is all-out war. And it works). Listen out for the phrase ending in the minor and suddenly being commandeered by major harmonies to begin the whole mad dance again. Not to mention the single thump of the timpani near the end. (Think 'Grandstand' theme music - it's the same general idea).
Coming soon - explanations of my fascination with other pieces of music.