Tour: Mendelssohn Hensel, Beethoven, Brahms

Fanny Hensel or, as most people know her by her maiden name, Fanny Mendelssohn, in keeping with the customs of the times, should not have been able to practice her greatest passion; her incredible talent, however, allowed her to break through, and she became a prominent female composer. Her cycle Gartenlieder (Garden Songs), composed in 1846, includes six choral works for mixed choir. The poem set to music in the fourth movement of the series was written by Fanny’s husband, Wilhelm Hensel. The work tells the story of light, as it rids us of the darkness and dread of night; the beauty of nature, quiet, but very much active; and love. The music, appropriately, is vibrant, sparkling and joyous.

Although he had previously composed for violin and orchestra, the only work in Beethoven's oeuvre that is called a violin concerto is Op. 61. The piece – like many other well-known violin concertos – was written in D major, perhaps the most comfortable key for this solo instrument, and is 45 minutes in length, taking up an entire half of a concert. This key is so closely associated with the violin that although the composer, who was primarily a pianist, rewrote the work as a piano concerto, only the original version was successful. Audiences were enthusiastic at the 1806 premiere. However, critics were more cautious about the piece, calling it too innovative.The opening night took place without an orchestral rehearsal, Franz Clement, for whom the concerto was written, sight-read the solo part at the premiere because Beethoven was late finishing the solo part. This famous violinist not only set the date for the premiere, but also kept visiting the composer to check if the work was progressing well. With musical obstacles demanding great technical expertise and its deeply sensual lyricism, the piece is doubly challenging for the violinist. The first movement in sonata form, unusually beginning with four drum beats, is followed by a slow movement with variations and then a rondo finale conjuring up a hunting scene.

One of the reasons Brahms set aside the first drafts of the Piano Concerto No. 2 was to write his Symphony No. 2 in a single summer. The tranquility of the beautiful Wörthersee, where the work was composed, is echoed in the music: the pastoral mood prevails after the pains of Symphony No. 1. The whole piece is built on the three-note motif in the bass that opens the first movement. The slow movement introduced by the cello brings a few clouds, but the oboe solo over a plucked accompaniment banishes them in the third movement. The finale is among Brahms's most liberated music.