JOHANNES BRAHMS:
SYMPHONY NO.3 IN F MAJOR, OP.90, ALLEGRO CON BRIO
General Information:
• DATE OF COMPOSITION: J.Brahms composed his 3d Symphony in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after he completed his Second Symphony.
• MUSICAL ELEMENTS: In this symphony we come across the F-A(Flat)-F Motif, which was used by Brahms to abbreviate his personal-motto “Frei aber froh”. (‘Free but Happy’)
This is was what Brahms had declared himself to be, since at the time he was a 50 year old Bachelor. The inspiration behind this was the motto his friend Joseph Joachim had dedicated to himself in 1853, which was “Frei aber einsam” (‘Free but lonely’) and from the notes represented by the first letters of these words, in this case: F–A–E.
The F–A–F motto and some altered versions of it can be repeatedly heard throughout the whole symphony.
The Analysis:
I) EXPOSITION
• The Symphony opens with the F-A-F motif, making in a way a clear statement of how prominent its presence is going to be throughout the whole Symphony.
In immediate succession of the opening, comes the first theme, mostly consisting of a descending melodic pattern followed by a varied repeat and an extensive continuation in which the theme’s basic idea undergoes a series of developmental processes, such as extensions accelerations and fragmentations, until finally reaching a rather weak, inconclusive IAC on Bar 14.
• Following that, an 8 bar bridge passage consisting of a rising theme starts