Romantic Period

Bruckner’s “Locus iste”: A Motet for a Sacred Space

by

The symphonies of Anton Bruckner have been compared with the architecture of a great cathedral. Unfolding in an ABA da capo form, the brief motet, Locus iste (“This Place”), exhibits a similar sense of structure and divine mystery. Commentator Peter Strasser has observed that the work’s motifs function as architectural building blocks. The latin text, derived from the biblical stories of Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis and the burning bush in Exodus, is used to …

Read more

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony: A Tragic, Expectation-Shattering Farewell

by

For first-time listeners, Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor can be shocking and expectation-shattering. Composed in 1884, Brahms’ final symphony does not take the journey from darkness to light (a minor key to a major key) charted by so many Romantic symphonies, beginning with Beethoven’s Fifth. Negating the heroic transformation of his First Symphony, Brahms leaves us with a stark, tragic resolution in E minor. He concludes the Symphony with …

Read more

Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” Finale: “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla”

by

Listen to the cosmic, elemental opening of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and you may be reminded of contemporary music, from the atmospheric soundscapes of John Luther Adams, to the minimalist arpeggios of Philip Glass. Beginning as a low rumble in the depths of the orchestra, the Prelude to Das Rheingold features a pure E-flat major chord which continues for over four minutes. It is an epic celebration of the eternal flow of the Rhine …

Read more

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto: Hilary Hahn, Alain Altinoglu, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

by

In 1995, the 15-year-old Hilary Hahn performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The youthful vigor of that exhilarating early performance has given way to depth and maturity, as exhibited in Hahn’s recent performance with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and conductor Alain Altinoglu, recorded on May 9, 2025. Four unassuming timpani beats open the Concerto’s first movement (Allegro ma non troppo), and provide the seed out of …

Read more

Grieg’s Two Elegiac Melodies: From Norwegian Verse to String Choir

by

In 1880, Edvard Grieg composed a cycle of songs for voice and piano (12 Melodies, Op. 33) based on the poetry of fellow Norwegian nationalist Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818–1870). A year later, Grieg transcribed two of the songs, The Wounded Heart (Hjertesår) and The Last Spring (Siste vår),  for string orchestra under the title, Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34. Divided into multiple shimmering lines, and preserving the natural rhythms of speech, the …

Read more

Tchaikovsky’s “Autumn Song” (October) from “The Seasons”: Olga Scheps

by

In 1876, while completing the ballet score for Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky composed The Seasons, a series of atmospheric tone paintings for solo piano. Commissioned by the publisher, Nikolay Bernard, the brief pieces were published on the first day of each month in the St. Petersburg music journal, Nuvellist.  Set in D minor, Tchaikovsky’s October submission, Autumn Song, is quiet and melancholy. It accompanies a poem by Tolstoy which describes yellow windswept leaves. The interpretive marking is …

Read more

Glazunov’s “The Seasons” (Autumn): A Bacchanale Amid Falling Leaves

by

Alexander Glazunov’s allegorical one-act ballet, The Seasons, Op. 67, depicts nature’s cycle of death and rebirth. The deep frigid sleep of winter gives way to the blossoms of youth and sunshine. The ballet concludes with the abundance of autumn. It is a vibrant and celebratory bacchanale amid falling leaves. A student of Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov (1865–1936) was a Romanticist who painted with shimmering tonal colors. His symphonic ballet scores continued in …

Read more