Brahms - Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

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• published: 26 Feb 2014
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Sir Georg Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. Brahms began working on the piece in Mürzzuschlag, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No. 3, and completed it in 1885.The work was given its premiere in Meiningen on October 25, 1885 with Brahms himself conducting. The piece had earlier been given to a small private audience in a version for two pianos, played by Brahms and Ignaz Brüll. Brahms' friend and biographer Max Kalbeck, reported that the critic Eduard Hanslick, acting as one of the page-turners, exclaimed on hearing the first movement at this performance: "For this whole movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people." Hanslick later spoke more approvingly of it, however. 0:00 I.Allegro non troppo (E minor) 12:44 II.Andante moderato (E major) 25:40 III.Allegro giocoso (C major) 31:58 IV.Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)