Brahms- Tragic Overture, op. 81
In the tradition of the ancient Greeks, Brahms’ Tragic Overture presents the darker side of emotion in stark contrast to its sister work- the Academic Festival Overture, composed just before. According to Brahms, “one laughs and the other cries”- certainly evident upon listening. From the opening hammerstrokes in the style of Beethoven’s Eroica, the Tragic Overture contains a sense of defiance and darkness along the lines of his D Minor Piano Concerto and moments of his Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, op. 63.
The Tragic Overture was premiered on December 26 in Vienna by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter.
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The overture begins with the “hammer” motive- a tutti, exclamatory descending fourth that is followed by a timpani roll. Theme one emerges quietly in the strings with the horns playing on the tail end of the first phrase. A dotted rhythm soon crescendos into four tutti syncopated chords, resolving into the orchestral restatement of the theme (0:20). This section ends in the hammer motive.
A string ascent in triplets is followed by more triplets over dotted figures in the winds. The strings soon join in the dotted rhythm before four more syncopated chords (0:47) and a cadential figure. The four chords are repeated three times in the winds and joined by the strings before a more powerful cadence at 1:06.
The low strings play theme one while the winds embellish the end of the first phrase all underneath quiet tremolos in the high strings. The wind figures contract as the music crescendos, building to two hammer motives at 1:35. A cadence with two variations of the opening phrase of theme one sounds before a syncopated string descent (1:48) leads to a momentary pause with sustains in the winds and horn along with steady low string rhythms that seem to pulsate.
Against this relatively blank canvas, the oboe enters with a 3-note ascent (1:55) that is quickly silenced by the horns. The oboe and horn sound again, but on the third try the oboe manages to overcome whatever was holding it back as the piece begins to modulate. Against a now shimmering backdrop of string tremolos, the tuba and trombone enter at 2:21 with a mournful call. The winds echo as the tremolos begin to congeal into more rhythmically identifiable figures and the horn announces the arrival at D Major at 2:49 with a figure that reminisces of the fourth movement of his Symphony No. 1 in C Minor. A 3-note wind descent brings us to theme two.
Theme two (3:00) is everything theme one is not- lyric, mildly pastoral, and carefree. Initially in the violins, the low strings play arpeggios. The winds begin to repeat the theme but are interrupted by the strings sequencing the first motive of theme two upwards. At 3:33 they climax and begin a series of three dotted descents followed by contrasting figures of arpeggiated sixteenths. At 3:47 the pattern switches- arpeggiated ascents are followed by dotted rhythms before the dotted rhythm in the full orchestra is answered by blaring ascending horn octaves (4:02). The strings play a heavy syncopated line before giant leaps from the higher voices lead into fast figures in the strings punctuated by hammer motives in the violins (4:28). A long descent (4:38) is reversed by a very square 4-chord ascent back into another chaotic section with the low strings busy underneath while the violins play their syncopated line above. A series of dotted string figures (4:54) followed by rapid wind ascents lead to 8 tutti chords followed by the hammer motive.
Some of the pent up energy from the hammer motive is again dissipated by the rolling timpani, only this time we hear pizzicato strings playing the hammer motive quietly, almost like muttering under one’s breath. The development secton begins with a restatement of the first phrase of theme one (5:14), but this runs out of gas and descends against a rising wind line, which is repeated immediately. A theme one motive in the strings rises hopefully, but is not met with much enthusiasm as the brass usher in rhythmically playing strings. This sets the mood for a funeral march, as the oboe enters (5:58) with theme one along with heavy downbeat accompaniment in the low winds. The flutes offer hope with a rising and falling line before the strings enter (pizzicato, 6:30) with the dotted rhythm heard at the end of the first statement of theme one in the exposition, sequenced downward. At 7:07 the strings take up the march, slowly building up momentum as the winds return at 7:37- the steady 3-note motive underneath contrasting sharply with the dotted rhythm above. Roles are switched at 7:49 as the winds begin to repeat a very steady, even 4-note motive while the low strings play a syncopated figure. The bass line returns to its familiar role as the violins dance around above (8:01) before a descent of repeating triplets leads to another rendition of the march at 8:19. This ends abruptly at 8:49.
The abrupt ending at 8:49 is the beginning of the recapitulation. The mournful call played in the exposition by the tuba and trombones returns in the strings and winds over rolling timpani. Parts of theme one are heard in the low strings (9:05). The music slows until at 9:40 a glorious brass chorale ends in a descending violin and brass line that leads directly into theme two in the violas as played in the exposition by the violins. After the brief oboe episode of theme two the strings take control again, crescendoing to their dotted octaves at 10:31. The strings play a series of powerful chords answered by the horn (10:55) and trumpet (11:11). A tumultuous bass line beginning at 11:24 is interrupted by hammer motives before another massive descent bottoms out and rises again with shimmering tremolos.
Almost like taking a deep breath, this ascent begins the coda (11:43). Under tensely rising and falling tremolos, the first phrase is sequenced upwards by the bass before ending in the hammer motive (12:01) followed in turn by a searing pattern of alternating descents in the strings. The dotted rhythm returns (12:07) in its original form before being played rapidly in the strings, joined in subsequent repetitions by the timpani and winds and each time being answered by the brass. A cadential version of the beginning of theme one is played in the strings (12:22), giving way to a massive rising brass line to finish the phrase. To answer, the strings play a passionate descent (12:30) before the music quiets. Theme one in the low strings accompanied by the winds turns into a legato descent (12:58) that passes through several orchestral instruments slows the music. At 13:14 the momentary respite ends with the strings playing an aggressive ascent in triplets capped off with dotted rhythms in the brass and timpani. The overture ends with 4 angry tutti chords, the last of which is sustained with a timpani roll.
Despite its thespian connotations (especially when compared with its companion piece), Brahms said he did not compose the Tragic Overture with any sort of program connotation. Given his aversion to the Wagnerian notion of “Gesamtkunstwerk”, or “total art”- the unification of music, visual art, and drama- it seems that Brahms indeed had no intentions of telling a particular story or relating the overture to a particular event.
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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Bernard Haitink’s 2003 release with the Royal Concertgebouw on Philips. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Alternatively, you can purchase this recording from the iTunes Music Store often at a reduced price by following the link below.
This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.
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