Review:

on 2011-04-13 CharlesMartel Said:

This CD from the Masters of the Millennium collection brings together some of Johannes Brahms most renowned works. Brahms was a major figure in the Romantic Classical period and enjoyed immense popularity during his lifetime, spending most of the time in Vienna where he is buried.

Although it is entitled Hungarian Dances it actually opens with the complete three-movement Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77. Dedicated to the violinist Joseph Joachim, it was Brahms only violin concerto. It is one of the most demanding of all the classical violin pieces. Perhaps because Brahms was a pianist rather than a violinist, this work places considerable demands on the virtuosity of the violinist. This has led to some severe criticism of the work which has been described as not so much for the violin as against the violin as well as being called unplayable. However, from its premier in Leipzig in 1879, with Joachim taking the soloist part, it has always been well received by the public.

Personally, I find it a difficult work to appreciate on a casual listen. It lacks a strong sense of rhythm and has, in many places, broken chords and multiple stops. It also varies in rhythm throughout the duration of the piece and this adds further to it sounded as if it is being broken up. However, I can appreciate the technical ability needed to carry this off and I must confess that after listening to it several times, I can begin to attain a deeper appreciation and understanding of it.

The severity and complexity of this work is contrasted by the main course on offer on this CD, the Hungarian Dances. These are a series of 21 lively dance tunes based on Hungarian themes and completed by Brahms in 1869. Ten are included on this CD, including the most well-known, No. 5, and one of only three genuinely original compositions among the dances by Brahms - No. 11. The other two original compositions, Nos. 14 and 16, together with dances Nos. 1, 3, 10 and all those after No. 13 have been omitted. Why this has been done, I do not know. (It is doubly odd because Brahms wrote the orchestration for Nos. 1, 3 and 10 while other composers - especially Antonin Dvorak - orchestrated the rest). Indeed there is a case for arguing that all 21 should have been included on this CD with the Violin Concerto left off, especially as the latter is an entirely more serious and technical work.

The dances are lively and spontaneous, with strong rhythms (in most cases) and ranging in length from about a minute and a half up to four and a half minutes. As you hear them you can picture the scene of girls dressed in traditional white trimmed black gowns twirling away as if in a ronda while accompanied by young men in long coats and those long tasselled hats that are often depicted in Hungarian paintings - or maybe it is just my imagination. (Then again, so what if it is. If music can cause you to imagine then surely it has succeeded in at least one of its aims).

Although in most cases they were borrowed from traditional Hungarian folk songs, my favourite, and that of many others, is dance No. 5 which Brahms mistook for an original folk song. In fact it is borrowed from a csardas by Bela Keler, a contemporary Hungarian composer. Nonetheless, the Hungarian Dances are among Brahms most popular and enduring works and served him well personally - he made a lot of money out the sheet music for them. For the modern listener, they open an eye on a world which is now long gone - of balls and parties where the nobility of the dying Hapsburg Empire wasted away the nights believing they were living a lifestyle not that far removed from their subjects. And yes, they do give you cause to imagine. So imagine away!
Rating: 7/10