Johannes Brahms took quite a bit of time to compose his first symphony – nearly 20 years – so it may have been a shock to audiences when he churned out hisSymphony No. 2 essentially overnight. He composed the work in the summer of 1877, when he was staying in a picture-postcard village in Austria. When his friend Theodore Billroth later played through the symphony’s score for the first time, he wrote to the composer: “It is rippling streams, blue sky, sunshine, and cool green shadows.” We’ll hear it tonight at 7, our Evening Masterwork on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9.
Evening Masterworks: Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D Op. 73 for November 8, 2023
