Brahms finished the third of his symphonies at Wiesbaden in the summer
of 1883. In October he returned to Vienna with the completed score,
which he immediately took to Hans Richter, by that time the conductor of
nearly everything in Vienna. Richter brought it out at a Philharmonic
Concert on December 2. The reception was mixed. Though Brahms's
adherents applauded fervently, groups of Wagnerian followers of Anton
Bruckner and Hugo Wolf were there to hiss, and hiss they did! It remains
for Berlin, where Joachim conducted the second performance of it
anywhere at an Academy Concert on January 4, 1884, to bestow the
"unqualified approval" that Brahms had written Hans von Bülow he
desired.
Such was the enthusiasm in Berlin that Brahms himself conducted two more
performances of the symphony there later in the month, and he also
conducted it successfully at Wiesbaden on January 18. The triumph of
triumphs, however, came at Meiningen on February 4, when Bülow actually
led the work twice through at the same concert, and the repetition won
an even greater ovation than the first performance. Before the year 1884
was out the Third Symphony had been performed in many places on the
Continent, in England, and in the United States, and always with
acclaim. Yet it annoyed Brahms that many critics should pronounce this
symphony by far the best of his compositions. Expectations that he
feared would not be fulfilled were thus aroused, for Brahms, with all
his background of achievement, had in his nature a streak of
incorrigible modesty.
The adjective "heroic" has often been associated with the Third Symphony
of Brahms, as in its Italian form "eroica," it is attached to the Third
Symphony of Beethoven. Indeed, Richter, in a toast, christened this
symphony, while it was still in manuscript, Brahms's "Eroica." Hanslick,
though concurring with Richter, points out that the heroic quality is
limited to the first and the last movements. This "heroic" element,
however, "is without any warlike flavor; it leads to no tragic action,
such as the Funeral March in Beethoven's 'Eroica.' It recalls in its
musical character the healthy and full vigor of Beethoven's second
period, and nowhere the singularities of his last period; and every now
and then in passages quivers the romantic twilight of Schumann and
Mendelssohn."
So much for Richter and Hanslick. Joachim discovered a different heroism
in the finale--nothing less than the valiant fable of those antique
lovers, Hero and Leander! The second subject, in C major, with its
rhythmic conflict between four quarter notes to the measure and two
groups of triplets, he identified with the ardent swimmer battling
victoriously against the waves of the Hellespont.
Another view of the work is taken by Clara Schumann. She called it a
"forest idyl," saying specifically of the second movement: "I feel as
though I were watching the worshippers round a little woodland chapel,
the rippling of the brooklet, the play of beetles and gnats--there is
such a swarming and whispering round about that one feels all surrounded
with the joys of nature."
The first movement (Allegro con brio, F major, 6-4) begins with a motto
theme which at once suggests its heroic character and recurs frequently.
It consists of three great ascending chords for horns, trumpets, and
woodwind, the top voice of which, F, A-flat, F, is said to be emblematic
of the "Frei aber froh" ("Free but happy") that Brahms had chosen as his
personal motto. These three notes are then used immediately as the bass
against which the real first subject comes streaming downwards in the
violins.
[Illustration: play music]
The second subject, in A major, is of a gracefully lyric quality. Just
before it enters there is an apparent allusion to the Venusberg scene in
"Tannhäuser"--"Naht euch dem Strande, naht euch dem Lande"--which Hugo
Riemann insists is an intentional tribute to Wagner, who died while the
symphony was taking shape in Brahms's mind.
The second movement (Andante, C major, 4-4) opens with a hymnlike theme,
giving out by clarinets and bassoons, which hints at a prayer heard in
the overture and again in the finale of Herold's opera "Zampa."
[Illustration: play music]
A second theme, in G major, with its typical Brahmsian octaves and its
air of hushed mystery, sustains Mme. Schumann's woodland comparison.
The third movement (Poco allegretto, C minor, 3-8) is not a scherzo, but
a romanza touched with melancholy. The first section is followed by a
trio of similar mood, after which the first section is repeated with
changed orchestration.
The finale (Allegro, F minor, 4-4) starts softly but menacingly in the
strings and bassoons. Subsidiary material is employed before we hear the
subject that caused Joachim to think of Leander conquering the Grecian
waters. Whether or not Brahms had such an idea in mind, this finale is a
colossal struggle between titanic powers, culminating in a tremendous
climax. Then peace and the major mode. With respect to this tranquil
coda Hanslick remarks: "The raging ocean waves calm down to a mysterious
whisper. In an enigmatic strangeness, in marvellous beauty, the whole
thing dies away...."