麻豆社

Kate Molleson joins Brahms at some of his most beloved and inspiring holidays spots.

Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer 鈥� the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.

Today, we join Brahms on holiday. Though he loved Vienna, he also loved getting away from the city, ideally where he could see woods and climb mountains. At Ischl in Austria, and Thun in Switzerland, we hear about his vacation routines, and how he injected this fresh air into his music, composing much of his best chamber music there.

Wiegenlied, Op 49 No 4
Mischa Maisky, cello
Pavel Gililov, piano

Romance in F major, Op 118 No 5
Murray Perahia, piano

String Quintet in F (1st movement)
G茅rard Causs茅, viola
Hagen Quartet

Wie Melodien zieht es mir; Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer
Jessye Norman, soprano
Daniel Barenboim, piano

Violin Sonata in A major (1st movement)
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Cedric Tiberghien, piano

Clarinet Quintet (1st movement)
Jerusalem Quartet
Sharon Hagen, clarinet

Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52: Ein kleiner h眉bscher Vogel
Edith Mathis, soprano
Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo
Peter Schreier, tenor
Dieter Fischer-Dieskau ,baritone
Karl Engel, piano

Produced by Amelia Parker for 麻豆社 Audio Wales and West