BBC - Inside Classical Brahms's Symphony No. 4 (2024)

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform a programme of music that spans three centuries one of the great romantic symphonies by Brahms, a violin concerto with an American flavour by Samuel Barber and a splash of colour in a contemporary work by Sarah Gibson.

The guest conductor for this performance from Glasgow's City Halls is New Zealand-born Gemma New, artistic director and principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Written in the late 1930s, Samuel Barber's romantic violin concerto has a distinctly American flavour. The soloist, American-based violinist Geneva Lewis, has performed with orchestras around the world and is currently one of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists.

Sara Gibson's Warp and Weft, composed in 2019, takes inspiration from Canadian-born feminist artist Miriam Schapiro, who questioned the lines between craft and fine art. The title refers to basic parts used in the handloom weaving process.

Brahms bucked the trend when he wrote his Fourth Symphony in 1885. While many romantic symphonies journey from darkness into light, Brahms begins in the gloom, and even at the end there's little promise of hope, but in between he gives us beautiful glimpses of cheer and serenity. It's honest and human music that has endured to this day.

BBC

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