The Tragic Overture, op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning "work" is usually used in the sense of "a Work of art " A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of Orchestral Music in one movement in which some extramusical program provides a narrative or illustrative element An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Johannes Brahms ( pronounced ˈbʁaːms (May 7 1833 &ndash April 3 1897 was a German Composer Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Brahms chose the title "Tragic" to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the Academic Festival Overture. Johannes Brahms 's Academic Festival Overture ( Akademische Festouvertüre) Op Despite its name, the Tragic Overture does not follow any specific dramatic program. Programme music is a form of Art music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene image or mood Brahms was not very interested in musical storytelling and was more concerned with conveying and eliciting emotional impressions. He summed up the effective difference between the two overtures when he declared "one laughs while the other cries. " Brahms quotes some material from the last movement of the Second Symphony in this overture. The Symphony No 2 in D, Op 73 was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1877 during a visit to the Austrian Alps.
The Tragic Overture comprises three main sections, all in the key of D minor. In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways Also see D major, or D-flat minor. D minor is a Minor scale based on D consisting of the pitches
- Allegro ma non troppo
- Molto più moderato
- Tempo primo ma tranquillo
The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. The piccolo is a small Flute. Like the flute the piccolo is normally pitched in the key of C one octave above the concert flute (making it effectively a sopranino The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its "Hautbois" redirects here for the strawberry variety see Hautbois strawberry. The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word The bassoon is a Woodwind instrument in the Double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and Tenor registers and occasionally The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s Mediatubaogg -->The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched Brass instrument. Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs It premiered on December 26, 1880 in Vienna. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. A typical performance lasts slightly less than fifteen minutes.
—Some notable recordings of this famous work—
Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra Leopold Stokowski conducting National Philharmonic Orchestra Otto Klemperer conducting Philharmonia Orchestra Rudolf Kempe conducting Berliner Philharmoniker Karl Böhm conducting Wiener Philharmoniker Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting Berliner Philharmoniker Carlo Maria Giulini conducting Philharmonia Orchestra Pierre Monteux conducting London Symphony Orchestra
External links
- Tragic Overture was available at the International Music Score Library Project. The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic