Brahms and Liszt

Synopsis

In Cockney rhyming slang, being "Brahms and Liszt" means being tipsy.

But during the latter half of the 19th century, for many passionate music lovers, the phrase "Brahms and Liszt" signified opposite—and mutually exclusive—tastes in contemporary music. Oddly enough, it was the younger German, Johannes Brahms, who represented the more conservative, traditionally structured side of the spectrum, while the older Hungarian, Franz Liszt, represented a freer, less structured style, dubbed "the music of the future."

Brahms and Liszt first met on today's date in 1853, when Liszt was 41 and Brahms just 20 years old. The young American composer and pianist William Mason, also in his 20s, was present at the meeting, which took place at Liszt's home in Weimar. Mason recalled the historic encounter in his memoirs.

Liszt read at sight the manuscript of one of Brahms' early piano pieces, and praised the young composer's work. When pressed by those present for some of his own music, Liszt began playing his recently completed Sonata in B-Minor, arguably one of his finest works. Midway through the piece it became embarrassingly apparent that the young Johannes Brahms had fallen asleep in his chair.

Maybe it was the summer heat, perhaps sleep deprivation—or maybe, as some must have thought at the time, Brahms was just bored. In any case, Liszt was understandably miffed, and after finishing his Sonata, rose from the piano and left the room without a word.

Music Played in Today's Program

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) Ballade No. 3, Op. 10 Lars Vogt, piano EMI 57125

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) Piano Sonata in b Jeno Jando, piano Naxos 8.550510

On This Day

Births

• 1885 - German-born American composer Werner Josten, in Elbereld;

• 1897 - Polish-born French composer Alexandre Tansman, in Lodz;

• 1914 - French composer Maurice Ohana, in Casablanca;

• 1941 - American jazz pianist and composer, Chick (Armando Anthony) Corea in Chelsea, Mass.;

• 1952 - Scottish composer and conductor Oliver Knussen, in Glasgow;

Deaths

• 1917 - Venezuelan composer, pianist, conductor and singer, (Maria) Teresa Carreño, (Maria) Teresa, age 63, in New York City;

• 1962 - British composer John Ireland, age 82, in Rock Mill, Washington (Sussex), England;

Premieres

• 1913 - Florent Schmitt: ballet "La Tragédie de Salomé" (The Tragedy of Salome), at the Théâtre des Champes-Elysées" by the Ballet Russe, Pierre Monteux conducting;

• 1917 - Pfitzner: opera "Palestrina," in Munich at the Prinzregententheater, with Bruno Walter conducting;

• 1926 - Szymanowski: opera "King Roger," in Warsaw at the Teatr Wielki;

• 1928 - European premiere of Stravinsky: ballet "Apollon musagete," at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris, choreographed by Georges Balanchine; The world premiere performance of this work had occurred in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 1928, choreographed by Adolf Bohm;

• 1938 - Leonard Bernstein's first public performance as composer-pianist in Brookline, Mass., performing his "Music for the Dance" Nos. 1 and 2 and "Music for Two Pianos" with Mildred Spiegel;

• 1946 - Prokofiev: opera "War and Peace" (1st version), in Leningrad;

• 1952 - Bernstein: chamber opera "Trouble in Tahiti," at Brandeis University as part of the first Festival of the Creative Arts, with composer conducting;

• 1961 - Martinu: opera "The Greek Passion," in Zürich at the Stadttheater;

• 1962 - Mayzumi: symphonic poem "Samsara," in Tokyo;

• 1964 - Britten: church opera "Curlew River," in Orford Church, near Aldeburgh;

• 1974 - Elie Siegmeister: String Quartet No. 3 ("on Hebrew Themes"), at Elkins Park, Pa., by the Vieuxtemps Quartet;

• 1987 - Morton Feldman: "For Samuel Beckett," for chamber ensemble, in Amsterdam;

• 2002 - Jennifer Higdon: "Concerto for Orchestra," in Philadelphia at the American Symphony Orchestra League National Convention, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting;

Others

• 1933 - The first "concert" performance of the Duke Ellington Orchestra takes place at the London Palladium during the ensemble's first visit to England; Previously the orchestra had only performed at night clubs, dance halls, hotels and other "informal" entertainment venues; It would be ten years before Ellington would present a concert performance at Carnegie Hall in New York (on January 23, 1943).