Symphony No. 4, Op. 98

1. 0:00
   Opening theme, winds and brass

   Winds and brass play eight chords, and the strings rest. The upper line rises from E towards B, with A sharpened to A♯ on the way. These eight bars return thirty times, sometimes deep inside the orchestral texture.

2. 1:45
   Source of the theme in Bach

   The pattern comes from the closing chorus of Bach’s cantata Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150. Brahms added a chromatic note, A♯, the fifth note of the theme, which leads up to B.

3. 3:25
   Variation 12, solo flute

   The bars double in length, from 3/4 to 3/2. A solo flute plays a melody over the same eight-bar pattern, with short off-beat chords in the strings and horns.

4. 4:44
   Trombone chorale in E major

   In E major, the trombones play a chorale with bassoons and horns. Violas and cellos follow with short rising arpeggios. Rests separate the phrases, and the cadences come late.

5. 5:25
   Letter to Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, 1885

   In August 1885 Brahms sent Elisabeth von Herzogenberg the first movement from Mürzzuschlag. He wrote that “Cherries never get ripe for eating in these parts” and asked her to say if she did not like the taste. He added: “I’m not at all eager to write a bad No. 4.”

6. 6:05
   Return of the opening chords

   The opening chords return with force, and 3/2 contracts to 3/4. A minor now stands plainly at the beginning, with A in the bass. The strings follow the winds with a descending scale.

7. 8:32
   Variations 26–⁠28, C major

   The late variations move into C major. Winds play in thirds over pizzicato lower strings, and violas and violins pass triplet arpeggios between them. A bass rising by semitones leads back towards E minor.

8. 9:50
   Coda, Più allegro

   The coda (bars 253–⁠260) is marked Più allegro. Winds and brass rise against descending runs in the strings, then hold the theme’s chromatic note, the former A♯, now spelt B♭. Timpani rolls and pauses prolong it.

9. 10:45
   Final cadences in E minor

   The closing cadences stay in E minor. Repeated three-note upbeats lead into the tonic chord, and the timpani roll under the final chords. The G♮ is kept, so the movement ends in the minor.

Joins

1. 0:16
   The chords separated across the beats

   The harmony is repeated, including the A♯ that moves towards B, but the orchestra divides its attacks. Horns and timpani play on the first beat and plucked strings on the second. The third beat is silent. For the first four bars the trombones join the plucked strings on the second beat.

2. 3:25
   Change to 3/2 for flute solo

   In variations 11–⁠12 (bars 89–⁠104), a late dominant chord on B prepares the return to E minor. The metre changes from 3/4 to 3/2 and the note values keep their speed. A solo flute plays the melody through the longer bars, accompanied by short off-beat chords in the horns and strings.

3. 4:44
   Oboe phrase into low brass chorale

   A descending oboe phrase continues across the join and delays the cadence from A major to E major. Trombones, bassoons and horns take over with chorale phrases. Violas and cellos follow with upward arpeggios, and a horn line later links the two chorale variations.

4. 6:05
   Variation 15 to Variation 16

   In bars 121–⁠136, across Variations 15 and 16, the flute’s descending link breaks off on A minor. After the pause, the winds play the opening chords again with A in the bass, and the broad 3/2 bars contract to 3/4. The strings enter with a forceful descending scale. No cadence in E major follows.

5. 9:50
   Final variation extended into the coda

   Wide leaps in the strings and horns extend the final variation beyond eight bars. The timpani become more prominent, and an augmented chord leaves the harmony between E and C major. At Più allegro, winds and brass begin the rising theme over cascading strings. Its fifth note is respelt B♭, which delays the expected continuation.