Brahms Shall We Dance?: Orchestre de Chambre de Paris

About the Event

Brahms was in his forties when he composed his four symphonies (1876–1885) over the course of a little more than a decade. And while the Third is by far the least frequently performed in concert, it is also the best known, because its third movement was used in the soundtrack of the film *Do You Like Brahms?*, set in 1960s Paris and starring Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, and Yves Montand. Composed in Wiesbaden, it was premiered in Vienna on December 2, 1883, by Hans Richter. The conductor immediately gave it the nickname “Heroic,” as a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven. As for the Hungarian Dances, published by Simrock in the very late 1860s, they do not bear an opus number, as Brahms did not claim authorship of them, considering himself instead an arranger of themes he had collected from the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi. In Prague, Dvořák had made a name for himself in the 1870s with the performance of a hymn that earned him a position as organist and professor at the Conservatory. But it was Brahms to whom he owed his recognition as a composer: indeed, it was through Brahms that he met Simrock and saw his work distributed throughout Central Europe.

Program

BRAHMS
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

DVOŘÁK
Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 and 72 (excerpts)

BRAHMS
Hungarian Dances (excerpts)