Johannes Brahms
“Amsterdam henceforth I will visit only to enjoy its fine dining and beverages.” During his visit in 1884, Johannes Brahms was not impressed by the music scene in Amsterdam. The time after that, he proposed a toast “To the bad musicians”.
Meanwhile in this city, the Conservatory had been founded and construction of The Concertgebouw was well underway. On 3 November 1888, The Concertgebouw opened its doors and the Concertgebouw Orchestra held its first subscription concert. The second piece on the programme (following Beethoven) was Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn. No self-respecting symphony orchestra could afford to ignore the composer from Hamburg, after all. The musicians of the Concertgebouw Orchestra have Brahms in their DNA. The four symphonies, the piano concertos, the Violin Concerto, the Double Concerto, the overtures, and of course, A German Requiem; all masterpieces, and all have been frequently played by the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
In April 2025, the record label Deutsche Grammophon released a CD collection of the four symphonies, performed live by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, led by John Eliot Gardiner, between 2021 and 2023. German radio station BR Klassik declared that “Anyone who loves Brahms should listen to this”.
Brahms himself never heard the Concertgebouw Orchestra play. He passed away when the orchestra was eight years old and Willem Mengelberg had only just been appointed as chief conductor.
