A Concert from the Pavilion. Part 2
Jelly d'Aranyi (violin)
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (leader, Paul Beard )
Conductor, Sir Adrian Boult s God Save the King
Jelly d'Aranyi and Orchestra
Orchestra
Brahms's Symphony No. 3, in F is the shortest, most concentrated. and perhaps the most romantic of his four symphonies. One of the most interesting features of the work is the use of a ' motto ' theme consisting of the notes F-A flat-F, which is heard at the outset on woodwind, horns, and trumpets.
Not only does this theme (' motif' would be a more explicit description of it) dominate the first movement, but it is introduced with significant effect in the slow movement and again in the finale, the dramatic character of which Joachim compared to the story of Hero and Leander.
The motto theme is supposed to represent ' Frei aber froh ' (free but happy) which was Brahms's motto in contradistinction to ' Frei aber einsam ' (free but lonely)-his friend Joachim's motto before he was married.