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Brahms - Behind the Beard

Tom Service considers whether Brahms had the most famous beard in classical music, asking what his abundant facial hair had to do with his music.

The most famous beard in classical music? Perhaps. And if so, what does Johannes Brahms's abundant facial hair have to do with his music? Tom Service looks at four contrasting compositions for clues: the First Piano Concerto, the Second Sextet, the choral piece 'Gesang der Parzen' (Song of the Fates) and the A-major Intermezzo.

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29 minutes

Last on

Fri 26 Aug 2022 16:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony no. 1 (Op.68) in C minor - 1st movt

    Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Piano Concerto no 1 in D minor op 15 - 1st movt

    Performer: Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
    • Decca.

  • Johannes Brahms

    String Sextet no 2 in G major op 36

    Performer: Nash Ensemble.
    • Onyx.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Gesang der Parzen op 89

    Performer: Monteverdi Choir. Performer: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • SDG.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Matthauspassion (BWV.244), no.1; Kommt, ihr Tochter [chorus]

    Performer: Monteverdi Choir. Performer: London Oratory Junior Choir. Performer: English Baroque Soloists. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • Archiv.

  • Johannes Brahms

    6 piano pieces op 118 - No 2 Intermezzo in A major

    Performer: Stephen Kovacevich.
    • Philips.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 23 Apr 2017 17:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Sun 21 Aug 2022 17:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Fri 26 Aug 2022 16:30
    BBC Radio 3

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