Brahms, Concerto in D Op. 77 for Violin and Piano (Henle)

Brahms’ only violin concerto was given a very warm reception by his contemporaries and has been an important piece in the violin repertoire ever since. It bears witness to Brahms’ fruitful collaboration with Joseph Joachim, who contributed a cadenza. The composer’s original and extremely demanding piano reduction has been carefully simplified for our edition by Johannes Umbreit. This Urtext edition follows the musical text of the new Brahms Complete Edition. The appendix also contains an alternative version of Joachim’s cadenza that to date has not been published in a practical edition. Alongside Joachim’s original fingerings and bowings there are also fingering suggestions by Frank Peter Zimmermann.

His significant output comprises chamber music, piano works, numerous choral compositions and songs (including settings of folk-song lyrics), as well as large-scale orchestral works in the 1870s and 1880s. His compositions are characterized by the process of developing variation. He is considered an antithesis to the New German School around Liszt, and an advocate of “absolute” music.

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period, but he was more a disciple of the Classical tradition. He wrote in many genres, including symphonies, concerti, chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions, many of which reveal the influence of folk music.