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Brahms · Johannes Brahms

Brahms Symphony No. 3 in F major

The secret of the three notes "Free but happy"

Key
F major
Composed
1883
Premiere
1883 Vienna
Duration
About 35 min
Movements
4 movements
Instrumentation
Woodwinds 2·2·2·2 (+ contrabassoon) · Brass 4·2·3·0 · Timpani · Strings

The story behind this piece

Brahms wrote this symphony in the summer of 1883 while staying in Wiesbaden on the Rhine, almost six years after No. 2. The three notes F–A♭–F that the winds play at the opening are commonly read as Brahms's motto, "Frei aber froh" (Free but happy). One interpretation is that it answers his friend Joseph Joachim's motto, F–A–E, "Frei aber einsam" (Free but lonely).

It was premiered by Hans Richter and the Vienna Philharmonic in Vienna on December 2, 1883, and Richter called it "Brahms's Eroica." At the time, Vienna was split between Wagner's camp and Brahms's camp, so there were Wagnerians in the audience who disliked Brahms, but the premiere was a success.

In this symphony, the last movement doesn't end loudly. Instead it fades quietly away, recalling the opening like a mist. For an audience expecting a brilliant finale, it's a fresh kind of ending.

What to listen for

  • First two bars of the first movement: right after the winds' three notes F–A♭–F, the violins pour down powerfully. These three notes return throughout the piece.
  • Third movement: the wistful C-minor melody that the cellos first sing passes to other instruments. The trumpets and timpani rest.
  • End of the fourth movement: the stormy finale subsides, the first theme of the first movement gently returns, and the piece ends quietly.

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