The Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. Brahms began working on the piece in Mürzzuschlag, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No. 3. It was premiered on October 25, 1885 in Meiningen, Germany.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for two flutes (one doubling on piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle (third movement only), and strings.

Movements

The symphony is divided into four movements with the following tempo markings:

1. Allegro non troppo (E minor)
2. Andante moderato (E major)
3. Allegro giocoso (C major)
4. Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)

Among the four symphonies by Brahms this is the only one ending in a minor key. A typical performance lasts about 40 minutes.

Analysis

First movement: Allegro non troppo

This movement is in sonata form, although it features some unique approaches to development. For instance, there is no repeat of the exposition; according to Malcolm MacDonlad the music is so "powerfully organic and continuously unfolding" that such a repeat would hinder forward progress.

The opening theme is initially serene in character, although its composition in a chain of descending thirds adds a fateful air. Its left-vs.-right fragmented melodic form (duh-DUM, da-DEE, duh-DUM, da-DEE) also introduces a feeling of conflict which Brahms uses as a fundamental motivation throughout the movement.

	Section	Key	Description
Exposition: Bar 1	Primary theme	E minor	A sense of rhythmic instability starting on the pick-up note. This relatively fragmented melody forms a descending sequence in the upper instruments in dialogue with the lower instruments. The notes (taken out of register) outline a descending major 3rd – B, G, E, C, A, F sharp, etc. – a unifying motif for this work.
Bar 19	Transition modulation to second theme	Goes from E minor to the dominant B minor	Starts by fragmenting the primary theme
Bar 53	Transition motif		Transition motif: a rhythmic pattern in the wood winds
Bar 57	Secondary Theme period 1	B minor	Initially in the cellos, then passed up into the violins with intermittent play with transition motif.
Bar 95	Secondary Theme period 2	B major – parallel major of B minor	In the woodwinds.
Bar 107	Transition motif	B major	Using transition motif pp to ff.
Bar 137	transition modulation to development	Lead from B major into E minor	Using primary theme material
Bar 145	Development	Various	It starts with a statement of the primary theme before leading away into a development
Bar 246	Recapitulation	E minor	Slow version of primary theme in the upper instruments (initially in C major harmony) with intermittent use of transition motif followed by lengthy recapitulation of secondary theme block in the dominant key.
Bar 394	Coda	E minor	Final climactic statement of the primary theme in ff.

Second movement: Andante moderato

Featuring a theme in the phrygian mode, heard at the beginning unaccompanied and at the end with a lush orchestral accompaniment, this movement has a modified sonata form with no development section.

	Section	Key	Description
Exposition: Bar 1	Introduction	c major / phrygian	Introduction to the principal theme by horns
Bar 5	Principal theme	E major	Several statements of the principal theme
Bar 36	Transition theme	B minor	Dominated by the wind sections
Bar 41	Secondary Theme	b minor	Initially in the cellos, then passed up into the violins
Bar 50	Secondary Theme cadence and transition theme	B major	Using transition motif pp to ff.
Bar 64	Recapitulation	Various keys	Recapitulation quite similar in structure to the exposition
Bar 106	Coda	E major / phrygian	Free play of themes with frequent use of arpeggios

Third movement: Allegro giocoso

This movement is the only true scherzo found in Brahms' symphonies. It is in sonata form with foreshortened recapitulation and with the secondary theme nearly absent in the development and coda.

	Section	Key	Description
Bar 1	Primary theme	C major and E-flat major	Primary theme consisting of three different periods (in the order of: Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, Period 1)
Bar 46	Transition to secondary theme	Transition to G major	Based on the first period of the primary theme
Bar 52	Secondary Theme	G major	Secondary theme followed by elements of a transition to the development
Bar 89	Development	Various keys	Based on the primary theme block with several fugue like passages and a slow "trio" like section based on the 2nd period of the 1st theme.
Bar 181	Transition to recapitulation	Modulation from D-flat major to C major
Bar 199	Recapitulation	C and G key areas	Re-statement of primary theme starting with the second period (Period 2, Period 3, Period 1) followed by restatement the secondary theme and then transition theme leading to coda
Bar 282	Coda	C and G key areas	Final statement of the period 1 and 2 of primary theme block (in the order Period 1, Period 2, Period 1)

Fourth movement: Allegro energico e passionato

This last movement is notable as a rare example of a symphonic passacaglia, which is similar to a chaconne with the slight difference that the subject can appear in more voices than the bass. For the repeating theme, Brahms adapted the chaconne theme in the closing movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150.

An analysis of this last movement by Walter Frisch provides yet further interpretation to Brahms' structure of this work, by giving sections sonata form dimensions.

The symphony is rich in allusions, most notably to various Beethoven compositions. The symphony may well have been inspired by the play Antony and Cleopatra, which Brahms had been researching at the time.

Arnold Schoenberg, in his essay Brahms the Progressive (Brahms is often characterized as being a conservative composer), pointed out several thematic relationships in the score, as does Malcolm MacDonald in his biography of the composer. The first half of the chaconne theme is anticipated in the bass during the coda at an important point of the preceding movement; and the first movement's descending thirds, transposed by a fifth, appear in counterpoint during one of the final variations of the chaconne.

	Section	Key	Description
Bar 1	"Theme"	E minor	Statement of "theme" and main chordal structure
Bar 9	Variations 1–11	Mostly in E minor/C major key areas as well as in other keys	Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though in some variations transposed to different key). 3/4 time
Bar 97	Variations 12–15	E key area and A key area	Variations match the bar count (though with bars lasting twice as long) and chordal structure ((though transposed to different key areas)). 3/2 time
Bar 129	Variations 16–23	E key area and A key area	Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though transposed to different key areas). 3/4 time
Bar 193	Variations 24–26	Mostly in E key area and C key area	Structurally variation 24 is similar to variation 1, variation 25 is similar to variation 2 and variation 26 is similar to variation 3. 3/4 time
Bar 217	Variations 27–30	Mostly in E key area and C key area	Variations match the bar count and chordal structure (though transposed to different key areas). 3/4 time
Bar 249	Transition to coda	In E key area and C key area	Extension of the last variation (variation 30).
Bar 253	Coda	Many different key areas	Playing on material from the variations with intermittent quasi-variations
Bar 297	Final statement of theme	E minor	Compressed statement of theme and final cadence

Reception

The work was given its premiere in Meiningen on October 25, 1885 with Brahms himself conducting. The piece had earlier been given to a small private audience in a version for two pianos, played by Brahms and Ignaz Brüll. Brahms' friend and biographer Max Kalbeck, reported that the critic Eduard Hanslick, acting as one of the page-turners, exclaimed on hearing the first movement at this performance: "For this whole movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people." Hanslick later spoke more approvingly of it, however.

Progressive rock group Yes' keyboardist Rick Wakeman used part of the symphony on the instrumental "Cans and Brahms" from the 1971 album Fragile.

Notes

1. ^ MacDonald, Malcolm (1990). Brahms (1st American ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 314. ISBN 0-02-871393-1.  |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
2. ^ "Brahms, Johannes ." Britannica Encyclopedia, from Encyclopædia Britannica Deluxe Edition 2004 CD-ROM. Copyright © 1994–2003 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. May 30, 2003
3. ^ Frisch, Walter (2003). Brahms: the Four Symphonies. Yale music masterworks. Yale University Press. p. 116. ISBN 9780300099652. 

References

• Walter Frisch. Brahms: The Four Symphonies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), pp. 115–140