András Schiff plays a lost work by Johannes Brahms

Listen to the whole of András Schiff's performance on the Radio 3 web site: bbc.in/wZSkFV
'Albumblatt' is the name given to a beautiful short piano piece by Johannes Brahms written out by the composer in a guestbook in Göttingen in 1853. Conductor and musicologist Christopher Hogwood brought the discovery to BBC Radio 3 and pianist András Schiff came into Studio 80A at Broadcasting House in London to play the piece for Radio 3's Music Matters, to be transmitted on Saturday 21 January 2012 (listen online in HD Sound on the Radio 3 web site: bbc.in/wml2dA). This short video about the discovery includes an extract from the Music Matters item.

[@karlhanson6119]

I'm blown away by this melody. It's profound and beautiful.

[@amadeusradio9608]

Wishful thinking.

[@davetubervid]

It reminds me of Schubert.....utterly lovely, beautiful and sad at the same time.

[@raymondgood6555]

And yet it’s pure Brahms

[@kalumander]

I would call the piece a "Strength of Character", because if you can listen to this piece and not remind yourself of past regrets and unfulfilled desires, you truly are a force to be reckoned with.

[@timotot123]

Wow. Absolutely stunning. Maestro Schiff is clearly thrilled to be given this opportunity to introduce this music to the world

[@suzannederringer1607]

Very beautiful and Sir András makes it very soulful.

[@harmonieautog]

The World Premiere was given in Seattle Washington at the Meany Theatre on April 28, 2011 by Craig Sheppard. There is now a video of the performance up on KZbin.

[@medievalmusiclover]

Thank U for sharing!!!!

[@michaeltierra6388]

It amazes me how many ignorant and stupid comments there are on this thread. It is a very beautiful piece and Andras Schiff is one of my all-time favorite pianists.

[@InXLsisDeo]

Search "Andrew Sun plays Brahms Albumblatt in A minor ", the piece can be heard in its entirety in a superbe rendition.

[@InXLsisDeo]

Upon hearing, there is no doubt that this is an authentical Brahms.

[@RodCorkin]

Main melody reminds me of that of the opening movement of Beethoven's sonata in A major Op.101...

[@MooPotPie]

Beethoven essentially invented Brahms in that movement.

[@Ivan_1791]

So true.

[@99Grigor]

Yes, interesting. The fragment from the Brahms Horn Trio.

[@chopstixtwo]

Gregg, Thank you for sharing Andra's Schiff plays and explores Brahms. What a great adventure! I liked it when Andre said that it was quite similar to a horn mvment in one of his Symphonies. What knowledge they could pass around....very exciting for sure...!!

[@braydencason8359]

I know Im pretty off topic but does anyone know a good site to watch new movies online ?

[@zionalexis2876]

@Brayden Cason I use flixzone. You can find it on google :)

[@jadielrhys3156]

@Zion Alexis Yea, I've been using flixzone for since april myself :)

[@braydencason8359]

@Zion Alexis thanks, signed up and it seems to work :) Appreciate it!

[@Radio3Video]

@MichaelRobinsonBlogs Thanks for the additional info Michael. More in tomorrow's edition of Music Matters on BBC Radio 3 at 1215 (Saturday 21 January). Steve Bowbrick, Radio 3

[@camaysar222]

... and of course so well thought out musically and pianistically.

[@georgesmelki1]

I'm sorry Mr. Hogwood: the violin and piano recital given at Göttingen in 1853, was by Brahms and Josef Joachim, not Reményi! It's amazing that I found this video while reading the Life of Brahms by Florence May, precisely round about this period of the great composer's life!

[@Radio3Video]

Thanks InXLsisDeo, you can also hear the whole of Schiff's performance on the Radio 3 web site. You'll find a link on the Radio 3 homepage. Steve Bowbrick, Radio 3

[@Radio3Video]

@losinggrip1993 Yes, the sheet music will be published by Bärenreiter in February as part of a new edition of Brahms' Horn Trio in E flat major, Op 40 edited by Christopher Hogwood. Search for 'Bärenreiter' for more info. Steve Bowbrick, BBC Radio 3

[@camaysar222]

Hi Steve.... hate to take up so much space here! After listening to the whole performance I think Schiff has the right idea - "embrace the dissonance". It still sounds, well, atypical of Brahms' voice leading. Love to find another such exposed example in his music. But maybe one is only young and brash for a short time!

[@Alan31420]

I agree that many will think that this discovery has been over-hyped given the fact that the melody is very familiar from the horn trio.

[@camaysar222]

The dissonance does grow on one, and it adds to the tension in the musical moment. Perhaps it will remain one of those never-completely resolved questions. Perhaps Brahms thought it could pass in the piano solo, but not in the mellower context of a Horn Trio.

[@FirstGentleman1]

I must say I enjoyed that!

[@camaysar222]

As the work is indeed so carefully notated, I wonder if Brahms came to the dinner fore-armed, well-aware that he would be asked to leave a musical offering in his host's album.

[@camaysar222]

There are several other inaccuracies, such as the lack of repeat signs before the 2nd ending on line 2, the redundant natural sign before the B 7 measures before the end, and a mis-spelled "accell". Evidently, Brahms' concentration was not at its peak.

[@Radio3Video]

@camaysar222 It is absolutely fascinating isn't it? I'm listening over and over. By the way, if you visit the BBC Radio 3 homepage and click the 'Classical highlights' link you'll find we've clipped Schiff's 'dissonance' performance to make it easier to find. It'll be there for thirty days. Steve Bowbrick, BBC Radio 3

[@Radio3Video]

@camaysar222 Listen at 1215 today - 21 January 2012 - or online at the BBC Radio 3 web site afterwards to find out how Schiff resolves that 'error'. Steve Bowbrick, Radio 3

[@brianbernstein3826]

ATTENTION!!! This precise music was used by Franz Liszt in his spanish rhapsody. Copy this link to the end of your URL and begin at 8:15. v=KhHVTeuW5zI

[@arastoomii4305]

they say this might be an improvisation by Brahms, i say the melody might be a dead folk tune that both Brahms and Liszt had heard, what do you think?

[@Obaysch]

Brian Bernstein this is not la Follia, which was by Corelli on an old Spanish dance.

[@GUSTAVOMARZANO]

Muchas gracias que hermoso, me recuerda a las romanzas de Mendelssohn

[@camaysar222]

I amend my statement about careful notation. In measure 10 of line 4, Brahms clearly forgets to write a sharp sign before the A on beat 2 of the right hand. Unfortunately this post is incomplete, so we cannot hear whether Schiff slavishly plays the A natural (producing a bad dissonance with the G natural) or if he mans up and corrects Brahms' error.

[@InvestingForTomorrow24]

Tres bien

[@camaysar222]

@Radio3Video Thanks for your note. I see that Schiff keeps the A natural. This seems rather "un-Brahmsian". Note that Brahms does not keep this dissonance in the Horn Trio. Arguing FOR the A natural: the resulting top line matches the line in the Horn Trio. If other instances of such passing dissonances were pointed out in Brahms (and there may well be some) the G-A clash would be more likely correct. Youthful daring?Another "error": the natural sign before B in the next measure.

[@PieInTheSky9]

Liszt Spanish Rhapsody immediately came to mind.

[@MrKipW]

The melody's also very similar to what Meredith Willson would later use for a song in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." "I'll never say No to you / Whatever you say or do..."

[@willrobinson1229]

Isn't the first theme from another famous piece of Brahms? The Horn Trio, I'm guessing, as if this were a study or at least an inspiration for a bigger piece.

[@andre.vaz.pereira]

Yes, they mention it in the video...

[@salvadordalinian1986]

Always there is longing...

[@joachimsteinhilber1414]

He DOES NOT play that piece. You only gonna hear an excerpt of it which starts at 2:38 . The rest is the usual odd rambling around

[@_wade_morgan]

The piece sounds lost its kinda cool

[@stevenledbetter9997]

so why didn't we hear the entire piece from beginning to end?

[@cljohnson2405]

Nobody: Me: Well it ain't lost anymore

[@TheLifeisgood72]

How do I know if my Brahms is real, authentic Brahms?

[@bastiatintheandes4958]

The musical counterpart of finding a handwritten short text by God itself.

[@maxjohn6012]

Why the hell would you cut away from the performance to continue the interview?!

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

BBC Radio 3: you and Christopher Hogwood should be ashamed of yourselves for trying to take credit for something that wasn't yours to take. It's been well reported for sometime now that this sketch was first played and recorded in Germany in October 2011. The score has been easily accessible for many months to anyone familiar with internet searching thanks to Doyle's in New York. Presumably Christopher Hogwood does not know how to use the internet! I would have been happy to lend him my copy!

[@RodCorkin]

@RodCorkin Only Beethoven's is much more beautiful...

[@charleyplanteursgeneve8978]

Merci et respect à M Schiff. Mais, bon, il faudrait arrêter un peu de se la péter pour une mélodie...parmi tant d'autres...

[@morganh1066]

pretty sure this is from the slow movement of the brahms horn trio. brahms must have been plagiarizing himself.

[@camaysar222]

As a parting comment - the ms steadily deteriorates in quality. Brahms began to write a very clear presentation copy, but by the end the writing is much messier and rushed-looking. Whether he was rushed, or composed the last part on-the-spot, this gives less confidence in its accuracy. In fact, the sloppiest measure in the entire manuscript is the measure with the G-A dissonance! Yes, Brahms wrote many major seconds, but I have not yet found another as blatant as this.

[@tyler-qr5jn]

He looks like an old Elon Musk in the thumbnail

[@franzmustafa897]

why this shit effekt on the Horn Trio ?

[@simonnicholasemes]

If you were leaving someones house , and wanted to sign a visitors book, wouldn't it be second nature to autograph something that didn't take too long to scribble down ? Maybe he had a few glases of wine ! Of course it's a signature . Congratulations for clouding the obvious, using this as an article for self promotion and making yourself look like the emperors new clothes !

[@aceventura2237]

Mice have good ears not eagles

[@danieltkach2330]

Too bad they cut it in the middle. Horrible choice.

[@maliceburgoyne495]

There is a good reason it was not published- it's no good. Time exposes the value and quality of art. They should have left this dead instead of desperately trying to get viewers and listeners for their own benefit. Sad. The piece is garbage.

[@lovemovement8808]

hmm what's wrong with it?

[@lovemovement8808]

I've not heard anything very interesting from Brahms really and this sounds like everything else I've heard so in that sense I don't see what's wrong with it

[@lovemovement8808]

I listened to intermezzo 117, 118, 119 ... I guess I'm struggling to understand the point of this music but I never find it speaking to me as Bach, for example, does ... I guess I'm spoiled

[@hanskellner3364]

Yer funny

[@jcastano]

The modest debating the merits of the great!