Brahms - Doppelkonzert | Seohyun Kim | Daniel Müller-Schott | Andris Poga | WDR Sinfonieorchester

Johannes Brahms’ ‘Double Concerto’ in A minor, Op. 102, performed by violinist Sarang Seohyun Kim and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andris Poga. Recorded live on 27 February 2026 at the Cologne Philharmonie. Johannes Brahms – ‘Double Concerto’. Concerto in A minor for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102 00:00 I. Allegro 17:42 II. Andante 25:12 III. Vivace non troppo Sarang Seohyun Kim, violin Daniel Müller-Schott, cello WDR Symphony Orchestra Andris Poga, conductor ► Find out more about the Symphony Orchestra, concerts and current live streams at https://sinfonieorchester.wdr.de ► The WDR Symphony Orchestra on Facebook   / wdrsinfonieorchester   ► Further concerts and programme notes from the world of classical music, symphonic crossover, choral singing and concerts for children can also be found in the ARD Media Library: https://www.ardmediathek.de/klassik Programme notes From the 1850s onwards, Johannes Brahms and the violinist Joseph Joachim shared a close artistic and personal relationship. Joachim was one of the most important violinists of his time and a champion of Brahms’ music. His wife, Amalie Joachim (née Schneeweiß), was also an important companion to Brahms as a singer and a leading performer of his songs. When Joseph Joachim accused his wife of having an affair with the music publisher Fritz Simrock, Brahms took Amalie’s side. However, the Joachims divorced in 1884 – and the friendship between Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim was severed. Three years later, Brahms composed his “Double Concerto” for violin, cello and orchestra in A minor and dedicated it to Joseph Joachim. In this composition, Brahms was evidently concerned with creating space for a playful dialogue between the two solo parts. This is already evident at the beginning of the first movement, which, whilst opening with a striking orchestral call, immediately allows the cello and then the violin a seemingly improvisational cadenza before the actual orchestral exposition follows. With the secondary theme, which unfolds lavishly , Brahms alludes to Joachim’s “life motif” F-A-E (“free but lonely”), albeit in the inversion A-E-F. Whilst the solo instruments seem at times to be engaged in a passionate debate in the first movement, in the following Andante they join in unison with a song-like theme, resembling a female and a male voice singing a melody together. Following this process of reconciliation, the final movement points towards the future with rhythmic vigour. Clara Schumann wrote: “This concerto is, in a sense, a work of reconciliation – Joachim and Brahms have spoken to one another for the first time in years.” On 18 October 1887, the concerto was premiered in Cologne with Joseph Joachim and the cellist Robert Hausmann, conducted by the composer. Text: Christian Lehmann