Brahms - Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 Composed in 1883; premiered in 1883 in Vienna Performed by the Houston Symphony, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach (b. 1940) Recorded March 1992 at the Brown Theater, Wortham Center, Houston 0:00 I. Allegro con brio 13:37 II. Andante 22:50 III. Poco allegretto 30:38 IV. Allegro – Un poco sostenuto Johannes Brahms composed his Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90, during the summer of 1883 while vacationing in Wiesbaden, Germany. Following its premiere on December 2, 1883, by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Hans Richter (1843-1916), the work was met with great success and has since been celebrated as one of the most structurally integrated and emotionally profound pieces of the Romantic symphonic repertoire. Notably, the symphony is famously framed by its opening motto—the three-note sequence F–A♭–F—which reflects Brahms' personal motto, Frei aber froh ("Free but happy"), serving as a symbolic contrast to the Frei aber einsam ("Free but lonely") motto of his friend Joseph Joachim (1831-1907).