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| Daniele Gatti, Berlin Philharmonic - Philharmonie, Berlin |
Webern: Langsamer Satz, Stravinsky: Symphony in C, Brahms: Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, cond: Daniele Gatti; Philharmonie, Berlin
Reviewed by Tony Cooper on 9 October 2025
Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under Daniele Gatti, in the confines of the swishy Philharmonie Berlin proved a big treat
Never really wanting a day off, especially in Berlin, I thoroughly enjoyed a marvellous concert by the Berlin Philharmonic under Daniele Gatti at the Philharmonie Berlin offering a programme right up my street. They performed a trio of handsome and entertaining works comprising Webern’s Langsamer Satz - Slow Movement for String Quartet in E flat major, Stravinsky’s Symphony in C and Brahms’ Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90.
Completing Langsamer Satz in June 1905, Webern was inspired to write it by the innermost feelings for his future wife, Wilhelmine Mörtl, whom he enjoyed a mountain holiday prior to marriage. An emotionally charged work, for sure, it conveys themes of yearning, turmoil and tranquillity and is notable for its post-Brahmsian tonal idiom.
Born in 1883 into a wealthy aristocratic Viennese family, Webern was close to Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg, a trio of progressive composers dubbed the ‘Second Viennese School’. Schoenberg, of course, invented the twelve-tone technique therefore Webern was well acquainted with this musical style and kept up to date with the latest developments in music.
Although he had planned to compose a full string quartet, Webern only managed to complete one movement which was lost but rediscovered in the early 1960s by Hans and Rosaleen Moldenhauer when they stumbled across the manuscript in an attic in an house in Perchtoldsdorf, one of the numerous wine-producing towns lying in the vicinity of Vienna.
Published by Carl Fischer, Langsamer Satz - marked 'Langsam, mit bewegtem Ausdruck' / 'Slow, with moving expression' - was written in the key of C minor therefore composed in the tradition of Brahms especially in matters relating to sonority and rhetoric while special effects such as ‘tremolo sul ponticello’ became a precursor to Webern’s Five Movements for String Quartet, No.2, Op.5.
As arranged and orchestrated for strings by American conductor, Gerard Schwarz, Langsamer Satz was first performed by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi in 1995. The original composition, though, for string quartet, composed in 1905, was published after Webern’s death premièred on 26th May 1962 in Seattle by the University of Washington String Quartet.
A richly-textured, late-romantic work, Langsamer Satz was beautifully (and emotionally) played by the strings of the Berlin Philharmonic under Daniele Gatti who brought out the sensitiveness and tenderness of the score punctuating the composer’s early but masterful contrapuntal skills and his ability to convey a passionate love scenario tinged with a sense of melancholy in what I can only describe as an abstract musical landscape.
For instance, the opening bars, conjuring up sweeping broad orchestral gestures punctuated by timpani, gave way to a rich-flowing musical line peppered with dramatic moments while the soaring melodies and the emotional charge and depth of the piece could be said to be highly reminiscent of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht capturing so well such tender lyricism ranging from ecstatic climaxes to moments of surreal calm thereby offering members of the audience (a packed house, too!) ten minutes of serene musical bliss.
However, if Webern was enjoying a good point in his life when writing Langsamer Satz, Stravinsky, on the other hand, was not when writing Symphony in C. It was a difficult and turbulent period for him marked by illness and family bereavement. Stravinsky, for instance, was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1937 which had already forced his wife and two daughters to a sanatorium in Switzerland. His daughter Ludmilla and his wife Yekaterina died of their illnesses in November 1938 followed by Stravinsky's own quarantine and the death of his mother, Anna, in June of the following year.
Therefore, against this dark, dismal and depressive background, Stravinsky still managed to produce such a delectable and entertaining work as Symphony in C, written between 1938 and 1940, commissioned by American philanthropist, Mrs Robert Woods Bliss, premièred by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on 7th November 1940 in celebration of their half-century.
Representing his neoclassical period which was dutifully launched by his ballet Pulcinella of 1919-20 followed by the opera Mavra (1921-22) and Octet for Winds (1922-23), the work’s first two movements were penned in France and Switzerland, the third in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the fourth in Hollywood after Stravinsky was forced to leave Europe at the outbreak of World War Il emigrating to the United States.
Therefore, Stravinsky described Symphony in C - a traditional four-movement structure lasting approximately 30 minutes - as a work of two halves: European and American. The first two movements employ more traditional-type rhythmic patterns and harmonizations while in the last two, frequent modulations of rhythm are distinctly heard and, in essence, more chromatic in their musical format and style.
An entirely pure abstract work imitating to a certain degree, I feel, the musical styles of Bach and Haydn, the Berlin Philharmonic’s treatment and presentation of Symphony in C under the baton of Maestro Gatti was paramount and so enjoyable to listen to especially in the confines of the Philharmonie Berlin , a well-designed, spacious and comfortable concert-hall harbouring such fine acoustics thereby aleringt members of the audience practically to every note or passage played.
The shortest of Brahms’ four symphonies (No.3 in F major, Op. 90) was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden nearly six years after he completed his second symphony. A work known for its rich and lyrical character prominently featuring flute and French horn is often compared to Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ for its generally pleasant atmosphere and the abundant natural beauty in its instrumentation.
However, in the interim period of writing his ‘third’, Brahms knocked off some of his greatest works including the violin concerto and second piano concerto not forgetting those two great and inspiring overtures: the Tragic Overture and the Academic Festival Overture.
The work’s première fell to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on 2nd December 1883 under the baton of Hans Richter presented in the opulent and grand setting of Vienna’s Musikverein, home to the world-famous New Year’s Day concert featuring the Vienna Philharmonic. Richter, in fact, proclaimed Brahms’ ‘third’ - which was well received more so than his ‘second’ - to be his ‘Eroica’.
A loyal, dedicated and confidant to Wagner, Maestro Richter interpreted and defended his work, copied scores for him and attended rehearsals thus underlining his deep devotion and commitment to him while also playing a key role in the première of The Ring of the Nibelung at Bayreuth in 1876.
The red-carpet and black-tie event was attended by such luminous and distinguished figures as Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany, King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Wagner’s wealthy patron who attended in a private capacity), Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, the composer Franz Liszt (Wagner’s father-in-law) and the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who helped Wagner no end in getting the Bayreuth Festival off the ground. Other revered composers present included Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Camille Saint-Saëns and Grieg along with members of the nobility and other notable figures such as the author, Leo Tolstoy.
Therefore, next year celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival which opens in style with a grand performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (the ‘Choral’) featuring Christian Thielemann conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra with a quartet of world-class soloists comprising Elza van den Heever (soprano), Christa Mayer (alto), Piotr Beczała (tenor) and Georg Zeppenfeld (bass) - all leading Bayreuth Festival singers.
Interestingly, Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ has been performed at Bayreuth on several important occasions since the Bayreuth Festival’s grand, imposing and triumphant opening. Notable performances came in 1951 marking the first Bayreuth Festival following World War II with further performances coming in 1953, 1954, 1963 and 2001 - and now 2026.
To test the water, though, on his third symphony, Brahms played the first and last movements on piano to Dvořák who remarked to Fritz Simrock, the composer’s publisher: ‘I say without exaggeration that this work surpasses his first two symphonies perhaps not in grandeur but certainly in beauty.’ Praise, indeed!
After the heroism of Brahms’ first symphony and the pastoral flavours of the ‘second’, the ‘third’ seem to inhabit a more uncertain world. Unlike its predecessors, it offers no triumphant conclusion but asks questions that go largely unanswered. All four movements end quietly, unprecedented in symphonic works of that time.
Brahms' lived in Wiesbaden while writing the ‘third’ which probably resurrected memories of his early days in Düsseldorf staying with Robert and Clara Schumann. Such associations may well refer to the first movement’s opening motto which is immediately followed by a ‘passionato’ theme, a descending sequence which bears a strong resemblance to a phrase from Schumann’s third symphony - the ‘Rhenish’.
The second subject, though, includes a chord progression with an allusion to the ‘Siren’s Chorus’ from Wagner’s Tannhäuser - the music of the Venusberg from the first act which leads one to the sensual world of Venus and her lovers. Whether this reference was a tribute to his recently deceased rival is unknown although Brahms’ admiration for Wagner was no secret.
A composer whom I personally cherish, Brahms fought shy of writing a symphony. What is there left to say after Beethoven? ‘You have no idea how the likes of us feel when we hear the tramp of a giant like him behind us,’ he said. That giant was, of course, Beethoven.
As such, Brahms felt a distinct pressure as his natural successor and I deeply feel that his four symphonies matches well Beethoven’s nine. Thankfully, Brahms is widely regarded as one of Germany’s finest 19th-century composers and after hearing such a brilliant, fulfilling and exciting reading of his third symphony by the Berlin Philharmonic, with Gatti firmly in control, this statement certainly bears fruit from my humble perspective.
However, during this heavenly performance of Brahms ‘third’, I lovingly recall another occasion of enjoying a Brahms symphony played by the Berlin Philharmonic that truly captured and sparked my imagination, desire and interest in his music. The year was 1967 (could be ’68) when I attended the Edinburgh Festival and managed to get a ticket for the Berlin Phil playing Brahms’ ‘second’ in the Usher Hall conducted by Herbert von Karajan whose performance truly captured that rich, romantic and all-encompassing Brahmsian sound that is so pleasing to the ear. It was a concert to chalk up and one that harbours such a lovely memory for me. Bravo!
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