In the Bavarian town of Tutzing on Lake Starnberg, against the impressive backdrop of the Karwendel Mountains, Johannes Brahms composed his famous Variations on a Theme by Haydn in 1873. To commemorate this, the Tutzing Brahms Days has been held here every year for more than a quarter of a century. To celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2022, it presented the German composer's four symphonies. Under the direction of Alondra de la Parra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra interpreted compositions by Johannes Brahms, combining them with four symphonies by Antonín Dvořák.
The works of Brahms are not only very important to the Mexican conductor artistically, but also on a personal level: she celebrated her debut as a conductor in 1999 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires with Brahms' Haydn Variations. And the piece has remained key to her repertoire ever since. In DW's interview with Alondra de la Parra, she described her perspective of the composer: "In Brahms I see a tender soul, whose appeal feeds on exuberant imagination and a kind of fearless, childlike amazement. I want to try to break down the somewhat fixed image that many people have of Brahms. Even though his music is widely performed everywhere, I want to approach it as if I had never heard of Brahms, and was meeting him for the very first time.”
The musical dialogue between the symphonies by Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák at the Tutzing Brahms Days 2022 is no coincidence: Brahms was a keen advocate of Bohemian composer Dvořák: "Anyone who wasn't from Germany or Austria at the time was subjected to severe discrimination. However, Dvořák's greatest wish was to be accepted by the Viennese establishment. Brahms was one of the very few to take him seriously there. He immediately recognized and encouraged Dvořák's special talent." Alondra de la Parra also tells us that "he would certainly have been very pleased that his works were now to be heard as part of a Brahms cycle."
Deutsche Welle was on site to film the four live performances in October 2022 with Alondra de la Parra and the Munich Symphony Orchestra, with extra pre- and post-concert material as well. Arts.21 Unveiled shows excerpts from the Brahms and Dvořák symphonies in four episodes, and gives many insights into the works and lives of these two great composers, including chats with the conductor, members of the orchestra and music experts. Broadcast dates: August 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2023