Tragic Overture

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The Tragic Overture, op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. Brahms chose the title "Tragic" to emphasize the turbulent, tormented character of the piece, in essence a free-standing symphonic movement, in contrast to the mirthful ebullience of a companion piece he wrote the same year, the Academic Festival Overture. Despite its name, the Tragic Overture does not follow any specific dramatic program. Brahms was not very interested in musical storytelling and was more concerned with conveying and eliciting emotional impressions. He summed up the effective difference between the two overtures when he declared "one laughs while the other cries." Brahms quotes some material from the last movement of the Second Symphony in this overture.

The Tragic Overture comprises three main sections, all in the key of D minor.

Allegro ma non troppo
Molto più moderato
Tempo primo ma tranquillo

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. It premiered on December 26, 1880 in Vienna. A typical performance lasts slightly less than fifteen minutes.

—Some notable recordings of this famous work—

Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra Leopold Stokowski conducting National Philharmonic Orchestra Otto Klemperer conducting Philharmonia Orchestra Rudolf Kempe conducting Berliner Philharmoniker Karl Böhm conducting Wiener Philharmoniker Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting Berliner Philharmoniker Carlo Maria Giulini conducting Philharmonia Orchestra Pierre Monteux conducting London Symphony Orchestra