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The ''Alto Rhapsody'', Op 53, is a work for contralto, male chorus, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms. It was written in 1869, as a wedding gift for Robert and Clara Schumann's daughter, Julie. Brahms scholars have long speculated that the composer may have had romantic feelings for Julie, which he may have integrated into the text and music of the ''Alto Rhapsody''. The text, with its metaphysical portrayal of a misanthropic soul who is urged to find spiritual sustenance and throw off the shackles of his suffering, has powerful parallels in Brahms's life and character. The ''Rhapsody'' is a setting of verses from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Harzreise im Winter''. The work is in three sections: the first two, in a chromatically dense and wandering C minor, are for the soloist and orchestra and describe the pain of the misanthropic wanderer. The second section is an aria in all but name. The third section, in a nominal C major, brings in the male chorus, which joins the soloist in a plea to a celestial spirit for an abatement of the wanderer's pain. The third part of the Rhapsody has similarities of vocal and choral style to ''A German Requiem'', which was written the previous year. The work typically takes between twelve and fifteen minutes in performance. See recordings, below, for indicative timings. The work was first "tried out" on 6 October 1869, at the dress rehearsal for the Karlsruhe season's first orchestral subscription concert. Amalia Boni sang the solo role; the conductor Hermann Levi was on hand, but there was no male voice chorus, and it is unclear whether Boni was accompanied by orchestra or simply on piano. Brahms and Clara Schumann were present, but there was certainly no other audience.〔(George S. Bozarth, Brahms Studies )〕 It received its first public performance, and its first definitely known proper performance, on 3 March 1870, at Jena. The soloist at the first performance was Pauline Viardot and the conductor was Ernst Naumann.〔(Michael Musgrave, The Cambridge Companion to Brahms )〕 The text Brahms set is: ==Recordings== The ''Alto Rhapsody'' is not frequently performed in concert, perhaps because of the expense of hiring a soloist and chorus for a short piece, but it has been recorded many times. A selection of recordings available 2012 illustrates the wide range of tempi adopted by different interpreters of the ''Rhapsody'', with playing times ranging from 11 minutes 45 seconds to 16 minutes 10 seconds. *Soloist: Dame Janet Baker :John Alldis Choir :London Philharmonic Orchestra :Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult :Duration: 11:45 *Soloist: Brigitte Fassbaender :Prague Philharmonic Chorus :Czech Philharmonic Orchestra :Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli :Duration: 14:28 *Soloist: Kathleen Ferrier :London Philharmonic Orchestra and Male Choir :Conductor: Clemens Krauss :Duration: 15:53 :Performance Date: December 1947 *Soloist: Ann Hallenberg :Collegium Vocale Gent :Orchestre des Champs-Elysées :Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe :Duration 11:15 *Soloist: Marilyn Horne :Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus :Conductor: Robert Shaw :Duration: 14:01 *Soloist: Christa Ludwig :Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus :Conductor: Otto Klemperer :Duration 12:27 *Soloist: Christa Ludwig :Wiener Singverein :Wiener Philharmoniker :Conductor: Karl Böhm :Duration 16:10 *Soloist: Marian Anderson :Philadelphia Orchestra :Conductor: Eugene Ormandy :Duration: 13:10 *Soloist: Stephanie Blythe :Ensemble a sei voci :Ensemble Orchestral de Paris :Conductor: John Nelson :Duration: 12:14 *Soloist: Aafje Heynis :Royal Male Choir, "Apollo" :Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra :Conductor: Eduard Van Beinum :Duration: 12:43 :Performance Date: February, 1958 *Soloist: Marjana Lipovšek :Ernst Senff Chor :Berliner Philharmoniker :Conductor: Claudio Abbado :Duration: 13:04 *Soloist: Nathalie Stutzmann :Monteverdi Choir :Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique :Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner :Duration: 12:57 :Performance Date: November 2007 *Soloist: Dunja Vejzovic :Houston Symphony Orchestra & Chorus :Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach :Duration: 13:55 *Soloist: Kathleen Ferrier :Men of the Oslo Philharmonic Chorus :Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra :Conductor: Erik Tuxen :Duration: 13:10 :Performance Date: 14 October 1949 *Soloist: Mildred Miller :The Occidental College Chorus :Columbia Symphony Orchestra :Conductor: Bruno Walter :Duration: 12:25 :Performance Date: 11 January 1961 *Soloist: Dame Janet Baker :BBC's Men's Chorus :BBC Symphony Orchestra :Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult :Duration: 13:51 :Performance Date: 1968 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alto Rhapsody」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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