Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90

• Written in 1883; premiered that same year in Vienna conducted by Hans Richter¹
• While the work is not programmatic, we know that Brahms wrote it when renting a studio in Wiesbaden with a view of the Rhine Valley.²
• In a letter, Dvořák wrote the following to his publisher after hearing portions of Brahms’s third symphony:
  • “I say without exaggerating that this work surpasses his first two symphonies; if not, perhaps, in grandeur and powerful conception—then certainly in—beauty. […] What magnificent melodies there are for the finding!”³
• Fun fact – Symphony No. 3 is the shortest of Brahms’s symphonies, typically only lasting ~ 30 minutes.⁴
• Listen for – The opening notes: F – A flat – F. These three letters stand for Brahms’s motto, “frei aber froh” (free but happy). Brahms was famously independent, having never married (though his close friendship with Clara Schumann is certainly tantalizing).⁵

“Unlike it’s predecessors, [Symphony No. 3] offers no triumphant conclusion. Instead, it asks questions that go largely unanswered. All four movements end quietly, unprecedented in symphonic literature at the time.”

Terry Williams, BBC Music Magazine Vol. 30, No. 9

1. “Symphony No.3, Op.90 (Brahms, Johannes),” IMSLP, accessed April 12, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.3,Op.90(Brahms,_Johannes).
2. “Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90,” L. A. Phil, accessed April 12, 2024, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/3959/symphony-no-3-in-f-major-op-90.
3. Calvin Dotsey, “Secrets of the Rhine: Brahms’ Symphony No. 3,” Houston Symphony (2022), https://houstonsymphony.org/brahms-symphony-3/.
4. George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch, “Brahms, Johannes,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed April 12, 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051879.
5. Calvin Dotsey, “Secrets of the Rhine: Brahms’ Symphony No. 3,” Houston Symphony.