The large-scale Brahms cycle which Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe are performing for LUCERNE FESTIVAL continues with the second round this Easter. In anticipation, the Dutch maestro took time to share his thoughts about what he thinks should be the touchstone for performing Brahms.

“Conducting a full Brahms cycle is a first for me,” revealed Bernard Haitink in an interview with Erich Singer: an astonishing fact, considering that he has had a sensationally successful conducting career for half a century—not least with his Brahms. Indeed, this marks Haitink’s first time ever preparing one work in particular that will be presented in Lucerne on 11 April: “Funeral Song” (Op. 13), which is programmed to serve as a sort of prelude to “A German Requiem.” Says Haitink: “It’s a short piece that suggests a funeral march and is scored for five-part chorus and an orchestra of woodwinds and brass. That is, there are no strings and Brahms also omits flutes and trumpets. Bright colors are absent; the timbre is dark throughout.”

Haitink has a good reason for choosing the lean forces of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe to perform his first Brahms cycle: “This reduced orchestral ensemble is historically justified,” he explains. “Brahms’s favorite orchestra was the Meiningen Court Orchestra, a leading ensemble of the time which comprised about the same number of players.” The transparent sound of a chamber orchestra allows for a more flowing, less ponderous interpretation. The polyphonic textures of Brahms’s music become more lucid, while the structures are easier to discern. Haitink wants to bring out the essence of these works – which is to say, he has no desire to position himself or his point of view at the center: “Nowadays there is a danger that some performers believe their insights have even more to say than what has already been said in the music. I attempt to avoid subjectively grafting elements onto the work that are not to be found within the substance of the composition – no empty pomposity! How often does Brahms ask for ‘piano dolce’: isn’t that by itself evidence? The directions he wrote into his scores expressly forbid these such eccentricities.”

The Brahms Cycle concerts that will be performed during LUCERNE FESTIVAL at Easter include:

9 April: The Double Concerto and First Symphony
11 April: “Funeral Song” and “A German Requiem”
13 April: The Violin Concerto and Second Symphony