A serenade is supposed to be a charming diversion, purely for entertainment. So when Brahms tried to make his Serenade No. 1 into a symphony, it just didn't have the oomph a symphony required. Here it ...

A burly, bearded man with an impatient expression and, often, a cigar between his fingers: That’s the image of 19th-century German composer Johannes Brahms that persists in popular culture. But he was ...

The forecast in the title of this concert conducted by Douglas Boyd was at least accurate with regard to the exceptional performance of Brahms' Serenade No 1, delivered and received with all the ...

Stephen Johnson explores Brahms's Symphony No. 1, which took the composer around 20 years to compose. While Brahms strove to create his own unique sound, critics pounced upon it. Show more Stephen ...