17th LVSO SUMMER FESTIVAL
CONCERT PROGRAMME
J. Brahms. “German Requiem” for soloists, choir and orchestra, Op. 45
The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, led by Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius, invites audiences at the 17th LVSO Summer Festival to hear one of the most monumental works by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) – the “German Requiem”.
The “German Requiem” came to light after a decade of personal turmoil in the composer’s life. In 1856, J. Brahms was deeply shaken by the death of his close friend, teacher, and colleague Robert Schumann (1810–1856), and in 1865, following a separation from his father, his beloved mother Christiane unexpectedly passed away. That same year, J. Brahms began composing his “German Requiem”, completing it in 1868. The majestic work fulfilled R. Schumann’s prophecy about J. Brahms’ genius – after highly successful premieres, the composer gained international recognition and became one of the leading figures in Vienna’s musical life.
Although a Requiem is traditionally associated with the Roman Catholic Mass for the dead, J. Brahms, raised a Protestant, took a different path. Rejecting the classical Latin Mass texts, he set his work to passages from the Bible translated into German by the reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546), thereby creating a truly “German” Requiem. In letters to Martin Reinthaler, music director of Bremen Cathedral, J. Brahms expressed that he would have gladly avoided the word “German” altogether, preferring to call the work a “Human Requiem”.
Unlike in the Roman Catholic liturgy, where the Requiem begins with prayers for the dead (“Grant them eternal rest, O Lord!”), J. Brahms’ work focuses on the living: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (from the “Beatitudes”, Mt 5:4). While God remains a source of hope and consolation, the entire composition radiates a bright, humanistic compassion. J. Brahms’ “German Requiem” consists of seven movements: I. Blessed are they that mourn, II. All mankind – like grass, III. Lord, show me the end of my life, IV. How lovely are Thy dwellings, V. Now ye sorrowful, VI. For here we have no continuing city, VII. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Throughout these movements, the listener is taken on a journey from grief to the ultimate promise of eternal rest. Yet it is not the destination but the journey itself that fills the experience with meaning.