Brahms German Requiem & Rand Piano Concerto No 5

Brahms German Requiem

The full title of Brahms German Requiem is Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schriff- – ‘to words of the Holy Scriptures’.  Brahms chose the words himself, taking them from the Lutheran Bible and they are mainly words of consolation; comforting words for the living. Two recent deaths may have prompted the composition of the work, Robert Schumann’s in 1856 and the death of  Brahms’ mother in 1865. The Requiem is the longest work by Brahms and one of the most dramatic. It includes contrapuntal writing (the fugues at the end of movements two, three and six) as well as some of the tenderest music Brahms wrote, most notably in the soprano solo movement at the centre of the work.  

John Rand Piano Concerto No 5 

John Rand has composed seven piano concertos and a fair amount of film music. All of the piano concertos have had public performances and this 5th piano concerto was composed in 2010 and premiered two years later by the soloist in this concert, Alan Brown. The concerto is in three movements was inspired by the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms.