Often called the last of the great classical composers, Brahms accommodated powerful romantic inclination to the demands of traditional musical form. The result is "a delightful mixture of classical form clothed in the multicolored hues of German romanticism." (John Gillespie, Five Centuries of Keyboard Music).
Brahms's masterful synthesis of these disparate elements: his inventive rhythmic drive and happy fusion of poetry and sound workmanship are strikingly evidenced in the concerti. Although he wrote only four — two for piano, one for violin, and one double concerto for violin and cello — they have all become absolute staples of the concert repertoire. Because they are for different instruments, however, they have rarely been available together in one convenient volume — until now. This Dover edition reproduces all four concerti directly from Breitkopf and Härtel's definitive Sämtliche Werke, Volumes 5 and 5, c. 1920–27. The original editor's commentary by Hans Gal is included both in German and in English.
The four concerti are Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15; Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83; Violin Concerto, Op. 77; and Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. 102.
With this single low-priced volume, students, composers, and musicologists may savor Brahms's development in the form (extending over three decades, 1845–87). Conductors and librarians will have a handy, inexpensive, complete collection, and musicians and music lovers will find a way to experience the inexhaustible variety of one of music's great masters.