Both pieces tonight are in the same key (F major). But they could not be more different stylistically. Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major is a contemplative, passionate work that surrounds the listener in what Clara Schumann called “the mysterious charm of the woods and forests.”
In contrast, George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major represents what the composer called “the young, enthusiastic spirit of American life.” Effortlessly bridging the classical and the popular, Gershwin blends concert music with the Charleston, blues and jazz.
Fuhrmann is Professor of Music History at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music and edits BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Her publications have appeared in The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, A-R Editions and Cambridge University Press, and her work has received awards from the North American British Music Studies Association.
