Vienna 1897: Brahms' Last Concert
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment reconstructs the programme of the last concert Brahms attended, in the finale of its 40th anniversary season.
‘Today you will hear a real piece!’ declared Brahms to his companion before attending what we believe was his last concert in March 1897, which included his own Fourth Symphony.
Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is music that ‘is some of the darkest and deepest in the 19th century’ according to The Guardian. In fact, Brahms’ inner circle had advised him against releasing it publicly. However, at the concert in 1897, there was reportedly rapturous applause after each movement.
Steven Isserlis says of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor that it ‘contains everything: beauty, heroism, poetry, joy, pathos, profundity. It is the work of a master at the height of powers’.
Haydn’s career had bridged the gap between the worlds of the late Baroque and the early Romantic era. Symphony No.73 dates from 1782 and a century later, while not as in fashion as he once was, his music was still able to take its place alongside Vienna’s modern masters in the orchestral repertoire.
Two good friends of the OAE, Steven Isserlis and Maxim Emelyanychev, join for the finale of the orchestra’s season in celebration of the OAE’s 40th anniversary.
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Maxim Emelyanychev conductor
Steven Isserlis cello
Repertoire
Brahms: Symphony No.4
Interval
Dvořák: Cello Concerto
Haydn: Symphony No.73 (La chasse)
Need to know
Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer at 6pm: pre-concert talk. Steven Isserlis and Maxim Emelyanychev in conversation. Admission free for ticket holders.
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.