Composers Series – Brahms

In 2016 the SSO reached out to artist Denyse Klette to pitch the idea of having her create an portrait of Mozart to help the SSO celebrate its Mozart Festival in 2017 – what was originally a simple one-off idea for promotional piece became a multi-year project that has been remarkably rewarding for both parties.

First came Mozart in 2017, then in 2018 an exceptional portrait of Joni Mitchell for our concert “Don’t Give Yourself Away – the Music of Joni Mitchell”. Then in 2019 we unveiled Denyse’s now iconic image of Beethoven that adorns the SSO’s windows at our offices on 51st street. It was sometime in 2019 that we realized this had to be a long term project together that would be added to each year.

And now for our Visit to Vienna concert, we’re thrilled to unveil Denyse’s Brahms.

Romantic. Passionate. Indulgent.
Johannes Brahms is a towering figure of the romantic era – passionately taking the structures and forms of the music before him and tearing it into a new romantic future. A lover of nature and long walks, the composer gained himself the nickname “the hedgehog” due to his almost nightly visits to the Viennese pub “The Red Hedgehog”.

Brahms’ music is at once full of colour and full of reverent restraint. It is completely caught up in heart-on-sleeve romance while finding the struggle between old forms and new sounds. He lived a life that was the stuff of legends, and his story is forever intertwined with Clara Schumann. The tenderness in their letters shows a man who loved with his whole heart.

An exceptional pianist, gifted with a sense of melody and harmony, Brahms’ music is evergreen and never loses its lusture.

Denyse Klette is one of Saskatchewan’s most celebrated artists; her work hangs in homes, galleries, and public spaces across the globe. Denyse is Canada’s only Disney Artist, and her work is full of colour and life that captures her joyous personality.

 

 

The Composers series are available in limited edition canvas prints. They’ll soon be available for purchase on our website.
To find out more, please email us at office@ saskatoonsymphony.org

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