The Brahms Symphony No. 4 is a work of intellectual depth not easily grasped. Columbia University professor of music Walter Frisch
wrote in 1993 that "the Fourth is not a work that unlocks its secrets easily." 19th century Austrian critic and close friend of Brahms, Eduard Hanslick, felt the same but concluded that deep and prolonged time with it pays off with rich rewards: "There is not another modern piece so productive as a subject for study. It is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back." Today celebrating the anniversary of its premiere on October 25th in 1885, the enigmatic and richly rewarding Brahms Symphony No. 4 is today's Midday Masterpiece.
