ARCHIVED UPDATE NOTICES FOR BRAHMS LISTENING GUIDES
©2005-2010 by Kelly Dean Hansen

(9/29/09): The update to the Op. 18 sextet has been done, and the recording used is now one that takes the first movement exposition repeat.  The guide now reflects that repeat.

UPDATE ON REVISIONS (9/15/09): The guide to the "Magelone" cycle, Op. 33, represented a turning point in the style and development of the project.  I consider it the first one to use the new standard (that might also explain the long hiatus after I posted it).  It did not require a great deal of intervention, but there were some important details I missed and some cleaning up to do.  It is by far the largest guide (and probably will remain so).  I hope that now it is better than ever.  In the near future, revisions will be done of the song sets Opp. 43, 63, 84, and 106 as well as the duets Op. 20.  I also intend to redo Piano Sonata #2 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 2.  That will only leave Op. 1 and Op. 3 for extensive revision, but I'm saving those for a future time.  I would like to revise the male choruses, Op. 41.  I am currently engaged in a quixotic quest to get my hands on the original vocal parts so that I can clarify the text underlay of the bass parts in No. 5 (this has been a sore spot for a while).  I'm trying to exhaust my resources there.  There will also be a slight revision to the Op. 18 sextet, which will be noted when it is done.  I have obtained a recording that takes the exposition repeat in the first movement, and would like to change the guide to use that recording and be more "complete."  My beloved Amadeus Quartet recording of all the quintets and sextets sadly left out the repeats of both this piece and the Op. 111 quintet.  To my great joy, a recording was recently made of those two very pieces (strange coupling) by the Verdi Quartet that includes the repeats!  The Op. 111 quintet will be one of the next guides to be added.  I think I have found a way to make sure that no exposition repeats are omitted in any recordings I will use for the guides (this is also one reason why the return of Symphony #1 is kind of delayed).  Finally, I am NEARLY finished adding score links and bolding the time headings (really, only the guides to be extensively revised still need attention there).  Op. 65 still needs score links, and then that will be pretty much it.  I also think it's time to archive all of these updates and move them to a separate page so that this main page can mainly be devoted to the list of guides and to the very latest update.  That will probably happen soon.  Thanks for all the wonderful feedback on the site!

(9/1/09): The addition of Violin Sonata # 1, Op. 78, and the revisions of Violin Sonata # 2, Op. 100, and Violin Sonata # 3, Op. 108, mark the first completed chamber music genre on the site.  The major revisions to Op. 108 were in the last movement.  I remember doing that hurriedly back in 2007.  In late 2006, before the long break with no updates, I had completed the first three movements of the piece.  In 2007, a very busy year for me, I needed to finish it for use in a class, and did the last movement quickly and superficially.  You'll notice that it was the only guide added that year and the last one before I resumed the site in earnest in late 2008.
--Because of Robert Urmann's excellent recent work on Brahms at Choral Wiki, his editions will now be given precedence in my links to that site, and any editions he completes will replace any current links to Choral Wiki.  Urmann's editions also lack the measure numbering issues that are present in other editions on the Choral Wiki site.

(8/19/09): The revision of the Op. 42 partsongs taught me...well, why revisions of the earlier guides are necessary.  I had thought I wouldn't need to do much with it since I was more detailed with vocal works than with instrumental works back then, but in addition to grammatical format, I also discovered several blatant analytical errors.  Hey, I'm human.  Let me know if you ever find what you perceive to be outright mistakes.  Also, note that complete scores for Op. 93a (with CORRECT measure numbers) are now available from Choral Wiki and linked!

(8/3/09): Six Piano Pieces (Klavierstücke), Op. 118, which was already one of the better earlier guides, has been somewhat revised.  Many attractive elements of the old guide that I no longer regularly use, such as internal event timings within segments, have been retained.  This revision comes in tandem with the posting of the companion set, Op. 119.

(7/21/09): In case anyone is wondering, I really despise "vocal scores" (piano reductions) of choral/orchestral works and orchestral reductions (two-piano arrangements) of concertos, and will NOT include any links to such scores (except in one case, where the first edition full score of Piano Concerto #1, Op. 15 is not available from Lübeck).  Those types of scores are for performance preparation, not analytical study.

(7/11/09): I have finally done a revision to an earlier guide.  Violin Sonata #2 in A Major, Op. 100, has been thoroughly redone to help it conform to the standards of later guides.  It's not as easy a task as I imagined!  This will now be done with older guides on a regular basis.  For now, only guides posted BEFORE August 2008 will undergo extensive revision, although even later guides could be revised in the future.  If anybody liked the brevity and "digest" form of the earlier guides, I do apologize, but I have to try to get them all to the same standard, and the "digest" form started to fail me around the time I did the "Magelone" Romances (Op. 33).

(6/26/09): In one final "tweak" to the score links, I've decided to go ahead and include the link to the Lübeck first editions for all works, since these are of great historical interest, even when they are not the only available scores.  I will also include links to other online scores when they are available.  All scores will be linked through either IMSLP or CPDL (Choral Wiki).  Note that in some CPDL scores that begin with upbeats, the upbeats are counted as measures, so one number should be subtracted from all measure numbers that appear in such scores.  Again, this ONLY applies to certain CPDL scores that begin with incomplete measures (such as Op. 93a, No. 3 or Op. 92, No. 4).

UPDATE OF UPDATE BELOW (6/17/09): I have rethought my approach to including score links.  The Lübeck site, while valuable, is quite limited because of the restriction to first printed editions.  I have therefore decided to link to the scores via the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)/Petrucci Library.  There are several advantages to this.  First, the site's basic language is English, not German.  Second, the scores are always uploaded as printable .pdf files, not the rather confusing page navigation system from the Lübeck site.  Third, and most importantly, it allows me some flexibility in which scores I link.  In many cases, the Lübeck score is the only one available (their entire collection is mirrored by IMSLP).  But at IMSLP, even these scores are full .pdf files.  For many scores, the Breitkopf & Härtel complete edition from 1927 is used (which is the best available public domain source).  I will include what I believe to be the best available scores.  Songs present a special challenge.  IMSLP has links to the complete Lübeck scores (which are always in the original keys, and I always use original keys for my guides).  It also has links to some individual song scores, currently available for all song groups through Op. 58.  These come from the Peters Edition, and are easier to read.  The problem is that these are always in the high key, which in most cases (but not all) is also the original key.  I have decided to include links to both the Lübeck scores and the Peters scores (when they are available), always indicating whether they are in the original key.  I should mention that most of the recordings that I use for the site are in fact in the low key (which is usually NOT the original key), since Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a baritone.  This is only a problem for those with perfect pitch.  I felt it best, however, to use the original keys for analysis.  So it is in fact uncommon that my analysis, the recorded performance, and an available online score will all be in the same key for solo songs.  Confused yet?

Also, for choral works without orchestra, I may turn to the Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL or ChoralWiki), whose .pdf scores are generally of even higher quality than what IMSLP currently has to offer.  Their offerings are, however, far from complete.  All score links will be directed through CPDL or IMSLP.  Lübeck scores will be linked through IMSLP rather than through their own site.  That will be the practice.

IN OTHER NEWS: A symphony is finally available!  OK, now that I've said that, I want to say that it is painfully obvious that the earlier guides (essentially anything added before August 2008) are of lesser quality than the later ones.  Rest assured that these earlier guides WILL be revised eventually.  Right now I'm concentrating on getting up as much content as possible, but the revisions will happen.  All guides, even the later ones, are subject to constant revision.  I really want to create a uniform standard so that the guides can be useful to both musicians AND lay music lovers with a reasonable knowledge of music theory.  Even those with limited musical knowledge can simply ignore what they do not understand.  I'm honestly trying to be all-inclusive (which was not the case when I started this).  FINALLY, don't forget that I have the recordings available for anybody who individually requests them.  Simply email me to obtain them.

UPDATE (6/10/09): In yet another effort to improve the guides, I am beginning, with the just-added guide to the Op. 47 songs, to add links to the online scores from the Brahms-Institut Lübeck.  This collection is a wonderful resource.  Each link will be to the first page of the score.  Navigation buttons (in German) are at the top.  These scores are usually first editions and lack measure numbers.  Score links will gradually be added to existing guides, again moving in reverse order by date.  The boldface time and measure number indices will continue to be added to existing guides, also in reverse order by date as before.

(12/26/08): In an effort to make the guides somewhat easier to read, the main time and measure number indices will now be in boldface with all new guides.  This will be changed in existing guides in gradual updates, moving in reverse order to that in which they were added.  For example, the first "update" to an existing guide was to the Op. 76 piano pieces.  I have also decided to remove the link to the Symphony #1 guide (Op. 68).  It is simply not up to my current standards, and will be reposted upon revision.  While other earlier guides may be revised in the future, none except this one will be removed.

(11/13/08): Beginning with the String Sextet #1, Op. 18, movement headings in instrumental works will be underscored.  This will be updated in existing guides, but not noted on the main page.

(9/26/08):  I went ahead and removed the green "measure numbers added" tags.  The Symphony No. 1 guide is the only one that does not have them, and since I know that it will undergo a substantial revision at some point, I will add them then.

(8/28/08):  All guides except for Symphony #1 (Op. 68) now have measure numbers and recording catalog numbers.  When Symphony #1 is added, the green tags will be removed.  Also, I have added a "home" link to the bottom of each guide.  I should have done that long ago.  This should help if somebody runs across a single guide through a search engine.

LONG-DELAYED UPDATE (8/18/08):  These guides are my personal labor of love.  Posting them on the internet is a way to share them with others.  Unfortunately, I have had little opportunity to add more of them in the last couple of years due to real academic and personal life getting in the way (including my Brahms dissertation, which must take first priority--and the birth of my third child in February 2007).  But I love this project so much that I can't let it die, and I hope to begin to work steadily, if not quickly, on adding more.  I have not yet brought them to the attention of entities such as the American Brahms Society (whose officers I know), as I want them to be more complete before doing that.  You can see that Op. 108 was added in 2007, and Op. 41 a few months ago.  I have now added Op. 85, and my goal is to add two or three works (or opus numbers) per month if time and other demands allow that.

In the interim, the University of Colorado has dropped the ucsub.colorado.edu server, where I was hosting my personal pages.  I needed to move everything to webfiles.colorado.edu, which is free, but doesn't work well with search engines.  Because of that, I decided to acquire kellydeanhansen.com, a domain I've wanted to have for a while anyway.  For now, it will display ads for GoDaddy.com on top, which kind of messes with the margins of the pages and also creates issues with printing.  I'd like to do more with that domain in the future, including starting a blog, but for now, the Brahms guides will be on the index page there.  The page already shows up in Google under the "Brahms Listening Guides" search (usually in second position), and I'm hoping it will show up in Yahoo as well (the old ucsub.colorado.edu page did show up there).  There were at least a couple of pages that linked the old URL, so the change was kind of frustrating.  But ultimately, this is better.  To keep an ad free version available that is probably also more printer-friendly, I will continue to mirror everything at webfiles.colorado.edu, linked at the top of kellydeanhansen.com.

As far as the guides themselves go, I'm struggling with the decision whether or not to revise some of the earlier guides.  My style has evolved since 2005 more toward complete sentences and greater detail.  That is not necessarily "better," but styles do evolve.  I have not made that decision yet, but at least one guide, that for the First Symphony, Op. 68, will probably demand it.  That was the exercise I did back in 2004 on a whim to share with a couple of friends and it inspired the entire project.  I have great affection for that guide as it stands, but it has an air of informality (as does the one for Op. 1, but that is less extreme) and brevity that will surely contrast with the other three symphonies when I get around to them.  So at least that one will probably be revised whenever the next symphony goes up.  When I conceived the idea (based on the First Symphony guide), I initially decided to go in chronological opus number, but after the first three, I went with a random list for more variety.  That has worked well and I am sticking with that.  Because songs and vocal works have more opus numbers (out of 122 total), there may seem to be a bias toward songs at some times.  Also, only a few posted guides still lack measure numbers (Opp. 68, 100, 106, and 118).  Those will be completed and added in the near future.  See the link below for information on measure numbers.

FINALLY, a reminder about the recordings used in the guide.  I can provide any of these to anybody who asks, but you must contact me privately at hansenkd [at] colorado [dot] edu to request them.  I can provide them in mp3 or CD format (the latter would require a snailmail address, of course).  For very obvious reasons, I can't post any recordings publicly.


UPDATE (6/26/06):  I'm back!  I went for a while without updates (busy with my class and other things), and am anxious to get back into constructing guides, so I'll be placing new works up more regularly now.  I do hope that eventually the site will become known in the Brahms world and will be visited.  There are a couple of changes I am instituting in the guides.  First, I am now including measure numbers along with time indices.  This will make the guides less "recording specific" and might be helpful for those who may want to use them with just scores or scores in conjunction with recordings.  "Old" guides will be gradually updated with measure numbers, and any "new" guides will include them.  Until all posted guides are updated, those that have been given measure numbers will be indicated.  For some additional information about how measures are numbered, click here.  Also, each guide will now include a brief indication of the catalog number of the recording used.  A link with more details about these recordings will be added shortly.  Because of copyright, no MP3's or other audio of the recordings will be posted on the site.  Contact me privately for help in obtaining digital or CD versions of the recordings from me (many are out of print).

UPDATE (12/29/05): A WORD ON TRANSLATIONS OF WORKS WITH TEXTS: I have communicated with Emily Ezust, the webmaster of The Lied and Art Song Texts Page (http://www.recmusic.org/lieder).  She is happy to allow me to use her translations for the site, but she would prefer for me to link directly to the respective pages on her site for translations rather than copying the texts here.  She has good reasons for this request.  Translations by their nature will inevitably involve copyright issues, and Ms. Ezust's site is, for many reasons, the best option for providing translations in my guides.  The guide for Op. 3 has been changed accordingly, and this format will be used for ALL texted works, with a few exceptions.  The original German texts will of course remain in the guides themselves.  A convenience of linking directly to Ms. Ezust's translations on her own site is that the original German is often printed side by side with the translation.  She currently has all of the Lieder (solo songs) as well as vocal duets and quartets translated.  She is gradually working on part songs and other choral works, and has promised me that those "holes" in the Brahms choral output will be filled.  For this reason, I will not post guides for certain poetic choral works until she has the translation on her site.  The exception to this will be works with biblical texts.  In these cases, I will include the corresponding passage of the King James Version along with the Luther Bible text set by Brahms.  King James is obviously not a translation of Luther, so the correspondence will not be exact.  In cases where Ms. Ezust has provided a close English translation of the Luther Bible text, links will be provided for those translations.

I am grateful to Emily Ezust for allowing me to link to her translations and for her positive feedback on the guides themselves.