Brahms, Johannes : Naenie Op. 82

The literary genre of the “Nänie” is a song of lament that dates back to classical antiquity. Brahms’ Naenie op. 84 is a requiem in honor of the artist Anselm Feuerbach (1829–1880), whom Brahms greatly revered. After a first draft in the summer of 1880, Brahms set Schiller’s poem “Nenie” (It was not until the preparations for the printing that Brahms changed the spelling to “Nänie”) one year later, when he was residing in Pressbaum near Vienna. He personally conducted the first performance in Zurich on 3 December 1881. The work is dedicated to Henriette Feuerbach, the artist’s mother.