Brahms Symphony No. 3 in F major was composed during the summer of 1883 and first performed in Vienna later that year. Although it is the shortest of Brahms’s four symphonies, it encompasses a remarkable range of moods, from boldness and restless energy to tenderness and quiet reflection. Unusually, each of its four movements ends softly, giving the work a particularly intimate and poetic character.

Essential Classics Unlocked

This arrangement aims to preserve the character and essential spirit of Brahms’s great symphony while presenting it in a form that is comparatively brief and approachable at the piano. All four movements are represented, although each has necessarily been abridged and carefully adapted to provide an enjoyable and rewarding introduction to this richly expressive masterpiece.