Happy April 1st!
The University of Breslau awarded Brahms an honorary PhD degree, in return, Brahms composed a ceremonial orchestra piece. Brahms himself has never been to college. But when he was 20, he joined his violinist friend Joseph Joachim for a few weeks to experience university life in Göttingen, in summer.
As we’ll hear in the Academic Festival Overture that Brahms composed 27 years later, imagining and recaping his college life memory: it’s all fun student activities — reading, drinking alcohol and debting. He must have never had to complete any problem set:
The University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra is going to perform the Academic Festival Orchestra it in May. I wonder how the bubbly happy college life sounds where fun goes to die.