Beethoven and Brahms. Even though the latter attempted to be treated separately from the first, music history often puts the two grim German bachelors and monumentally thinking pianist-composers side by side. Their compositions will be juxtaposed also this evening. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in C minor is the harmony of opposites. The stern first and third movements are connected by the slow middle movement in E major, which is so intimate that even Romantic composers could proudly call it their own. Brahms worked on his Symphony No. 1 – the closing piece of the night – with great care for over 20 years, yet contemporary reviewers mocked it as Beethoven’s 10th symphony. Today, however, this question is often seen quite differently…