Tom Allen, storytelling and trombone
Carson Becke, piano
Lori Gemmell, harp
Julia MacLaine, cello
Patricia O’Callaghan, voice
In 1842, the Brahms family very nearly moved to the USA so that 9 year-old Johannes could become a child virtuoso. Forced to face the harsh realities of minstrel shows, civil war and the constant need for capital, who would this other Brahms have been? He would have escaped the trauma of harbour brothels, and wouldn’t be burdened by seeing himself as the successor to Beethoven, but what would he have accomplished, and what would the two have said to each other?