Search Results - Brahms, Johannes1833-1897

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. His music is rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of his Classical (and earlier) forebears, including Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach. His compositions include four symphonies, four concertos, a Requiem, and many songs, among other music for symphony orchestra, piano, organ, voices, and chamber ensembles.

Born to a musical family in Hamburg, he began composing and concertizing locally in his youth. He toured Central Europe as a pianist in his adulthood, working with Ede Reményi and Joseph Joachim. He premiered many of his own works and met Franz Liszt in Weimar. With Joachim's assistance, Brahms sought Robert Schumann's approval, receiving both his and Clara Schumann's vigorous support and guidance. Amid Robert's insanity and institutionalization, Brahms stayed with and became devoted to Clara in Düsseldorf, whom he idealized. But he felt he needed to choose between music and a married life. So after Robert's death, Brahms and Clara remained only close friends.

Though self-conscious and sometimes severely self-critical as a composer, Brahms's music was largely successful and gradually formed the basis for a growing circle of supporters, friends, and musicians. Eduard Hanslick celebrated it polemically as absolute music, and Hans von Bülow even cast Brahms as Beethoven's musical heir. After the War of the Romantics, which Brahms regretted, Richard Wagner mocked this latter idea; and in this context, Brahms was often understood as conservative despite his innovative music. Settling in Vienna, he conducted the Singakademie and Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, where he emphasized the early and often "serious" music of his personal studies. He considered retiring from composition late in life but continued to write chamber music, especially for Richard Mühlfeld.

His contributions and craftsmanship were admired by his contemporaries like Antonín Dvořák, whose music he enthusiastically supported, and a variety of later composers. Max Reger and Alexander Zemlinsky reconciled Brahms's and Wagner's often contrasted styles. So did Arnold Schoenberg, who emphasized Brahms's "progressive" side. He and Anton Webern were inspired by the intricate structural coherence of Brahms's music, including what Schoenberg termed its developing variation. Brahms's influence has extended internationally and into the 21st century. His music remains a staple of the concert repertoire. Provided by Wikipedia