Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3,
1897)
was a Germany|German composer of Romantic music,
who predominantly lived in Vienna, Austria. Brahms
was considered by many to be the "successor" to
Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven, and his first
symphony was described by Hans von Bülow as
Beethoven's tenth symphony (the nickname is still
used).

Image:brahms5.jpg|right|thumb|Johannes Brahms

==Life==
Brahms was born in Hamburg. His father, who gave
him his first music lessons, was a double bassist.
Brahms showed early promise on the piano and
helped to supplement the rather meager family
income by playing the piano in restaurants and
theaters, as well as by teaching.  Although it is
a widely-told tale that Brahms had to play the
piano in bars and brothels, recent research, for
example that by Kurt Hoffman1, suggests
that this is probably false. For a time, he also
learned the cello, although his progress was cut
short when his teacher absconded with Brahms's
instrument.

The young Brahms gave a few public concerts, but
did not become well known as a pianist (although
in later life he gave the premieres of both his
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)|Piano Concerto No. 1
in 1859 and his Piano Concerto No. 2
(Brahms)|Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1881). 

He also began to compose, but his efforts did not
receive much attention until he went on a concert
tour with Eduard Reményi in 1853. On this tour he
met Joseph Joachim, Franz Liszt, and later was
introduced to the great German composer Robert
Schumann. Reményi was, however, offended by
Brahms' failure to praise Liszt's Piano Sonata
(Liszt)|Sonata in B minor wholeheartedly on a
visit to the Court of Weimar where Liszt was the
court musician where Brahms, instead, fell asleep
during a performance of the recently-composed
work. Many of Brahms' friends cited that Reményi,
being the polished courtier, had expected the
younger Brahms to conform to common practice of
politely applauding a celebrity's piece which
Brahms either failed to do or appeared to do with
condescending compliment. He told Brahms that
their friendship must end although it was not
clear as to whether Liszt felt offended or
otherwise. Joachim, however was to become one of
his closest friends, and Schumann, through
articles championing the young Brahms, played an
important role in alerting the public to the young
man's compositions. Brahms also became acquainted
with Schumann's wife, the composer and pianist
Clara Schumann|Clara, 14 years his senior, with
whom he carried on a lifelong, emotionally
passionate, but always platonic relationship. 
Brahms never married.

Image:Zentralfriedhof Vienna -
Brahms.JPG|thumb|250px|Brahms' grave in the
Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery), Vienna.
In 1862 he settled permanently in Vienna and began
to concentrate fully on composing.  With work such
as the Ein deutsches Requiem|German Requiem,
Brahms eventually established a strong reputation
and came to be regarded in his own lifetime as one
of the great composers.  This may have given him
the confidence finally to complete his first
symphony; this appeared in 1876, after about ten
years of work.  The other three symphonies then
followed in fairly rapid succession (1877, 1883,
1885).

Brahms frequently traveled, both for business
(concert tours) and pleasure.  He often visited
Italy in the springtime, and usually sought out a
pleasant rural location in which to compose during
the summer.  He especially enjoyed spending time
outside, where he felt that he could think more
clearly.

In 1890, the 57-year-old Brahms resolved to give
up composing. However, as it turned out, he was
unable to abide by his decision, and in the years
before his death he produced a number of
acknowledged masterpieces, including the two
clarinet sonatas (Brahms)|clarinet sonatas Op. 120
(1894) and the Four Serious Songs (Vier ernste
Gesänge) Op. 121 (1896).

While completing the Op. 121 songs Brahms fell ill
of cancer (sources differ on whether this was of
the Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver or pancreatic
cancer|pancreas).  His condition gradually
worsened and he died on April 3, 1897.  Brahms is
buried in the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna.

==Works==
Brahms wrote a number of major works for
orchestra, including four symphony|symphonies, two
piano concertos, a Violin Concerto (Brahms)|Violin
Concerto, a Double Concerto (Brahms)|Double
Concerto for violin and cello, and the large
choral work A German Requiem (Ein deutsches
Requiem). The last is notable in not being a
traditional, liturgical requiem (Missa pro
defunctis), but a setting of texts which Brahms
selected from the Luther Bible. Brahms was also a
prolific composer in the theme and variation form,
having notably composed the Variations and Fugue
on a Theme by Handel, Paganini Variations
(Brahms)|Paganini Variations, and Variations on a
Theme by Joseph Haydn, along with other lesser
known sets of variations.  

Brahms also wrote a great deal of work for small
forces. His many works of chamber music form part
of the core of this repertoire, as does his solo
piano music.  Brahms is also considered to be
among the greatest of composers of lieder, of
which he wrote about 200. 

Brahms never wrote an opera, nor did he ever write
in the characteristic 19th century form of the
tone poem.

For a list of works, see List of compositions by
Johannes Brahms.

==Influences on Brahms==
Brahms venerated Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven,
perhaps even more than the other Romantic
composers did.  In the composer's home, a marble
bust of Beethoven looked down on the spot where he
composed.  His works contain a number of apparent
imitations of Beethoven.  Thus, the beginning of
Brahms's Piano Sonata No. 1 (Brahms)|First Piano
Sonata is very close to the opening of Beethoven's
Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)|Hammerklavier
sonata; and the main theme of the finale of
Brahms's Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)|First Symphony is
reminiscent of the main theme of the finale of
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth. 
(The latter resemblance was pointed out to Brahms,
and he famously replied "Any ass can see that.")

Brahms also loved the earlier Classical composers
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart and Joseph
Haydn|Haydn.  He collected first editions and
autographs of their works, and also edited
performing editions.  

Brahms's affection for the Classical period may
also be reflected in his choice of genres:  he
favored the Classical forms of the sonata
(music)|sonata, symphony, and concerto, and
frequently composed movements in sonata form.  In
general, Brahms can be regarded as the most
Classical of all the Romantic composers. This set
him in contrast to the acolytes of the more
progressive Richard Wagner, and the divide between
the two schools was one of the most notable
features of German musical life in the late 19th
century. Nontheless, Brahms himself claimed to be
one of the very few who fully could understand
Wagner's genius, and had a lot of respect for the
older composer.

A quite different influence on Brahms was folk
music.  Brahms wrote settings for piano and voice
of 144 German folk songs, and many of his lieder
reflect folk themes or depict scenes of rural
life. His Hungarian Dances (Brahms)|Hungarian
dances were among his most profitable
compositions, and in orchestrated versions remain
well known today.

Brahms was almost certainly influenced by the
technological development of the piano, which
reached essentially its modern form during his
lifetime.  Much of Brahms's piano music and many
of his lieder make use of the deep bass notes and
the pedal to obtain a rich and powerful sound.

==Brahms's personality ==
Like Beethoven, Brahms was fond of nature and
often went walking in the woods around Vienna.  He
often brought penny candy with him to hand out to
children.  To adults Brahms was often brusque and
sarcastic, and he sometimes alienated other
people.  His pupil Gustav Jenner wrote, "Brahms
has acquired, not without reason, the reputation
for being a grump, even though few could also be
as lovable as
he.http://members.aol.com/abelard2/jenner.htm" He
also had predictable habits which were noted by
the Viennese press such as his daily visit to his
favourite 'Red Hedgehog' tavern in Vienna and the
press also particularly took into account his
style of walking with his hands firmly behind his
back complete with a caricature of him in this
pose walking alongside a red hedgehog. Those who
remained his friends were very loyal to him,
however and he reciprocated in return with equal
loyalty and generosity. He was a lifelong friend
with Johann Strauss II though they were very
different as composers. Brahms even struggled to
get to the Theater an der Wien in Vienna for
Strauss' premiere of the operetta Die Göttin der
Vernunft in 1897 before his death. Perhaps the
greatest tribute that Brahms could pay to Strauss
was his remark that he would have given anything
to have written The Blue Danube waltz. An anecdote
dating around the time Brahms became acquainted
with Strauss is that the former cheekily inscribed
the words 'alas, not by Brahms!' on the autograph
score of the famous 'Blue Danube' waltz.

Starting in the 1860's, when his works sold
widely, Brahms was financially quite successful. 
He preferred a modest life style, however, living
in a simple three-room apartment with a
housekeeper.  He gave away much of his money to
relatives, and also anonymously helped support a
number of young musicians. 

Brahms was an extreme perfectionist.  For
instance, it is thought that the symphony we know
as the First may not have been the first he
composed, since Brahms often destroyed completed
works that failed to meet his standard of quality.
 Another factor that contributed to Brahms's
perfectionism was that Robert Schumann|Schumann
had announced early on that Brahms was to become
the next great composer like Beethoven, a
prediction that Brahms was determined to live up
to.  This prediction hardly added to the
composer's self-confidence, and may also have
contributed to the delay in producing the First
Symphony. However, Clara Schumann noted before
that Brahms' First Symphony was a product that was
not reflective of Brahms' real nature as she felt
that the final exuberant movement was 'too
brilliant' as she was encouraged by the dark and
tempestuous opening movement when Brahms first
sent to her the initial draft. However, she
recanted in accepting his sunny Second Symphony
and was a lifelong supporter of that famous work
in D major, one of Brahms' rare key usage.

==Appearances in film and popular culture==
Claude Chabrol's film "Que la bête meure" (1969)
begins with the sound of Brahms's "Four Serious
Songs" (Op.121) as a car drives though the
countryside, on its way to an accident.

The Star Trek: Original Series episode "Requiem
for Methuselah" tells the story of an immortal man
named "Flint" (born in the year 3834 BCE), one of
whose nineteenth-century identities was the
historical figure Johannes Brahms. Brahms's
musical knowledge and expertise are explained as
the result of centuries of artistic study; and
during the episode Mr. Spock sits at a piano and
sight-reads a new and original waltz written by
Flint.  Spock later identifies the work as
"definitely the work of Brahms".  The character of
Flint/Brahms was played by actor James Daly.

See also the Brahms entries in List of popular
songs based on classical music.

==See also==
: