Johannes Brahms

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Brahms geburtshaus in Hamburg

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E Remenyi and J Brahms

Johannes Brahms 1853

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Franz Hanfstaengl - Clara Schumann (1857)

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Brahms c. 1872

Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.

Biography

Early Life

Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, the son of Johann Jakob Brahms and Christiane Nissen. His father was a musician who played several instruments, though his main focus was on the horn and double bass. Brahms showed early promise as a musician, and his parents provided him with a solid education in music. By the age of seven, he was proficient at the piano, and he began composing shortly thereafter, though he would later destroy most of his early works.

Career

Brahms's career began in earnest in the 1850s. After a brief period in which he toured as a concert pianist, he settled in Vienna in 1863. There, he became closely associated with the Schumanns; Robert Schumann was an early advocate of Brahms's music. Brahms's compositions from this period include chamber works, piano pieces, and German folk music settings. His major breakthrough came with the premiere of his German Requiem, which was well-received and established him as a major figure in the world of classical music.

Throughout his life, Brahms maintained a rigorous schedule of composing, conducting, and performing. Despite his success, he was known to be a perfectionist and often critical of his own work. Brahms's music is characterized by the use of traditional structures and forms, a deep understanding of counterpoint and harmony, and a blending of the classical and romantic traditions.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Brahms's output slowed but did not diminish in quality. His later works include the Clarinet Quintet in B minor, and the Four Serious Songs. Brahms remained in Vienna until his death in 1897 from liver cancer. He never married and was known to be a private individual, though he maintained a wide circle of friends and correspondents.

Music

Brahms's music is deeply rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical period, but also incorporates the emotional intensity and expressiveness of the Romantic period. His work spans a wide range of genres, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano music, and choral music. Some of his most famous works include the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, the Symphony No. 4 in E minor, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, and the Hungarian Dances.

Legacy

Johannes Brahms is regarded as one of the greatest composers in Western music history. His works have remained staples of the concert repertoire, and his influence can be seen in the works of subsequent generations of composers. Brahms was also an important figure in the revival of interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven during the late 19th century. His meticulous approach to composition and his blending of classical and romantic elements have earned him a lasting place in the canon of classical music.