Johannes Brahms

Brahms redirects here. For other uses, see Brahms (dis-ambiguation).Not to be confused with Braums.Johannes Brahms (German: [johans bams]; 7

Johannes Brahms

May 1833 3 April 1897) was a German composerand pianist. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family,Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna,Austria. In his lifetime, Brahmss popularity and inu-ence were considerable. He is sometimes grouped withJohann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as oneof the "Three Bs", a comment originally made by thenineteenth-century conductor Hans von Blow.Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, sym-phony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuosopianist, he premiered many of his own works. He workedwith some of the leading performers of his time, includ-ing the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist JosephJoachim (the three were close friends). Many of hisworks have become staples of the modern concert reper-toire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, de-stroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.[1]

Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and aninnovator. His music is rmly rooted in the structures

and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classi-cal masters. He was a master of counterpoint, the com-plex and highly disciplined art for which Johann Sebas-tian Bach is famous, and of development, a compositionalethos pioneered by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang AmadeusMozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and other composers.Brahms aimed to honour the purity of these venerableGerman structures and advance them into a Romanticidiom, in the process creating bold new approaches to har-mony and melody. While many contemporaries foundhis music too academic, his contribution and craftsman-ship have been admired by subsequent gures as diverseas Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent,highly constructed nature of Brahmss works was a start-ing point and an inspiration for a generation of com-posers.

1 Life

1.1 Early yearsBrahmss father, Johann Jakob Brahms (180672), cameto Hamburg from Dithmarschen, seeking a career asa town musician. He was procient in several instru-ments, but found employment mostly playing the hornand double bass. In 1830, he married Johanna HenrikaChristiane Nissen (17891865), a seamstress never pre-viously married, who was seventeen years older than hewas. Johannes Brahms had an older sister and a youngerbrother. Initially, they lived near the city docks, in theGngeviertel quarter of Hamburg, for six months, beforemoving to a small house on the Dammtorwall, a smallstreet near the Inner Alster.Johann Jakob gave his son his rst musical training. Hestudied piano from the age of seven with Otto FriedrichWillibald Cossel. Owing to the familys poverty, theadolescent Brahms had to contribute to the familys in-come by playing the piano in dance halls. Early biog-raphers found this shocking and played down this por-tion of his life. Some modern writers have suggested thatthis early experience warped Brahmss later relations withwomen,[2] but Brahms scholars Styra Avins[3] and KurtHomann[4] have questioned the possibility. Jan Swaf-ford[5] has contributed to the discussion.For a time, Brahms also learned the cello.[6] After hisearly piano lessons with Otto Cossel, Brahms studied pi-ano with Eduard Marxsen, who had studied in Viennawith Ignaz von Seyfried (a pupil of Mozart) and Carl

1

2 1 LIFE

Photograph from 1891 of the building in Hamburg whereBrahms was born. Brahmss family occupied part of the rstoor (second oor to Americans), behind the two double win-dows on the left hand side. The building was destroyed by bomb-ing in 1943.

Maria von Bocklet (a close friend of Schubert). Theyoung Brahms gave a few public concerts in Hamburg,but did not become well known as a pianist until he madea concert tour at the age of nineteen. (In later life, he fre-quently took part in the performance of his own works,whether as soloist, accompanist, or participant in cham-ber music.) He conducted choirs from his early teens, andbecame a procient choral and orchestral conductor.

1.2 Meeting Joachim and Liszt

He began to compose quite early in life, but later de-stroyed most copies of his rst works; for instance,Louise Japha, a fellow-pupil ofMarxsen, reported a pianosonata, that Brahms had played or improvised at the ageof 11, had been destroyed. His compositions did not re-ceive public acclaim until he went on a concert tour as ac-companist to the Hungarian violinist Eduard Remnyi inApril andMay 1853. On this tour he met Joseph Joachimat Hanover, and went on to the Court of Weimar where

Brahms in 1853

he met Franz Liszt, Peter Cornelius, and Joachim Ra.According to several witnesses of Brahmss meeting withLiszt (at which Liszt performed Brahmss Scherzo, Op.4, at sight), Remnyi was oended by Brahmss failure topraise Liszts Sonata in B minor wholeheartedly (Brahmssupposedly fell asleep during a performance of the re-cently composed work), and they parted company shortlyafterwards. Brahms later excused himself, saying that hecould not help it, having been exhausted by his travels.

1.3 Brahms and the Schumanns

Joachim had given Brahms a letter of introduction toRobert Schumann, and after a walking tour in theRhineland, Brahms took the train to Dsseldorf, and waswelcomed into the Schumann family on arrival there.Schumann, amazed by the 20-year-olds talent, publishedan article entitled "Neue Bahnen" (New Paths) in the28 October 1853 issue of the journal Neue Zeitschriftfr Musik alerting the public to the young man, who,he claimed, was destined to give ideal expression tothe times.[7] This pronouncement impressed people whowere admirers of Robert or Clara Schumann; for exam-ple, in Hamburg, a music publisher and the conductor ofthe Philharmonic,[8] but it was received with some skep-ticism by others. It may have increased Brahmss self-critical need to perfect his works. He wrote to Robert,Revered Master, in November 1853, that his praiseWill arouse such extraordinary expectations by the pub-lic that I don't know how I can begin to full them ...[9]

1.3 Brahms and the Schumanns 3

While he was in Dsseldorf, Brahms participated withSchumann and Albert Dietrich in writing a sonata forJoachim; this is known as the "FAE Sonata Free butLonely" (German: Frei aber einsam). Schumanns wife,the composer and pianist Clara, wrote in her diary abouthis rst visit that Brahms

is one of those who comes as if straightfrom God. He played us sonatas, scherzosetc. of his own, all of them showing exuberantimagination, depth of feeling, and mastery ofform ... what he played to us is so masterlythat one cannot but think that the good Godsent him into the world ready-made. He has agreat future before him, for he will rst nd thetrue eld for his genius when he begins to writefor the orchestra.[10]

After Robert Schumanns attempted suicide and subse-quent connement in a mental sanatorium near Bonn inFebruary 1854, Clara was in despair, expecting theSchumanns eighth child.[11] Brahms hurried to Dssel-dorf. He and/or Joachim, Dietrich, and Julius OttoGrimm visited Clara often in March 1854, to divert hermind from Roberts tragedy by playing music for or withher.[12] Clara wrote in her diary

that good Brahms always shows himselfa most sympathetic friend. He does not saymuch, but one can see in his face how hegrieves with me for the loved one whom he sohighly reveres. Besides, he is so kind in seizingevery opportunity of cheering me by means ofanything musical. From so young a man I can-not but be doubly conscious of the sacrice, fora sacrice it undoubtedly is for anyone to bewith me now.[13]

Later, to help Clara and her many children, Brahmslodged above the Schumann apartment in a three-storyhouse, setting his musical career aside temporarily. Clarawas not allowed to visit Robert until two days before hisdeath. Brahms was able to visit him several times[14] andso could act as a go-between. The Schumanns employeda housekeeper, Bertha[15] in Dsseldorf, later Elisa-beth Werner in Berlin.[16] There was also a hired cook, inBerlin Josephine.[17] When the Schumanns oldest childand daughter, Marie, born 1841, was of age, she tookover as housekeeper and when needed, as cook.[17] Clarawas often away on concert tours, some lasting months,or sometimes in the summer for cures, and in 18541856Brahms also was away part of the time, leaving the sta tomanage the household. Clara much appreciated Brahmsssupport as a kindred musical spirit.In a concert in Leipzig in October 1854, Clara played theAndante and Scherzo from Brahmss Sonata in F minor,Op. 5, the rst time his music was played in public.[18]

Brahms and Clara had a very close and lifelong but un-usual relationship. They had great aection but also re-spect for one another. Brahms urged in 1887 that all hisand Claras letters to each other should be destroyed.[19]Actually Clara kept quite a number of letters Brahms hadsent her, and at Maries urging, refrained from destroy-ing many of the letters Brahms had returned.[19] Eventu-ally correspondence between Clara and Brahms in Ger-man was published.[20] Some of Brahmss earliest lettersto Clara show him deeply in love with her. Claras pre-served letters to Brahms, except for one, begin muchlater, in 1858. Selected letters or excerpts from them,some to or from Brahms, and diary entries of Claras havebeen translated into English. The earliest excerpted andtranslated letter from Brahms to Clara was in October1854.[21] Hans Gl cautions that the preserved correspon-dence may have passed through Claras censorship.[22]

Brahms felt a strong conict between love of Clara andrespect for her and Robert, leading him to allude at onepoint to suicidal thoughts.[23] Not long after Robert died,Brahms decided he had to break away from the Schumannhousehold. He took leave rather brusquely, leaving Clarafeeling hurt.[24] But Brahms and Clara kept up correspon-dence. Brahms joined Clara and some of her children forsome summer sojourns. In 1862, Clara bought a house inLichtental, then adjoining, since 1909 included in Baden-Baden, and lived there with her remaining family from1863 to 1873. Brahms from 1865 to 1874 spent sometime summers living in an apartment nearby in a housewhich is now a museum, the Brahmshaus (Brahmshouse).[25] Brahms appears in later years as a rather avun-cular gure in Eugenie Schumanns account.[26] Claraand Brahms took a concert tour together, in NovemberDecember 1868 in Vienna, then in early 1869 to Eng-land, then Holland; the tour ended in April 1869.[27] Af-ter Clara moved from Lichtental to Berlin in 1873, thetwo saw each other less often, as Brahms had his home inVienna since 1863.Clara was 14 years older than Brahms. In a letter to her24 May 1856, two and a half years after meeting her, andafter two years either together or corresponding, Brahmswrote that he continued to call her the German politeform Sie of you and hesitated to use the familiar formDu.[28] Clara agreed that they call one another Du,writing in her diary I could not refuse, for indeed I lovehim like a son.[29] Brahms wrote on 31 May:I wish I could write to you as tenderly as I love you, anddo as many good things for you, as you would like. Youare so innitely dear to me that I can hardly express it.I should like to call you darling and lots of other names,without ever getting enough of adoring you.[30][31]

The rest of that letter, and most later preserved letters,are aboutmusic andmusical people, updating one anotherabout their travels and experiences. Brahms much valuedClaras opinions as a composer. There was no compo-sition by Brahms that was not shown to Clara the mo-

4 1 LIFE

ment it was in shape to be communicated. She remainedhis faithfully devoted adviser.[32] In a letter to Joachimin 1859, three years after Roberts death, Brahms wroteabout Clara:I believe that I do not respect and admire her so much asI love her and am under her spell. Often I must forciblyrestrain myself from just quietly putting my arms aroundher and evenI don't know, it seems so natural that shewould not take it ill.[30][33]

Brahms never married, despite strong feelings for sev-eral women and despite entering into an engagement,soon broken o, with Agathe von Siebold in Gttingenin 1859. It seems that Brahms was rather indiscreetabout the relationship while it lasted, which troubled hisfriends.[34] After breaking o the engagement, Brahmswrote to Agathe: 'I love you! I must see you again, but Iam incapable of bearing fetters. Please write me whetherI may come again to clasp you inmy arms, to kiss you, andtell you that I love you.' But they never saw one anotheragain.[34]

1.4 Detmold and Hamburg

After Robert Schumanns death at the sanatorium in1856, Brahms divided his time between Hamburg, wherehe formed and conducted a ladies choir, and Detmoldin the Principality of Lippe, where he was court music-teacher and conductor. He was the soloist at the pre-miere of his Piano Concerto No. 1, his rst orchestralcomposition to be performed publicly, in 1859. He rstvisited Vienna in 1862, staying there over the winter,and, in 1863, was appointed conductor of the Vienna Sin-gakademie. Though he resigned the position the follow-ing year, and entertained the idea of taking up conductingposts elsewhere, he based himself increasingly in Viennaand soon made his home there. From 1872 to 1875, hewas director of the concerts of the Vienna Gesellschaftder Musikfreunde; afterwards, he accepted no formal po-sition. He declined an honorary doctorate of music fromthe University of Cambridge in 1877, but accepted onefrom the University of Breslau in 1879, and composedthe Academic Festival Overture as a gesture of apprecia-tion.He had been composing steadily throughout the 1850sand 60s, but his music had evoked divided critical re-sponses, and the rst Piano Concerto had been badlyreceived in some of its early performances. His workswere labelled old-fashioned by the 'New German School'whose principal gures included Franz Liszt, RichardWagner, and Hector Berlioz. Brahms admired some ofWagners music and admired Liszt as a great pianist, butthe conict between the two schools, known as the Warof the Romantics, soon embroiled all of musical Eu-rope. In the Brahms camp were his close friends: ClaraSchumann, Joachim, the inuential music critic EduardHanslick, and the leading Viennese surgeon Theodor Bill-

roth. In 1860, Brahms attempted to organize a publicprotest against some of the wilder excesses of theWagne-rians music. This took the form of a manifesto, writtenby Brahms and Joachim jointly. The manifesto, whichwas published prematurely with only three supporting sig-natures, was a failure, and he never engaged in publicpolemics again.[35]

1.5 Years of popularity

It was the premiere of A German Requiem, his largestchoral work, in Bremen, in 1868, that conrmedBrahmss European reputation and led many to acceptthat he had conquered Beethoven and the symphony. Thismay have given him the condence nally to complete anumber of works that he had wrestled with over manyyears, such as the cantata Rinaldo, his rst string quartet,third piano quartet, and most notably his rst symphony.This appeared in 1876, though it had been begun (and aversion of the rst movement seen by some of his friends)in the early 1860s. The other three symphonies then fol-lowed in 1877, 1883, and 1885. From 1881, he was ableto try out his new orchestral works with the MeiningenCourt Orchestra of the Duke of Meiningen, whose con-ductor was Hans von Blow. He was the soloist at thepremiere of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1881, in Pest.Brahms frequently travelled, both for business (concerttours) and pleasure. From 1878 onwards, he often vis-ited Italy in the springtime, and he usually sought out apleasant rural location in which to compose during thesummer. He was a great walker and especially enjoyedspending time in the open air, where he felt that he couldthink more clearly.In 1889, one Theo Wangemann, a representative ofAmerican inventor Thomas Edison, visited the composerin Vienna and invited him to make an experimentalrecording. Brahms played an abbreviated version of hisrst Hungarian dance on the piano. The recording waslater issued on an LP of early piano performances (com-piled by Gregor Benko). Although the spoken introduc-tion to the short piece of music is quite clear, the pianoplaying is largely inaudible due to heavy surface noise.Nevertheless, this remains the earliest recording made bya major composer. Analysts and scholars remain divided,however, as to whether the voice that introduces the pieceis that of Wangemann or of Brahms.[36] Several attemptshave been made to improve the quality of this historicrecording; a denoised version was produced at StanfordUniversity which claims to solve the mystery.[37]

In 1889, Brahms was named an honorary citizen of Ham-burg, until 1948 the only one born in Hamburg.[38]

1.8 Tributes 5

Brahmss grave in the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery), Vi-enna

1.6 Brahms and Dvok

In 1875, the composer Antonn Dvok (18411904) wasstill virtually unknown outside the Prague region. Brahmswas on the jury which awarded the Vienna State Prizefor composition to Dvok three times, rst in February1875, and later in 1876 and 1877.[39] Brahms also rec-ommended Dvok to his publisher, Simrock, who com-missioned the highly successful Slavonic Dances. Withina few years, Dvok gained world renown. In 1892 hewas appointed Director of the newly established NationalConservatory in New York.

1.7 Later years

In 1890, the 57-year-old Brahms resolved to give up com-posing. However, as it turned out, he was unable toabide by his decision, and in the years before his deathhe produced a number of acknowledged masterpieces.His admiration for Richard Mhlfeld, clarinetist with theMeiningen orchestra, moved him to compose the ClarinetTrio, Op. 114, Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 (1891), and thetwo Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120 (1894). He also wrote sev-eral cycles of piano pieces, Opp. 116119, theVier ernsteGesnge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121 (1896), and theEleven Chorale Preludes for organ, Op. 122 (1896).While completing the Op. 121 songs, Brahms devel-oped cancer (sources dier on whether this was of theliver or pancreas). His last appearance in public was on

3 March 1897, when he saw Hans Richter conduct hisSymphony No. 4. There was an ovation after each ofthe four movements. His condition gradually worsenedand he died a month later, on 3 April 1897, aged 63.Brahms is buried in the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, un-der a monument by Victor Horta and the sculptor Ilse vonTwardowski-Conrat.[40]

1.8 Tributes

Later that year, the British composer Hubert Parry, whoconsidered Brahms the greatest artist of the time, wrotean orchestral Elegy for Brahms. This was never playedin Parrys lifetime, receiving its rst performance at amemorial concert for Parry himself in 1918.From 1904 to 1914, Brahmss friend, the music criticMax Kalbeck published an eight-volume biography ofBrahms, but this has never been translated into En-glish. Between 1906 and 1922, the Deutsche Brahms-Gesellschaft (German Brahms Society) published 16numbered volumes of Brahmss correspondence, at least7 of which were edited by Kalbeck. An additional 7 vol-umes of Brahmss correspondence were published later,including two volumes with Clara Schumann, edited byMarie Schumann.[20][41]

2 Music of Brahms

2.1 Works

See also: Lists of compositions by Brahms by genre andby opus number

Brahms wrote a number of major works for orchestra, in-cluding two serenades, four symphonies, two piano con-certos (No. 1 in D minor; No. 2 in B-at major), a ViolinConcerto, a Double Concerto for violin and cello, andtwo companion orchestral overtures, the Academic Festi-val Overture and the Tragic Overture.His large choral work A German Requiem is not a settingof the liturgical Missa pro defunctis but a setting of textswhich Brahms selected from the Luther Bible. The workwas composed in three major periods of his life. An earlyversion of the second movement was rst composed in1854, not long after Robert Schumann's attempted sui-cide, and this was later used in his rst piano concerto.The majority of the Requiem was composed after hismothers death in 1865. The fth movement was addedafter the ocial premiere in 1868, and the work was pub-lished in 1869.Brahmss works in variation form include, among oth-ers, the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handeland the Paganini Variations, both for solo piano, and theVariations on a Theme by Haydn (now sometimes called

6 2 MUSIC OF BRAHMS

the Saint Anthony Variations) in versions for two pianosand for orchestra. The nal movement of the FourthSymphony, Op. 98, is formally a passacaglia.His chamber works include three string quartets, twostring quintets, two string sextets, a clarinet quintet, aclarinet trio, a horn trio, a piano quintet, three pianoquartets, and four piano trios (the fourth being pub-lished posthumously). He composed several instrumen-tal sonatas with piano, including three for violin, two forcello, and two for clarinet (which were subsequently ar-ranged for viola by the composer). His solo piano worksrange from his early piano sonatas and ballades to his latesets of character pieces. Brahms was a signicant liedercomposer, who wrote over 200 songs. His chorale pre-ludes for organ, Op. 122, which he wrote shortly beforehis death, have become an important part of the organrepertoire.Brahms was an extreme perfectionist. He destroyedmanyearly works including a Violin Sonata he had performedwith Remnyi and violinist Ferdinand David and onceclaimed to have destroyed 20 string quartets before he is-sued his ocial First in 1873. Over the course of severalyears, he changed an original project for a symphony in Dminor into his rst piano concerto. In another instance ofdevotion to detail, he laboured over the ocial First Sym-phony for almost fteen years, from about 1861 to 1876.Even after its rst few performances, Brahms destroyedthe original slow movement and substituted another be-fore the score was published. (A conjectural restora-tion of the original slow movement has been publishedby Robert Pascall.)Another factor that contributed to Brahmss perfection-ism was that Schumann had announced early on thatBrahms was to become the next great composer likeBeethoven, a prediction that Brahms was determined tolive up to. This prediction hardly added to the composersself-condence, and may have contributed to the delay inproducing the First Symphony.Brahms strongly preferred writing absolute music thatdoes not refer to an explicit scene or narrative, and henever wrote an opera or a symphonic poem.Despite his reputation as a serious composer of large,complex musical structures, some of Brahmss mostwidely known and most commercially successful com-positions during his life were small-scale works of pop-ular intent aimed at the thriving contemporary marketfor domestic music-making. During the 20th century,the inuential American critic B. H. Haggin, rejectingmore mainstream views, argued in his various guidesto recorded music that Brahms was at his best in suchworks and much less successful in larger forms. Amongthe most cherished of these lighter works by Brahms arehis sets of popular dancesthe Hungarian Dances, theWaltzes for piano duet (Op. 39), and the LiebesliederWaltzes for vocal quartet and pianoand some of hismany songs, notably the Wiegenlied (Op. 49, No. 4,

published in 1868). This last was written (to a folk text)to celebrate the birth of a son to Brahmss friend BerthaFaber and is universally known as Brahmss Lullaby.

2.2 Style and inuences

Brahms in mid-career

Brahms maintained a Classical sense of form and orderin his works in contrast to the opulence of the mu-sic of many of his contemporaries. Thus many admir-ers (though not necessarily Brahms himself) saw him asthe champion of traditional forms and pure music, asopposed to the New German embrace of programmemusic.Brahms venerated Beethoven: in the composers home, amarble bust of Beethoven looked down on the spot wherehe composed, and some passages in his works are rem-iniscent of Beethovens style. Brahmss First Symphonybears strongly the inuence of Beethovens Fifth Sym-phony, as the two works are both in C minor, and end inthe struggle towards a C major triumph. The main themeof the nale of the First Symphony is also reminiscent ofthe main theme of the nale of Beethovens Ninth, andwhen this resemblance was pointed out to Brahms, hereplied that any dunce[42] could see that. In 1876, whenthe work was premiered in Vienna, it was immediatelyhailed as Beethovens Tenth. However, the similarityof Brahmss music to that of late Beethoven had rst been

2.3 Inuence 7

noted as early as November 1853, in a letter from AlbertDietrich to Ernst Naumann.[43][44]

A German Requiem was partially inspired by his mothersdeath in 1865 (at which time he composed a funeralmarch that was to become the basis of Part Two, Dennalles Fleisch), but it also incorporates material from asymphony which he started in 1854 but abandoned fol-lowing Schumanns suicide attempt. He once wrote thatthe Requiem belonged to Schumann. The rst move-ment of this abandoned Symphony was re-worked as therst movement of the First Piano Concerto.Brahms loved the Classical composers Mozart andHaydn. He collected rst editions and autographsof their works, and edited performing editions. Hestudied the music of pre-classical composers, includ-ing Giovanni Gabrieli, Johann Adolph Hasse, HeinrichSchtz, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel,and, especially, Johann Sebastian Bach. His friendsincluded leading musicologists, and, with FriedrichChrysander, he edited an edition of the works of FranoisCouperin. Brahms also edited works by C. P. E. andW. F. Bach. He looked to older music for inspiration inthe art of counterpoint; the themes of some of his worksare modelled on Baroque sources such as Bachs The Artof Fugue in the fugal nale of Cello Sonata No. 1 orthe same composers Cantata No. 150 in the passacagliatheme of the Fourth Symphonys nale.The early Romantic composers had a major inuenceon Brahms, particularly Schumann, who encouragedBrahms as a young composer. During his stay in Vi-enna in 186263, Brahms became particularly interestedin the music of Franz Schubert.[45] The latters inuencemay be identied in works by Brahms dating from the pe-riod, such as the two piano quartets Op. 25 and Op. 26,and the Piano Quintet which alludes to Schuberts StringQuintet and Grand Duo for piano four hands.[45][46] Theinuence of Chopin and Mendelssohn on Brahms is lessobvious, although occasionally one can nd in his workswhat seems to be an allusion to one of theirs (for example,Brahmss Scherzo, Op. 4, alludes to Chopins Scherzoin B-at minor;[47] the scherzo movement in BrahmssPiano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5, alludes to the nale ofMendelssohns Piano Trio in C minor).[48]

Brahms considered giving up composition when itseemed that other composers innovations in extendedtonality would result in the rule of tonality being brokenaltogether. Although Wagner became ercely critical ofBrahms as the latter grew in stature and popularity, hewas enthusiastically receptive of the early Variations andFugue on a Theme by Handel; Brahms himself, accord-ing to many sources,[49] deeply admired Wagners music,conning his ambivalence only to the dramaturgical pre-cepts of Wagners theory.Brahms wrote settings for piano and voice of 144Germanfolk songs, and many of his lieder reect folk themes ordepict scenes of rural life. His Hungarian Dances were

among his most protable compositions.

2.3 InuenceBrahmss point of view looked both backward and for-ward; his output was often bold in its exploration ofharmony and rhythm. As a result, he was an inuenceon composers of both conservative and modernist ten-dencies. Within his lifetime, his idiom left an imprinton several composers within his personal circle, whostrongly admired his music, such as Heinrich von Her-zogenberg, Robert Fuchs, and Julius Rntgen, as well ason Gustav Jenner, who was Brahmss only formal com-position pupil. Antonn Dvok, who received substan-tial assistance from Brahms, deeply admired his musicand was inuenced by it in several works, such as theSymphony No. 7 in D minor and the F minor PianoTrio. Features of the 'Brahms style' were absorbed in amore complex synthesis with other contemporary (chieyWagnerian) trends by Hans Rott, Wilhelm Berger, MaxReger and Franz Schmidt, whereas the British composersHubert Parry and Edward Elgar and the Swede WilhelmStenhammar all testied to learning much from Brahmssexample. As Elgar said, I look at the Third Symphonyof Brahms, and I feel like a pygmy.[50]

Ferruccio Busoni's early music shows much Brahmsianinuence, and Brahms took an interest in him, thoughBusoni later tended to disparage Brahms. Towards theend of his life, Brahms oered substantial encourage-ment to Ern Dohnnyi and to Alexander von Zemlinsky.Their early chamber works (and those of Bla Bartk,who was friendly with Dohnnyi) show a thoroughgoingabsorption of the Brahmsian idiom. Zemlinsky, more-over, was in turn the teacher of Arnold Schoenberg, andBrahms was apparently impressed by two movementsof Schoenbergs early Quartet in D major which Zem-linsky showed him. In 1933, Schoenberg wrote an es-say Brahms the Progressive (re-written 1947), whichdrew attention to Brahmss fondness for motivic satura-tion and irregularities of rhythm and phrase; in his lastbook (Structural Functions of Harmony, 1948), he anal-ysed Brahmss enriched harmony and exploration ofremote tonal regions. These eorts paved the way fora re-evaluation of Brahmss reputation in the 20th cen-tury. Schoenberg went so far as to orchestrate one ofBrahmss piano quartets. Schoenbergs pupil Anton We-bern, in his 1933 lectures, posthumously published underthe title The Path to the New Music, claimed Brahms asone who had anticipated the developments of the SecondViennese School, and Weberns own Op. 1, an orchestralpassacaglia, is clearly in part a homage to, and develop-ment of, the variation techniques of the passacaglia-naleof Brahmss Fourth Symphony.Brahms was honoured by the German Hall of Fame, theWalhalla memorial. On 14 September 2000, he was in-troduced there as the 126th "rhmlich ausgezeichneterTeutscher" and 13th composer among them, with a bust

8 3 PERSONALITY

by sculptor Milan Knobloch.[51]

3 PersonalityBrahms was fond of nature and often went walking in thewoods around Vienna. He often brought penny candywith him to hand out to children. To adults, Brahmswas often brusque and sarcastic, and he often alienatedother people. His pupil Gustav Jenner wrote, Brahmshas acquired, not without reason, the reputation for be-ing a grump, even though few could also be as lovableas he.[52] He also had predictable habits, which werenoted by the Viennese press, such as his daily visit to hisfavourite Red Hedgehog tavern in Vienna, and his habitof walking with his hands rmly behind his back, whichled to a caricature of him in this pose walking alongside ared hedgehog. Those who remained his friends were veryloyal to him, however, and he reciprocated with equal loy-alty and generosity.Brahms had amassed a small fortune in the second half ofhis career, around 1860, when his works sold widely. Butdespite his wealth, he lived very simply, with a modestapartment a mess of music papers and books and asingle housekeeper who cleaned and cooked for him. Hewas often the butt of jokes for his long beard, his cheapclothes and often not wearing socks, etc. Brahms gaveaway large sums of money to friends and to aid variousmusical students, often with the term of strict secrecy.Brahms domicile was hit duringWorldWar II, destroyinghis piano and other possessions that were still kept therefor posterity by the Viennese.[2]

Brahms was a lifelong friend of Johann Strauss II, thoughthey were very dierent as composers. Brahms evenstruggled to get to the Theater an der Wien in Viennafor the premiere of Strausss operetta Die Gttin der Ver-nunft in March 1897 before his death. Perhaps the great-est tribute that Brahms paid to Strauss was his remarkthat he would have given anything to have written TheBlue Danube waltz. An old anecdote recounts that whenStrausss wife Adele asked Brahms to autograph her fan,he wrote the rst few notes of the Blue Danube waltz,and then wrote the words Unfortunately not by JohannesBrahms!" underneath.

3.1 Religious beliefs

Brahms personal views tended to be humanistic andskeptical, though one of his inuences was undoubtedlythe Bible as rendered in German by Martin Luther. HisRequiem employs biblical texts primarily to speak wordsof comfort to the bereaved, yet it also cites Hebrews 13:14(here have we no continuing city, but we seek one tocome) and 1 Corinthians 15:5152 (the trumpet shallsound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and weshall be changed). Composer Walter Niemann declared

Johann Strauss II (left) and Johannes Brahms (right) pho-tographed in Vienna

The fact that Brahms began his creative activity withthe German folk song and closed with the Bible reveals...the true religious creed of this great man of the people.Some present-day biographers and critics view Brahmssappreciation of Lutheran tradition more as cultural thanexistential.[53] When asked by conductor Karl Reinthalerto add additional sectarian text to his German Requiem,Brahms is reported to have responded, As far as the textis concerned, I confess that I would gladly omit even theword German and instead use Human; also with my bestknowledge and will I would dispense with passages likeJohn 3:16. On the other hand, I have chosen one thingor another because I am a musician, because I needed it,and because with my venerable authors I can't delete ordispute anything. But I had better stop before I say toomuch.On his religious views, Brahms has been described as anagnostic and a humanist.[54][55][56] The devout CatholicAntonn Dvok, the closest Brahms ever came to hav-ing a protg, wrote in a letter: Such a man, such ane souland he believes in nothing! He believes innothing!"[57] Yet Brahmss nal vocal and instrumentalworks, dating from 1896, are, respectively, Vier ernsteGesnge (Four Serious Songs), for voice and piano, Op.

9121, settings of biblical texts; and Eleven Chorale Pre-ludes, for organ, Op. 122, likewise based upon settingsof biblical verses found in nine Lutheran chorales.The question of Brahms and religiosity has been contro-versial and elicited accusations of fraud. One example isthe 1955 volumeTalksWith Great Composers,[58] by jour-nalist andmusic critic Arthur Abell (Berlin correspondentfor the Musical Courier from 1893 to 1918).[59] Abellsbook contains reminiscences of his conversations withBrahms, Joseph Joachim, and several other composershe knew in the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen-turies. This interview is viewed as fraudulent by Brahmsbiographer Jan Swaord.[5]

4 References[1] Alex Needham (2012), Brahms piano piece to get its pre-

miere 159 years after its creation The Guardian

[2] Richard A. Leonard, abridged from The Stream of Music;Doubleday & Co., 1943

[3] Avins, Styra (2001). The Young Brahms: BiographicalData Reexamined. 19th-Century Music 24 (3): 276289.doi:10.1525/ncm.2001.24.3.276. JSTOR 746931.

[4] Kurt Homann, Johannes Brahms und Hamburg (Rein-bek, 1986) (in German: includes detailed refutation ofthe traditional story of Brahms playing piano in brothels,using the writings of those who knew the young Brahms,as well as evidence of the Hamburgs close regulation ofthose places, preventing the employment of children)

[5] Swaord, Jan (2001). Did the Young Brahms Play Pianoin Waterfront Bars?". 19th-Century Music 24 (3): 268275. doi:10.1525/ncm.2001.24.3.268. ISSN 0148-2076.Retrieved 30 October 2007.

[6] Homann (1999) Kurt. Brahms the Hamburg musician18331863 Cambridge. Musgrave (editor) Michael TheCambridge Companion to Brahms Cambridge UniversityPress, p. 9

[7] Schumann, Robert (28 October 1853). Neue Bahnen.Neue Zeitschrift fr Musik (in German) (Leipzig: BrunoHinze) 39 (18): 185186.

[8] Avins, p. 33

[9]

10 6 FURTHER READING

[44] Albert Dietrich, J V Widman, Dora Hecht, Recollectionsof Johannes Brahms

[45] James Webster, Schuberts sonata form and Brahmssrst maturity (II)", 19th-Century Music 3(1) (1979), pp.5271.

[46] Donald Francis Tovey, Franz Schubert (1927), rpt. inEssays and Lectures on Music (London, 1949), p. 123.Cf. his similar remarks in Tonality in Schubert (1928),rpt. ibid., p. 151.

[47] Charles Rosen, Inuence: plagiarism and inspiration,19th-Century Music 4(2) (1980), pp. 87100.

[48] H. V. Spanner, What is originality?", The Musical Times93(1313) (1952), pp. 310311.

[49] Swaord (1999)

[50] MacDonald, Brahms (1990), p. 406.

[51] Johannes Brahms hlt Einzug in die Walhalla. Bay-erisches Staatsministerium fr Wissenschaft, Forschungund Kunst. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2008.

[52] 6 Nov 2008 1:30 pm by Kelly Wilson (6 November2008). Brahms as Man, Teacher, and Artist. Mem-bers.aol.com. Retrieved 12 February 2010.

[53] Beller-McKenna, Daniel. Brahms and the German Spirit.Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2004, ISBN0-674-01318-2

[54] Swaord, 2012, p. 327: He continued, in high theologi-cal mode. Brahms was not about to put up with that sortof thing. He was a humanist and an agnostic, and his re-quiem was going to express that, Reinthaler or no.

[55] Smith, Warren Allen (2000). Whos who in hell: ahandbook and international directory for humanists, free-thinkers, naturalists, rationalists, and non-theists . Barri-cade Books. p. 134. ISBN 9781569801581.

[56] Sams, Eric (2000). The Songs of Johannes Brahms. YaleUniversity Press. p. 326. ISBN 9780300079623. Butthe thought of bright nearness brings back the face-to-facemusic of 'Von Angesicht zu Angesichte', which is as closeas the agnostic Brahms ever came to a communion withdeity. As the pious aria ends, the humanist moral returns.

[57] Swaord, 1997

[58] Abell, Arthur. Talks with Great Composers. Citadel Press,1998. ISBN 978-0806515656

[59] Fran Barulich and Bob Kosovsky, archivists; New YorkPublic Library Archives for the Performing Arts at Lin-coln Center (2006). Guide to the Arthur M. AbellPapers (PDF). http://www.nypl.org. Retrieved 2 May2015.

5 Sources Avins, Styra (ed), JOHANNES BRAHMS: Life andLetters (1997), selected and annotated by StyraAvins, Transl. by Joseph Eisinger and S. Avins, Ox-ford University Press.

Gl, Hans, Johannes Brahms: His Work and Person-ality, transl. from German by Joseph Stein, Knopf,New York, 1963; published in the UK by Wieden-feld & Nicholson

Litzmann, Berthold, Clara Schumann: An ArtistsLife based on Material found in Diaries and Let-ters, translated and abridged from the fourth Ger-man edition by Grace E. Hadow. McMillan, Lon-don, and Breitkopf and Hrtel, Leipzig, 1913, vol.2; reprinted at unspecied date. (Vol. 1 coversClaras life up to 1850, before she met Brahms in1853.)

Schumann, Clara, and Brahms, Johannes, Briefe ausden Jahren [Letters from the Years] 1853-1896, twovols., Band I: 1853-1871, Band 2: 1872-1896, witha Geleitwort (Preface) byMarie Schumann. To becalled Briefe

Schumann, Eugenie, The Schumanns and JohannesBrahms: The Memoirs of Eugenie Schumann,English Edition 1927, reprinted 1991 by MusicBook Society, Lawrence, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-878156-01-2; translated by Marie Busch from theGerman original Erinnerungen von Eugenie Schu-mann, 1925. To be called Eugenie Schumann.

Swaord, Jan, 1997, 1999, 2012, Johannes Brahms:A biography, Knopf, New York (1997), Vintage(1999), ISBN 0-679-74582-3, Random House Dig-ital, 2012, ISBN 9780307809896

6 Further reading Deiters/Newmarch. (1888). Johannes Brahms: ABiographical Sketch. Fisher Unwin (reissued byCambridge University Press, 2009; ISBN 978-1-108-00479-4)

Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters, ISBN 0-19-816234-0 by Brahms himself, edited by Styra Avins,translated by Josef Eisinger (1998). A biographyby way of comprehensive footnotes to a collectionof Brahmss letters (some translated into Englishfor the rst time). Elucidates some previously con-tentious matters, such as Brahmss reasons for de-clining the Cambridge invitation.

Brahms, His Life and Work, by Karl Geiringer, pho-tographs by Irene Geiringer (1987, ISBN 0-306-80223-6). A biography and discussion of his mu-

11

sical output, supplemented by, and cross-referencedwith, the body of correspondence sent to Brahms.

Charles Rosen discusses a number of Brahmss im-itations of Beethoven in chapter 9 of his CriticalEntertainments: Music Old and New (2000; Cam-bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-17730-4).

Brahms by Malcolm MacDonald is a biographyand discussion of virtually everything Brahms com-posed, along with chapters examining his positionin Romantic music, his devotion to Early Music,and his inuence on later composers. (Dent 'MasterMusicians series, 1990; 2nd edition Oxford, 2001,ISBN 0-19-816484-X)

Late Idyll: The Second Symphony of JohannesBrahms, by Reinhold Brinkmann, translated by Pe-ter Palmer. An analysis of Symphony No. 2 andmeditation of its position in Brahmss career and inrelation to 19th century ideas of melancholy. (1995,Harvard, ISBN 0-674-51175-1)

The Music of Brahms, by Michael Musgrave. Ox-ford, 1985 ISBN 0-19-816401-7

7 External links Brahms Institut, Lbeck Academy of Music The Lied andArt Song Texts Page created andmain-tained by Emily Ezust Texts of the Lieder of Brahmswith translations in various languages.

Whats late about late Brahms?": an article in theTLS by Peter Williams, 7 November 2007

Brahms at the Piano. Information about the record-ing made by Thomas Edison in 1889 of Brahmsplaying part of his Hungarian Dance No. 1 in Gminor.

Johannes Brahms: list of works from http://www.johannesbrahms.org

Brahms material in the BBC Radio 3 archives Brahms Listening Guides. A collection in progressof detailed guides to the composers works, linked tospecic recordings but also including measure num-bers

Listings of live performances at Bachtrack List of works by Johannes Brahms with certicationrating at the Classical Music DB

Works by or about Johannes Brahms at InternetArchive

Sheet music

Complete collection of scores at the Brahms Insti-tut in Breitkopf & Hrtel or Simrock editions; workdetails

Brahms scores selection of printable works. www.kreusch-sheet-music.net Brahmss pianoworks

Free scores of Brahms Lieder and orchestral worksin GIF format from the Variations Project at IndianaUniversity. Last accessed 14 August 2008.

Free scores by Brahms at the International MusicScore Library Project

Free scores by Johannes Brahms in the Choral Pub-lic Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

Works by Johannes Brahms at Project Gutenberg Free scores Mutopia Project

Recordings

Free audio MP3 of some Brahmss works OnClassi-cal Creative Commons BY-NC-SA, 1.0 licensed

Johannes Brahms Violin Sonatas MP3 CreativeCommons Recording

Fnf Gesnge, Op. 104 (Brahms): Free MP3s (Op.42, Op. 93a, Op. 104 and Op. 52)

Kunst der Fuge: Johannes Brahms MIDI les(daily limit of 5 les)

Classic Cat Brahms mp3s Performances of works by Johannes Brahms inMIDI and MP3 formats at Logos Virtual Library

Photographs

Ilias Chrissochoidis, A Master stands: RareBrahms Photos in the Library of Congress, FontesArtis Musicae 59/1 (JanuaryMarch 2012), 3944.

12 8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses8.1 Text

Johannes Brahms Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brahms?oldid=664721276 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Mav, RobertMerkel, Amillar, Christian List, Hhanke, WilliamAvery, Camembert, Bdesham, Lir, Pit~enwiki, MartinHarper, Flamurai, Arpingstone, El-lywa, Ahoerstemeier, Snoyes, , Uri~enwiki, GCarty, Lfh, Pladask, Dysprosia, Wik, Tpbradbury, Hyacinth, Opus33, Raul654,UninvitedCompany, Robbot, NightCrawler, Pigsonthewing, Romanm, Mayooranathan, Academic Challenger, Hadal, Wikibot, JackofOz,Profoss, Quadalpha, MikeCapone, Matt Gies, Bmschmidt, Centrx, DocWatson42, Sj, KenBentubo, Lupin, Everyking, Maroux, Maartenvan Vliet, Darvas, Ravn, Matthead, Melkom, Golbez, Neilc, TheMaestro, Leonard Vertighel, Andycjp, Antandrus, Husnock, Marcus2, Her-schelkrustofsky, Jcw69, Vsb, Thorwald, D6, Mindspillage, Alexrexpvt, Discospinster, FraKctured, User2004, Xezbeth, Bender235, ESkog,Spyroninja, Mrchops10, Triona, Bookofjude, Bobo192, Ogg, Stephane.magnenat, Janna Isabot, Smalljim, Defrosted, Redlentil, Cmdrjame-son, Arcadian, Pokrajac, Juzeris, Bleh fu, WikiLeon, Eritain, Thedarkestclear, Linuxlad, Ranveig, Jumbuck, Schissel, Jorey, Arthena,Uogl, Redfarmer, SidP, Sketchee, Derekwfranklin, Grenavitar, Dirac1933, Sciurin, Kusma, Foggg, Czolgolz, Tchlouis, Adrian.benko,Stemonitis, Sterio, Angr, FeanorStar7, Bratsche, Davidkazuhiro, Duncan.france, Shinoko, Male1979, J M Rice, Miwasatoshi, Noetica,Ravpapa, Graham87, Kbdank71, Kane5187, Rjwilmsi, Zbxgscqf, Missmarple, Karlhenning, ElKevbo, Merrilee, Olessi, Yamamoto Ichiro,Leithp, FlaBot, Daderot, RobertG, Themanwithoutapast, RexNL, Gurch, Choess, Gareth EKegg, Chobot, Sharkface217, Bgwhite, Qaz234,Melodia, Ben Tibbetts, YurikBot, Anglius, Chaser, Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Wimt, Shanel, Stephen Burnett, Wiki alf,Spot87, Dforest, Astorknlam, Ianleow7, Cenedi, FourthAve, Gerhard51, Misza13, Semperf, Tony1, Epipelagic, Psy guy, Shadowblade,Tachyon01, Engineer Bob, Alan Millar, David Underdown, Wknight94, BazookaJoe, Womble, Homagetocatalonia, J. Van Meter, Nikki-maria, Alasdair, Allens, Katieh5584, Pstermeister, Jonathan.s.kt, Paul Erik, Tetratek, J Lorraine, Qero, Dwsolo, Attilios, Crystallina,Tadorne, SmackBot, YellowMonkey, Mitteldorf, KnowledgeOfSelf, Roel, Doc Strange, Gilliam, Jprg1966, Kleinzach, Tree Biting Con-spiracy, Timneu22, DHN-bot~enwiki, Ehelling, Wisden17, Dr. Dan, Springeragh, Salmar, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Ioscius, Onorem,Nixeagle, Rrburke, Addshore, Jjjsixsix, Alton.arts, Jmlk17, Krich, Savidan, THD3, Smerus, Reccmo, Kukini, Ceoil, Ohconfucius, Sashato-Bot, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Good Intentions, JzG, Rodri316, Kipala, Michael Bednarek, Merchbow, Rizzlebon, Voceditenore, Rainwar-rior, Yorkmackem, MTSbot~enwiki, Eastfrisian, Hart2520, Violncello, Dl2000, Phuzion, Hu12, Feldmahler, Kibitz, Iridescent, Gholam,R~enwiki, Eyeresist, Blehfu, Loopy1894, Ewulp, Chovain, Tawkerbot2, JForget, Markjoseph125, Ale jrb, RedRollerskate, MrRyanEin-feldt, Schweiwikist, Melicans, Moreschi, Neelix, Cydebot, Future Perfect at Sunrise, Mike Christie, Jlking3, Gogo Dodo, Karaas, Becky-dornon, Omicronpersei8, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Mojo Hand, Fluxbot, Peter Deer, Woody, James086, K. Lastochka, Zachary, CharlotteWebb,AntiVandalBot, RobotG, Chubbles, Christinedoby, Emeraldcityserendipity, Wikitoddia, Lilaznpookid, Dr. Blofeld, Atavi, Dr who1975,Mackan79, Oolon Colluphid, Modernist, Dsp13, Charles01, Boguslavmandzyuk, Itoldalthea, F64too, Rentaferret, PBasquin, Rothorpe,LittleOldMe, Magioladitis, VoABot II, Dannyc77, Dekimasu, JNW, Singularity, Pedant29, Vssun, Seba5618, MartinBot, Rayismrmusic,Draphae, Clavecin, Chrisrick, Pkatuf, Gidip, CommonsDelinker, Brilliburger, TheVOC, Tgeairn, J.delanoy, Sasajid, Pharaoh of the Wiz-ards, MistyMorn, Alegreen, Sallyrob, Dispenser, Smeira, Abhijitsathe, Lisa Rowe, Starnestommy, Maduskis, Zeisseng, Foil Fencer~enwiki,Plasticup, MYXOMOPbI4, Daniel Rollison, Robertgreer, Tbone13619, Xgretsch, STBotD, Juliowolfgang, DorganBot, TopGun, Pdcook,JavierMC, Steel1943, Idioma-bot, Brozhnik, 28bytes, Orphic, Young Kreisler, AlnoktaBOT, Nousernamesleft, Curtangel, Philip Trueman,Drunkenmonkey, TXiKiBoT, Crevox, Woodsstock, Drestros power, Seraphim, Broadbot, Eatabullet, Brahmsianrigor, Jvbishop, Mozzy45,Davidevanthomas, Michaeldsuarez, Tikuko, Tomaxer, Softlavender, Revan ltrl, Tatianamc, CenturionZ 1, Slicity7, Gus, EmxBot, Schroed-errt, Cosprings, SieBot, Tatiana24, Mcmax77, Gerakibot, Jpressler, Alex Middleton, Triwbe, Jakegrucci, Soler97, Rjecoat, Dkusic1,Keilana, Drhoehl, Yerpo, Oxymoron83, AngelOfSadness, PhilGaskill, Steven Zhang, BenoniBot~enwiki, Seedbot, Stfg, Kerrio, Denis-arona, Richard David Ramsey, Ngreen2001, Budhen, Myrvin, W.M. O'Quinlan, ClueBot, PipepBot, The Thing That Should Not Be, AllHallows Wraith, Iconoclast.horizon, Niceguyedc, Stahlbrand, Grunty Thraveswain, Excirial, Jusdafax, NuclearWarfare, Printer222, Io-hannes Animosus, Zarbi1, Tnxman307, Quelcrime, Imkat, Razorame, Grisunge, La Pianista, Rparucci, Marcuskreusch, Thingg, Aitias,Iml, Certes, Bellyfuzz, DumZiBoT, Jmanigold, Spitre, Voracious boar, Mariuscipolla, Musicaline, Avoided, Al tally, Dubeerforme, Ad-dbot, Enichi, Willking1979, DOI bot, Accipitres, SpellingBot, Alex.mccarthy, Taubblindheit, Sebastian scha., MrOllie, Lost on belmont,Morning277, Glass Sword, Debresser, Exor674, LinkFA-Bot, Tassedethe, Numbo3-bot, Erutuon, Tide rolls, MuZemike, Markvo, Legobot,Luckas-bot, Yobot, Themfromspace, Fraggle81, TaBOT-zerem, Legobot II, Amirobot, KamikazeBot, Mysloop, AnomieBOT, Democrati-cLuntz, Jim1138, Materialscientist, Citation bot, ArthurBot, Obersachsebot, Xqbot, Nasnema, Karljoos, Almabot, Aussie Ausborn, Grou-choBot, ProtectionTaggingBot, Omnipaedista, 78.26, GhalyBot, Eurystheus, Methcub, Ikan Kekek, A.amitkumar, Green Cardamom, Fres-coBot, VS6507, Willguy7, D'ohBot, Rigaudon, James470, AstaBOTh15, I dream of horses, Aidensmiths, CaritasUbi, BigDwiki, Wilber-false, Tomcat7, Gingermint, Memu, Fumitol, Jauhienij, Chavo gribower, Sentra246, DC, Gerda Arendt, TobeBot, CLC Editorial, Klingso-rOfOz, JV Smithy, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, EmausBot, Jumponmeramsballs, RA0808, 4meter4, Marrante, Tommy2010, Wikipelli, Classe-fail, Kpbalfe, Macaco386, AvicBot, JSquish, Wackywace, Lopez124, Azuris, Access Denied, H3llBot, Crochet, Frochtrup, HammerFilm-Fan, Ocean Shores, Danmuz, Palosirkka, Polisher of Cobwebs, Markjp99, Passionatecellist, Petrb, Helpsome, ClueBot NG, Gillaw, Frietjes,Braincricket, O.Koslowski, Widr, WikiPuppies, Reify-tech, Helpful Pixie Bot, Thoughtfortheday, ArtibellaNick, BG19bot, Andrew.S.Xer,Ceradon, Cadan001, OttawaAC, AdventurousSquirrel, Min.neel, Toccata quarta, Snow Blizzard, Loriendrew, Wonderman91, Maxsabres,BattyBot, Simeondahl, Divonnais, Mljohnso2, Ninmacer20, Wawawawawawawawawawwawawawwawawa, ChrisGualtieri, Librarinox,Dear W.A.Mozart, SD5bot, Ducknish, MadGuy7023, Dexbot, Cerabot~enwiki, TheIrishWarden, Lugia2453, VIAFbot, NicholasNo-tabene, Wuerzele, WikiBuilder1147, Frans Zondag, NickLaney, Manul, AtticTapestry, AltSylt, JaconaFrere, Yayyayyaymememe, Lit-tlebird890, Marlindale, Prisencolinensinainciusol, Zen Williams, Clara8633, Jpr02.28, Kramer96, , Accurateedits, KasparBotand Anonymous: 691

8.2 Images File:Brahms_-_Hungarian_Dance_No._1_(performed_by_the_composer).oga Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

commons/d/d6/Brahms_-_Hungarian_Dance_No._1_%28performed_by_the_composer%29.oga License: Public domain Contributors:Johannes Brahms plays Hungarian Dance. Original artist: Johannes Brahms

File:Brahms_-_Intermezzo,_Op._117,_No._1.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Brahms_-_Intermezzo%2C_Op._117%2C_No._1.ogg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: La Pianista

File:Brahms_-_Intermezzo,_Op._117,_No._2.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Brahms_-_Intermezzo%2C_Op._117%2C_No._2.ogg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: La Pianista

8.3 Content license 13

File:Brahms_-_Intermezzo,_Op._117,_No._3.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Brahms_-_Intermezzo%2C_Op._117%2C_No._3.ogg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: La Pianista

File:Brahms_-_Schumann-Heink_-_Wiegenlied_(Berceuse)_(1915).ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Brahms_-_Schumann-Heink_-_Wiegenlied_%28Berceuse%29_%281915%29.ogg License: Public domain Contributors: YoutubeOriginal artist: Brahms - Schumann-Heink

File:Brahms_Intermezzo_116-4.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Brahms_Intermezzo_116-4.ogg Li-cense: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: http://innig.net/music/inthehands/101 Original artist: Johannes Brahms (composer) / Paul Cantrell (pianist)

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File:CELLO_LIVE_PERFORMANCES_JOHN_MICHEL-Brahms_Cello_Sonata_in_F_Op_99_1st.ogg Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/CELLO_LIVE_PERFORMANCES_JOHN_MICHEL-Brahms_Cello_Sonata_in_F_Op_99_1st.ogg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.garageband.com/artist/cellolive Original artist: Composer:Johannes Brahms, Musician: John Michel (John Michel)

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LifeEarly yearsMeeting Joachim and LisztBrahms and the SchumannsDetmold and HamburgYears of popularityBrahms and DvokLater yearsTributes

Music of BrahmsWorksStyle and influencesInfluence

PersonalityReligious beliefs

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