Johannes Brahms

In the early autumn of 1853, Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) must have felt like a character from penny fiction, coming as he did from a petty bourgeois Hamburg family in humble circumstances. A few months before, he had embarked on his first concert tour as the accompanist of a well-known violinist. During this tour, Brahms had met many distinguished musicians including the Hungarian violinist and composer Joseph Joachim, who was to become a lifelong friend. The young Brahms now found himself in the home of Robert Schumann in Düsseldorf, at the table of probably the most eminent composer in Germany, who was deeply impressed by his compositions and his piano playing. On 28 October 1853, Schumann published an article that proved to be almost prophetic, in which he emphatically celebrated Brahms as the outstanding musical personality of the future. As a result, Brahms quickly found publishers who were interested in his works. When he returned to Hamburg in December, the first compositions were already in print.

Despite his brilliant introduction to the musical audience, the high expectations also caused Brahms an undeniable feeling of anxiety. He lapsed into a creative crisis, from which he only escaped after completing his Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor op. 15, which had its premiere in 1860. Although this work was not an initial success, it gave Brahms new confidence in his own creative potential. He continued to compose steadily, and deliberately explored new genres ranging from chamber music to songs and large-scale vocal works. At first, Brahms earned his living mainly as a pianist and conductor, which included conducting a women’s choir in Hamburg. However, the earnings from his compositions increased rapidly and ultimately reached enormous sums. Brahms moved to Vienna in the early 1860s and generally avoided permanent employment, in order to devote himself completely to his creative work. In the winter season he gave concerts, and retreated to the countryside to compose in the summer.

Unlike Liszt and Wagner, for example, whose intention was to break new ground in composition, Brahms’ principal aim was that his compositions should enrich existing forms and genres and keep these alive. He was an extremely self-critical artist. We know from his correspondence, for example, that his first string quartet was preceded by some twenty attempts over the course of many years, all of which he had deemed unsatisfactory and destroyed.

Brahms’ approach to the symphony – regarded in the 19th century as the ultimate in instrumental music – was particularly long and arduous. Only after the successful personal affirmation of his artistic capability in the “Haydn Variations” op. 56 composed in 1873, did he manage to complete his Symphony No. 1 in C minor op.68, which he had been working on since 1862. The significance of this work was generally recognised from the moment of the first performance. From then on, Brahms turned his attention consistently and systematically to large orchestral works. He composed three further symphonies and three instrumental concertos, all of which were infused with great symphonic energy. Brahms died in Vienna on 3 April 1897.