Johannes Brahms
Born 7 May 1833, Hamburg.

Died 3 April 1897, Vienna.

Although he was born several years after Beethoven's death, Brahms is in some respects the most obvious successor to Beethoven. Certainly his contemporaries believed as much, and Schumann said so in print. This had a certain adverse psychological effect on Brahms, such that his artistic maturity comes rather late (in his 40s). His style is partly conservative, favoring the traditional genres--symphonies, concertos, variations--and what he perceived as sonata form; decidedly Romantic in its breadth and flexibility; and at times quite progressive, notably in his variation procedures, where he radically transforms his material as he goes. Allusions to music of the past masters are abundant: to Beethoven and the Schumanns, Bach, Handel, and (in his German Requiem) the German Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz.

Brahms used his abilities as pianist to rise from relatively modest circumstances. He toured with the great violin virtuoso Joachim, then became a pupil of Schumann and an intimate member of the household. After Schumann's death he and Clara Schumann reluctantly parted to go their separate ways, Brahms to Vienna. There he composed assiduously, concertized as pianist and chorusmaster, and assembled an important library of music manuscripts and editions.

Works

Symphonies (4)
No. 1, c, op. 68 (1876)
No. 2, D, op. 73 (1877)
No. 3, F, op. 90 (1883)
No. 4, e, op. 98 (1885)

Concertos
Piano Conc. No. 1, d, op. 15 (1861)
Piano Conc. No. 2, B-flat, op. 83 (1881)
Violin Conc., D, op. 77 (1878)
Double Conc., a, op. 102 (1887)

Overtures
Academic Festival Ov., op. 80 (1880)
Tragic Ov., op. 81 (1886)
    Variations on a Theme of Haydn, op. 56a (1873)
excerpt: Theme: Chorale St. Antoni (Andante)
excerpt: I. Poco piu animato
excerpt: II. Piu vivace
excerpt: III. Con moto
excerpt: Finale: Andante

Chorus and Orchestra
German Requiem, op. 45 (1868)
Alto Rhapsody, op. 53 (1869)

Piano
Ballades, Rhapsodies, Waltzes, Hungarian Dances, etc.

Chamber music
Horn Trio
Clarinet Quintet
Quartets, Quintets, etc.