Johannes Brahms
The stature of Johannes Brahms among classical composers is best illustrated by his inclusion among the "Three Bs" triumvirate of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Of all the major composers of the late Romantic era, Brahms was the one most attached to the Classical ideal as manifested in the music of Haydn, Mozart, and especially Beethoven; indeed, Hans von Bülow once characterized Brahms' Symphony No. 1 (1855-1876) as "Beethoven's Tenth." As a youth, Brahms was championed by Robert Schumann as music's greatest hope for the future; as a mature composer, Brahms became the most potent symbol of musical tradition for conservative musical journalists, a stalwart against the "degeneration" represented by the music of Wagner and his school. Brahms' symphonies, choral and vocal works, chamber music, and piano pieces are imbued with strong emotional feeling, yet take shape according to a thoroughly considered structural plan.
The son of a double bassist in the Hamburg Philharmonic Society, Brahms demonstrated great promise at a young age. He began his musical career as a pianist, contributing to the family coffers as a teenager by playing in restaurants, taverns, and even brothels. By his early twenties he enjoyed associations with luminaries like violinists Eduard Reményi and Joseph Joachim, but the friend and mentor who was most instrumental in advancing his career was Schumann, who all but adopted him and became his most ardent admirer -- their esteem was mutual. Following Schumann's death in 1856, Brahms became the closest confidant and lifelong friend of the composer's widow, pianist and composer Clara Wieck Schumann. After a lifetime of spectacular musical triumphs and failed loves (the composer was involved in several romantic entanglements but never wed), Brahms died of liver cancer on April 3, 1897.
In every genre in which he composed, Brahms produced works that have become staples of the repertory. His most ambitious work, the German Requiem (1863-1867), is the composer's singular reinterpretation of an age-old form. The four symphonies -- lushly scored, grand in scope, and deeply expressive -- are cornerstones of the symphonic literature. Brahms' concertos are in a similarly monumental, quasi-symphonic vein: the two piano concertos (1856-1859 and 1881), and the Violin Concerto (1878) call for soloists with both considerable technical skill and stamina. His chamber music is among the most sophisticated and exquisitely crafted of the Romantic era; his works that incorporate clarinet (e.g., the Trio in A minor, Op. 114 and the two Sonatas, Op. 120), the latter an instrument largely overlooked by his contemporaries -- remain unsurpassed. Though the piano sonata never held the same appeal for Brahms as it did for Beethoven (Brahms wrote three to Beethoven's 32), he produced a voluminous body of music for the piano. He showed a particular affinity for variations -- notably, on themes of Schumann (1854), Handel (1861), and Paganini (1862-1863) -- and likewise produced a passel of national dances and character pieces such as ballades, intermezzi, and rhapsodies. Collectively, these constitute one of the essential bodies of work in the realm of 19th century keyboard music.
© Rovi Staff /TiVo
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Johannes Brahms: Trio & Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by Gega New on 29 Mar 2013
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Brahms Essential
Radio-Symphonieorchester Ljubljana
Classical - Released by AV360 Music on 18 Oct 2012
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Brahms: Symphony No. 1 and No. 2
Italian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sergiù Celibidache
Symphonic Music - Released by Past Classics on 8 Jun 2012
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Golden Classics. Brahms: Gold Album
Classical - Released by RCD music on 8 Apr 2003
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Clásica-Brahms-Conciertos
Classical - Released by Digital Natives on 1 Jul 2011
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Russian Violin School: Marina Yashvili
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 12 Mar 1996
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Russian Violin School: Eduard Grach, Vol. 1
Concertos - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 16 Apr 1995
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Wilhelm Furtwangler Conducts. Johannes Brahms, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Eugen d'Albert
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 15 Jan 1995
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Wilhelm Furtwangler Conducts. Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 13 Jan 1995
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Op 77, Op 39 & Op 90
Classical - Released by Music Hit Factory on 1 Dec 2008
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Danzas Hungaras
Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Hamburgo
Classical - Released by Music Hit Factory on 1 Dec 2008
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Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98
Classical - Released by Classical.com Music on 16 Feb 2009
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Brahms: Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90; Serenade No. 2 In A Major, Op. 16
Classical - Released by Reader's Digest on 1 Aug 2008
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Johannes Brahms: Serenade And Haydn Variations
Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana
Classical - Released by Classic art on 20 Dec 2001
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Great Composers Collection: Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Classic Fox Records on 1 Jan 2003
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Chill To The Music Of Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Only Between Us Records on 9 Jun 2017
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Relax To The Music Of Johannes Brahms
Pop - Released by Only Between Us Records on 21 Apr 2017
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Only The Best From Johannes Brahms
Pop - Released by Only Between Us Records on 31 Mar 2017
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Absolutely Magnificent Johannes Brahms
Pop - Released by Only Between Us Records on 17 Mar 2017
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Gabriela Demeterová - Haydn Variations, Violin Concerto, 3 Hungarian Danses
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on 12 Mar 2013
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Brahms: Academic Festival Overture - Symphony No. 1
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Emil Tabakov
Classical - Released by Int - Bertus on 3 Oct 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo