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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Brahms: Lieder
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 Jan 1998
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Brahms - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 10 Oct 2020
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Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 In C-Minor, Op. 68
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Brahms, William Steinburg
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 1 May 2020
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Johannes Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op.102 - Antonín Dvořák: Piano Trio in F Minor, Op. 65
Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, Leonard Pennario
Chamber Music - Released by RHI on 10 Sep 2015
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Brahms: Cello Sonata No 2 In F Major, Op. 99 - Prokofiev: Sonata For Cello And Piano In C Major, Op. 119
Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter
Chamber Music - Released by RHI on 26 May 2015
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Peaceful Classical
Johannes Brahms, Georg Friedrich Händel, Claude Debussy
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 11 Mar 2024
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Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78
Classical - Released by Pipeline Music on 8 Jun 2006
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Johannes Brahms: Complete Music for Two Pianos
Leonora Armellini, Mattia Ometto, Johannes Brahms
Chamber Music - Released by Da Vinci Classics on 19 Oct 2018
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Mischief with Mozart - Humorous take-offs of well-known classical themes
Buenos Aires Classical Ensemble
Concertos - Released by Stradivari Classics on 23 May 2012
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Russian Piano School: Heinrich Neuhaus, Vol. 3
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 22 Jul 1996
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The Three Violin Sonatas
Patrice Fontanarosa, Emile Naoumoff
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on 1 Feb 2009
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Brahms: Classical Moments
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 29 Oct 2022
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Brahms: Waltz No. 15 in A-Flat Major, Op. 39 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 7 May 2012
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La musique classique dans la pub
Classical - Released by Music Ware on 8 Jul 2016
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Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Sonia Marinova, Jivko Trenchev
Classical - Released by Int - Bertus on 30 Sep 2016
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Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108 - Bartók: Violin Rhapsody No. 1, Sz. 86 - Hindemith: Violin Sonata, Op. 31, No. 1
Daniel Spiegelberg, Andrée Stakian
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 25 May 1982
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Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major - Ravel: Piano Trio in A Minor
Chamber Music - Released by MSR Classics on 25 Apr 2021
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Brahms: The Complete Piano Trios
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 Jan 2001
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Johannes Brahms: Die Cellosonaten
Classical - Released by Ton 4 Records on 21 Dec 2007
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Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26 / Robert Schumann: Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17
Chamber Music - Released by RHI on 1 Apr 2016
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Masters - Brahms
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 27 Jun 2020
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