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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Great Musicians, Great Music: Heiftz and Koussevitzky Play Brahms
Jascha Heiftz, Serge Koussevitzky, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by YOYO USA Digital on 12 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kristina Svanberg Plays Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - Nilento on 15 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bäverstam/Finehouse Duo perform Brahms and Schemmer
Sebastian Bäverstam, Constantine Finehouse
Classical - Released by SPiceRack Records on 1 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ungarischer Tanz Nr. 6
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 21 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies No. 1 to 4
USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov
Symphonic Music - Released by OMP Classics on 30 Jun 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms - Syphony Nº 3
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Josef Podhoransky, Marian Lapsansky
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 15 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms Classical Music
Classical - Released by Armasi on 26 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms - Beautiful Piano Pieces
Classical - Released by Fine Line Records on 16 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on 5 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ungarischer Tanz Nr. 4
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 15 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Composers Playing their own works at The Piano
Isaac Albéniz, Béla Bartók, Leonard Bernstein, Johannes Brahms, Ferruccio Busoni
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 31 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Meeting Brahms
Caio Pagano, Emmanuele Baldini
Chamber Music - Released by Soundset on 1 Feb 2012
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Mien Rügen (Ein literarisch-musikalischer Streifzug über die zauberhafte Insel)
Theodor Fontane, Johannes Brahms, Ernst Moritz Arndt, Frank Fröhlich
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by GOLDMUND-Hörbücher on 19 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elisabeth Hanke - 69-74
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on 14 Jul 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: 2. Klavierkonzert in B-Dur, Op. 83 (Auszug)
Classical - Released by Seyffert Music on 26 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ballade op. 10 Nr. 1
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 11 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Compositions for Clarinet (Classical Music Masters)
Classical - Released by Il Loggione Records on 23 Feb 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms 4
Classical - Released by Classical Expressions on 26 May 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic Dreams: Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on 4 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms
Berliner Philharmoniker, Michel Schwalbé
Classical - Released by Piros - Artyvoz on 29 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Deux!
Paul Rivinius, Benjamin Rivinius
Chamber Music - Released by perc.pro on 24 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo