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
-
Brahms - Liszt: Piano Concertos No. 1
Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Philharmonia Slavonica, Dubravka Tomisc
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 11 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms and His Friends (Kammerchor Berlin)
Kammerchor Berlin, Stefan Rauh, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on 26 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Classical - Released by Pipeline Music on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Variations
Classical - Released by Globe on 19 Aug 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classical Age (Vol 5)
The Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Stradivari Classics on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 - Adamic Festival Overture
Suddeutsche Philharmonie Orchestra, Professor Hans Swarowski
Symphonic Music - Released by Maestro on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Century JUkebox - Brahms
Classical - Released by Century Jukebox on 22 Sep 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fly with me (Electronic Version)
Electronic - Released by Digi Records on 6 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Selección Karajan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw de Amsterdam, Sinfonia di Torino
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on 20 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms Soothing Classical Music - Dream Time for Your Baby
Chamber Music - Released by Stradivari Classics on 9 Jul 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Brahms: Ett tyskt Requiem - Till ord ur Den Heliga Skrift, Op. 45
Johannes Brahms, Stockholms Domkyrkokör, Michael Waldenby
Classical - Released by Nosag on 4 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Century Jukebox Brahms II
Classical - Released by Century Jukebox on 6 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liebeslieder Waltzes
World - Released by TP4 Music on 6 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lullabies World ( Vol. 1 )
Johannes Brahms, Children's Square
New Age - Released by BIG Music Relax on 11 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ungarischer Tanz Nr. 2 (aus der Sammlung Ungarische Tänze, Buch 1)
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 19 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horn Trio In e Flat Op
Free Jazz & Avant-Garde - Released by Flamenco Italiano on 21 Jan 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms (Red Classics)
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 23 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms - Sinfonia No. 2
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 16 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ballade op. 10 Nr. 3
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 20 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo