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 - Strings Sextets Opp. 18 & 36
Classical - Released by Ermitage Records on Jun 12, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grand Piano Masters - Brahms: Eight Pieces for Piano Opus 76 / Acht Klavierstücke Op.76
Classical - Released by K&K Verlagsanstalt on Oct 31, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Schoenberg
Chamber Music - Released by Onyx Classics on Oct 14, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms, Rózsa Clarinet Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by AVIE Records on Jun 23, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 & No. 1 (Original Versions for Piano Four Hands)
Classical - Released by Claves Records on May 2, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms Songs
Classical - Released by Arabesque Recordings on Oct 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Concert of Pianists Vol, II: Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn etc.
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Dec 16, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Focus with Brahms & Liszt
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Sep 8, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Infinite Brahms
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jul 4, 2020
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A Legendary Collaboration-Mindru Katz & Henryk Szeryng Play Sonatas by Brahms and Franck
Classical - Released by Cembal d'amour CD 105 on Jan 1, 1998
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Brahms: String Quartets Op. 51, Nos. 1 & 2
Johannes Brahms, Carmina Quartet
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2010
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Brahms: Symphony No. 1 - Tchaikovsky: String Serenade
Classical - Released by Urania on Jan 1, 2001
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Brahms, Prévost, Messiaen, Martinu, Fauré: Cello & Piano – Feld & Dvořák: Cello & Orchestra
Guy Fallot, Emanuelle Lamasse, Monique Fallot
Chamber Music - Released by VDE-GALLO on Aug 10, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on Sep 23, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Night of Classical Piano
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Dec 29, 2023
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Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, Nicholas Milton
Symphonic Music - Released by Prospero Classical on Apr 1, 2022
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Brahms: Variations and Fugue for Piano in B Major, Op. 24 - Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118
Classical - Released by RHI on Dec 2, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto - Schumann: Fantasy for Violin
Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, David Oïstrakh, Igor Oïstrakh
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on Nov 7, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms - The Violin Sonatas
Classical - Released by Essay Recordings on Mar 1, 2005
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Brahms: Klavierstücke, Op. 76, Op. 118 & Op. 119
Classical - Released by PHAEDRA on Aug 19, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Balladen Op. 10, Intermezzi Op. 117 - Klavierstücke Op. 118
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo