Johannes Brahms: life, works, and musical contributions

Johannes Brahms

Brahms - Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was one of the leading symphonic composers of the European Romantic movement. He was also a pianist whose works have become staples of the symphonic and concerti repertoire, although he also composed chamber and vocal works. Unfortunately, many of his works were self-destroyed, Brahms being extremely self-critical and almost manically perfectionistic in his later years (Frisch and Karnes). It is interesting that compositionally Brahms was both an innovative member of the new "German Romantic" movement and a staunch adherent to the more formal traditions of Bach and Beethoven. Structurally, his works use the compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical eras -- he was a master at counterpoint in the tradition of Bach, of symphonic development in the Haydn tradition, and innovative similar to Mozart and Beethoven. Really, Brahms wanted to take the best of the German compositional technique, create new and innovative approaches to harmony and melody, and help the German structure evolve (Geringer into).

Brahms began composing early in his life, but it was not until 1853 that the public paid much attention to him as a composer. During this timeframe Brahms also met Liszt and the Schuman's (Robert and Clara) with whom he would develop a deep and lifelong friendship and, in fact, when Robert Schuman was confined to an asylum in 1854 he was virtually head of the Schumann household. After Schumann's death in 1856, Brahms divided his time between solo piano and composition. However, Brahms was considered old fashioned as a composer, even though he was a young man, and the so called "War of the Romantics" ensued -- Brahms and Clara Schumann on one side, Liszt and Richard Wagner on the other. The "war" concluded in 1860 with a failed public polemic -- a "manifesto on German romanticism" -- and Brahms never again engaged in public philosophical debate (Swafford).

By 1868, though, with the premier of A German Requiem, that Brahms began to receive the compositional accolades he deserved. This apparently gave him the confidence to complete a number of works that had been "on hold," among which his First Symphony is most notable and had been on the drawing board for almost 16 years. This period followed with a number of critical successes. Brahms continued composing until his death in April, 1897 (Frisch and Karnes).

Musical Style -- As noted, Brahms attempted to continue the Classical tradition of Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart in his works. This was contrasted by the rather opulent orchestrations and experiments in tonality from many of his contemporaries. Beethoven, for instance, was one of Brahms' personal heroes, and his Symphony #1 has much in common with the Beethoven #5. In fact, the finale of the #1 is very close to the finale of Beethoven's #9 causing the press in Vienna to call it, "Beethoven's 10th" (Brodbeck 113-24).

In fact, Brahms was so grounded in tonality that he considered giving up composition when he believed the European tradition had turned innovations into more cacophony than harmony. While he admired some of Wagner's music, for instance, he had clear problems with some of the "history" and diatribe that went along with the music, believing that as musicians the job was to connect emotionally with the audience. This is not to say that Brahms was against innovation or experimentation with tonality -- musch of his music explores more hidden depths but without a great deal of the chromaticism of Mahler, Strauss, or some of the later Europeans. Still, scholars agree that:

Brahms's expansion of variation and use of counterpoint, irregular rhythms, lush scoring for the orchestra that pushed traditional form to new levels, and incorporation of dance motives, are among the factors that set his symphonic music apart. All the authors agree, though, that while the composer was forging ahead into new "progressive" ground, he still had a reverence for composers of the past. If Becker is to be trusted, than some of those musical forms used by Brahms can be traced to the composer's interest in Hungarian gypsy music. Certainly in a reading of the First Symphony the difficult and irregular rhythms might be attributed to this interest. The triplet meter that appears all over the work has been attributed by some authors as further evidence of this gypsy influence. Part of the overall notion of Brahms separating himself from Classical composers, is the composer's use of non-tonic-dominant melodies; this was accomplished through modifying phrases with diminished sevenths… or by resolving with a minor second (See: Term).