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Read on for our guide to the life and works of Johanne Brahms. One of the greatest Romantic composers, Brahms was a master in many forms including the piano concerto, symphony, solo piano, voice, and many different chamber music<\/a><\/strong> configurations. <\/p> Johannes Brahms<\/strong><\/a> (1833-1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor who was active during the Romantic<\/strong><\/a> period. Brahms composed a wide variety of music across a range of musical forms: he wrote piano and violin concertos<\/strong><\/a> and symphonies, works for solo piano, choral pieces and works for just about every chamber music combination imaginable. <\/p> Brahms was also a very talented pianist, and gave the first performances of many of his own works. He also collaborated with many leading musicians. Most famously, Brahms had close links to the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim, for whom he wrote his Violin Concerto. <\/p> Brahms was born in Hamburg on 7 May 1833, into a Lutheran family. He had an older sister Elisabeth (Elise), born in 1831, and a younger brother Fritz Friedrich (Fritz), born in 1835.<\/p> Brahms grew up in Hamburg but later lived in D\u00fcsseldorf and, in the final few decades of his life, Vienna. He also travelled widely around Austria and Germany, giving recitals and occasionally conducting.<\/p> Brahms is undoubtedly one of the most revered composers in the whole of classical music history. He is sometimes named, alongside Bach<\/strong><\/a> and Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>, as one of the ‘Three Bs’ of classical music. <\/p> Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, violin, voice, and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with leading performers of his time, including Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends).<\/p> Brahms can be seen as both a traditionalist and an innovator. On the one hand, his music definitely adheres to the basic structures and techniques of the Classical tradition: sonata form, for example, is much in evidence. <\/p> On the other hand, the intensity of expression of his works aligns him more closely with the Romantic movement.<\/p> Some of Brahms’ contemporaries found his music to be a little dry and academic, but a range of musical successors from Arnold Schoenberg to Edward Elgar all praised Brahms’ music with its intricate construction and finely judged emotional and dramatic effects.<\/p> Brahms and Tchaikovsky<\/strong><\/a>, although born on the same day seven years apart, famously weren’t big fans of each other’s music.<\/p> ‘Brahms, as a musical personality, is simply antipathetic to me\u2014I can\u2019t stand him,’ Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter. ‘No matter how much he tries, I always remain cold and hostile.’<\/p> That said, Brahms managed to set himself against a fair few other composers. He also strongly disagreed with Franz Liszt<\/strong><\/a>, in a dispute that become known as the War of the Romantics<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>Who was Brahms?<\/h2>
Where was Brahms born?<\/h2>
Where did Brahms live?<\/h3>
Is Brahms a great composer?<\/h2>
What was Brahms’ musical style?<\/h2>
Were Brahms and Tchaikovsky friends?<\/h3>