Johannes Brahms: biography, interesting facts, creativity

Johannes brahms

Contemporaries of Brahms, as well as later critics, considered the composer to be both an innovator and a traditionalist. His music in its structure and compositional techniques revealed a continuity with the works of Bach and Beethoven. Although contemporaries found the works of German romance too academic, his skill and the contribution he made to the development of musical art aroused the delight of many eminent composers of subsequent generations. Carefully thought out and perfectly structured, the works of Brahms became the starting point and inspiration for a whole generation of composers. However, this truly scrupulous nature of the great composer and musician was hidden behind this external scrupulousness and uncompromisingness.

A brief biography of Johannes Brahms and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

A brief biography of Brahms

Externally, the biography of Johannes Brahms is nothing remarkable. The future genius of musical art was born on May 7, 1833 in one of the poorest quarters of Hamburg in the family of musician Johann Jacob Brahms and housekeeper Christiana Nissen.

The father of the family at one time became a professional musician in the class of string and wind instruments against the will of his parents. Perhaps it was the experience of parental misunderstanding that made him pay attention to the musical abilities of his own sons, Fritz and Johannes.

Inexpressibly rejoicing at the talent for music, which manifested itself early in his younger son, his father introduced Johannes to his friend, the pianist Otto, Friedrich Cossel, when the boy was only 7 years old. Teaching Johannes to play the piano, Kossel instilled in him a desire to learn its essence in music.

After three years of study, Johannes will play in public for the first time in his life, performing the quintet Beethoven and Mozart's Piano Concerto. Taking care of the health and talent of his pupil, Kossel opposes the tours to America offered by the boy. He presents young Johannes to the best music teacher in Hamburg, Edward Marxen. Having heard the talented play of the future composer, Marxen offered to study for free. This completely satisfied the financial interest of Johannes's parents, justified in their plight, and prompted them to abandon the idea of ​​America. New teacher Johannes studied with him in piano, paying special attention to the study of music Baha and Beethoven, and was the only one who immediately supported his inclinations toward writing.

Forced, like his father, to earn a crust of bread by playing in the evening in the smoky rooms of the port bars and taverns, Brahms worked with Edward Marxen in the daytime. Such a load on the immature body of Johannes badly affected his already weak health.

Creative dating

His manner of holding out distinguished Brahms among his peers. He was not distinguished by the liberty of behavior inherent in many creative natures; on the contrary, the young man seemed detached from everything happening around and completely absorbed in his inner contemplation. His passion for philosophy and literature made him even more alone in the circle of Hamburg acquaintances. Brahms decides to leave his native city.

In subsequent years, he met with many prominent personalities in the musical world of that time. Hungarian violinist Eduard Remeny, 22-year-old violinist and personal accompanist of the King of Hanover, Josef Joachim, Franz Liszt, and finally Robert Schumann - these people one after another appeared in the life of young Johannes in just one year, and each of them played an important role in becoming a composer.

Joachim became a close friend of Brahms to the end of his life. It was on his recommendation in 1853 that Johannes visited Düsseldorf, Schumann. Hearing the game of the latter, enthusiastic Brahms, without waiting for an invitation, performed before him several of his compositions. Johannes became a welcome guest in the house of Robert and Clara Schumann, shocked by Brahms both as a musician and as a person. Two weeks of communication with the creative couple became a turning point in the life of the young composer. Schumann did his best to support his friend, popularizing his work in the highest musical circles of that time.

A few months later, Johannes returned from Düsseldorf to Hamburg, helping his parents and expanding the circle of his acquaintances at Joachim’s house. Here he met Hans von Bülow, a famous pianist and conductor of that time. March 1, 1854, he publicly performed the essay of Brahms.

In July 1856, Schumann, who had suffered from a mental disorder for a long time, died. Experiencing the loss of a highly respected friend gave rise to a desire to speak out in the soul of Brahms: he begins work on the famous German Requiem.

There is no prophet in his own country

Brahms dreamed of getting a good place in Hamburg to live and work in his hometown, but he was not offered anything. Then, in 1862, he decided to go to Vienna, hoping with his success in the musical capital of the world to impress the Hamburg public and win favor with himself. In Vienna, he quickly received universal recognition and was very pleased with this. But he never forgot about his Hamburg dream.

Later, he realized that he was not created for a long routine work in an administrative position that distracted him from his work. Indeed, he did not stay anywhere for more than three years, whether it was the seat of the head of the Choir or the head of the Society of Music Fans.

In their declining years

In 1865, news of his mother’s death came to him in Vienna, and Brahms was very upset about the loss. As a truly creative person, he translated every emotional shock into the language of music. The death of his mother pushed him to the continuation and completion of the "German requiem", which later became a special phenomenon of the European classics. At Easter 1868, he first presented his creation in the main cathedral of Bremen, success was overwhelming.

In 1871, Brahms rented an apartment in Vienna, which became his relatively permanent residence until the end of his life. It must be admitted that, due to his increasing egocentricity over the years, Johannes Brahms had a rare talent to repel people. In the last years of his life he spoiled relations with many new acquaintances, distanced from old ones. Even a close friend, Joachim, broke off all relations with him. Brahms stood up for his wife, whom he suspected of treason, and this very offended the jealous husband.

The composer liked to spend summer in resort towns, finding there not only healing air, but also inspiration for new works. In winter, he gave concerts in Vienna as a performer or as a conductor.

In recent years, Brahms increasingly deepened in himself, became sullen and gloomy. He did not write large works now, but rather summed up his work. The last time he appeared in public was performing his fourth symphony. In the spring of 1897, Brahms died, leaving to the world the immortal scores and the Society of Music Fans. On the day of the funeral, flags on all ships in the port of Hamburg were lowered.

"... Swallowed by the pursuit of boundless fatal selfless love"

"I think only music, and if it goes on like this,
turn into a chord and disappear into heaven. "

From a letter by I. Brahms to Clara Schumann.

In the biography of Brahms there is the fact that in the summer of 1847, 14-year-old Johannes was sent to the south-east of Hamburg to improve his health. Here he teaches playing the piano to the daughter of Adolf Gizmann. It is with Lieschen to begin a series of romantic passions in the composer's life.

Clara Schumann held a special place in the life of Brahms. When he first met this amazing woman in 1853, he carried light feelings for her and deep reverence for her husband throughout his life. The diaries of the Schumann couple were full of references to Brahms.

Clara, the mother of six children, was 14 years older than Johannes, but this did not prevent him from falling in love. Johannes admired her husband Robert and adored his children, so there could be no question of a romance between them. A storm of feelings and hesitation between a passion for a married woman and respect for her husband resulted in the music of the old Scottish ballad Edward. After going through many trials, the love of Johannes and Clara remained platonic.

Before his death, Schumann suffered greatly from mental disorder. The way Brahms took care of her and paternally took care of her children in this difficult period for Klara was the highest manifestation of Love, which only a person with a noble soul is capable of. He wrote to Clara:

"I always want to tell you only about love. Every word that I write to you, and which does not speak about love, makes me repent. You taught me and continue to learn daily to admire and learn what love, affection and devotion mean. I always I want to write you as touchingly as possible about how I sincerely love you. I can only ask you to take my word for it ... "

To console Clara, in 1854 he wrote for her variations on the theme of Schumann.

The death of Robert, contrary to the expectations of others, did not lead to a new stage in the relationship of Clara and Brahms. For many years he had a correspondence with her, in every way he helped her children and grandchildren. Later, Clara’s children would call Brahms one of their number.

Johannes survived Clara by exactly one year, as if to confirm that this woman was a source of life for him. The death of his beloved shook the composer so much that he composed the Fourth Symphony, one of his most significant works.

However, being the strongest, this heart passion was not the last in the life of Brahms. Friends invited the maestro to spend the summer of 1858 in Gottingen. There he met the charming owner of the rare soprano Agatha von Sebold. Being passionately in love with this woman, Brahms gladly wrote for her. Everyone was confident of their imminent marriage, but the engagement was soon terminated. After that, he wrote to Agate: "I love you! I must see you again, but I am unable to wear chains. Please write me ... can I ... come again to embrace you in my arms, kiss and say that I love you" . They never saw each other again, and Brahms later confessed that Agatha was his “last love”.

After 6 years, in 1864 in Vienna, Brahms will teach music to Baroness Elizabeth von Stockhausen. A beautiful and gifted girl will become another composer's passion, and again this relationship will not give rise.

At the age of 50, Brahms met Hermina Spitz. She had a beautiful soprano and later became the main performer of his songs, especially the rhapsody. Inspired by the new enthusiasm, Brahms created many works, but the affair with Germina did not last long either.

Already in adulthood, Brahms admits that his heart belonged inseparably and will always belong to his only Mrs. - Music. Creativity was for him an organizing core, around which his life revolved, and everything that distracted this man from the creation of musical works had to be rejected from thoughts and hearts: whether it was a solid position or a beloved woman.

Interesting Facts

• Brahms surpassed himself in the skillful possession of counterpoint techniques. Its most complex forms became the natural means of expressing the composer's emotions.
• His first symphony became a truly epic piece. Starting to write it in 1854, he first performed the work 22 years later, all the while engaged in austere editing.
• The so-called War of the Romantics was for the most part a musical dispute between the representatives of the radical trend in music by Wagner and Liszt on the one hand, and the conservatives Brahms and Klara Schumann on the other. As a result, contemporaries perceived Brahms as hopelessly outdated, and meanwhile, it is very popular today.
• No other work of Brahms wrote for as long as the German Requiem. He also became the longest piece by the composer. For his text, Brahms himself personally selected quotes from the Lutheran Bible. It should be noted that the canonical requiem must be composed of fragments of the liturgical mass, but this is not the main feature of the textual component of the work of Brahms. None of the selected quotations contains the name of Jesus Christ, which was done deliberately: in response to objections, Brahms said that, for greater universality and inclusiveness of the text, he could even rename it “Human Requiem”.
• Most of the works of Brahms - short works of applied nature. Influential American critic B. Heggin argued that Brahms is especially good in small genres, to which he would include Hungarian dances, Waltz for piano duet and Waltzes of love for vocal quartet and piano, as well as some of his many songs, especially "Wiegenlied".
• The main theme in the finale of the First Symphony is a reminiscence of the main theme of the finale of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony. When one of the critics, noticing this, praised Brahms for his observation, he replied that every donkey could have noticed it.
• In the biography of Brahms noted that in 57 years, the composer announced the end of his creative career. However, after this, being simply unable to stop composing, he gave the world some truly incredibly beautiful works: The Clarinet Sonata, Trio and Quintet.
• In 1889, Brahms made an audio recording of one of his Hungarian dances. There is a lot of controversy over whose voice is heard on the record, but the fact that the thundering performance belongs to Brahms himself is certain.

• In 1868, Brahms wrote the well-known, based on the folk text "Lullaby" ("Wiegenlied"). He composed it specially for the birthday of his son Berta Faber, a good friend.
• Brahms was the music teacher of the famous movie composer Max Steiner in his early childhood.
• His home in the small town of Lichtental, Austria, where Brahms worked on chamber works of the middle period and many of his major works, including the German Requiem, has been preserved to this day, being a museum.

Heavy character

Johannes Brahms became famous for his gloom, disregard for all secular norms of behavior and conventions. He was quite harsh even with close friends, claiming that once, leaving a certain society, he apologized that he did not hurt everyone.

When Brahms and his friend, the violinist Remeni, with a letter of recommendation, arrived in Weimar to Ferenc Liszt, the king of the musical world of Germany, Brahms remained indifferent to Liszt and his work. The maestro was indignant.

Schumann sought to attract the attention of the musical public to Brahms. He sent the composer with a letter of recommendation to the publishers in Leipzig, where he performed two sonatas. Brahms dedicated one of them to Clara Schumann, the second to Joachim. He did not write about his patron on the title pages ... not a word.

In 1869, Brahms arrived in Vienna with the filing of the envious Wagner met a squall of newspaper criticism. It is the poor relationship with Wagner that the researchers explain the absence of operas in Brahms's legacy: he did not want to invade his colleague’s territory. According to many sources, Brahms himself deeply admired the music of Wagner, revealing an ambivalent attitude only to the Wagner theory of dramaturgical principles.

Being extremely demanding of himself and his work, Brahms destroyed many of his early works, including works composed in his time before Schumann. The zeal of the great perfectionist reached the point that after many years, in 1880, he appealed to Eliza Gizmann in a letter with a request to send manuscripts of his music to the choir so that he could burn them.

Once the composer Hermann Levy expressed the opinion that Wagner's operas were better than Gluck. Brahms lost his temper, saying that one could not even pronounce these two names together, and immediately left the meeting without even saying goodbye to the owners of the house.

Everything ever happens for the first time ...

• In 1847, Brahms was the first soloist, playing the piano "Fantasy" of Sigismund Talberg.
• His first full solo concert in 1848 consisted of the performance of Fugue Bach, as well as the work of Marxen and his contemporary, virtuoso Jacob Rosenstein. The concert did not single out a 16-year-old boy among local and foreign performers. This affirmed Johannes in the thought that the role of the performer was not his vocation, and prompted him to pursue writing musical works purposefully.
• Brahms' first work, the Sonata fis-moll (opus 2), was written in 1852.
• He first published his compositions under his own name in Leipzig in 1853.
• The similarity of the works of Brahms with the late Beethoven was noticed in 1853 by Albert Dietrich, which he mentioned in a letter to Ernst Naumann.
• The first high position in the life of Brahms: in 1857 he was invited to the Kingdom of Detmold to teach Princess Frederica to play the piano, to lead the court choir and, as a pianist, to give concerts.
• The premiere of the first concert for the piano, held in Hamburg on January 22, 1859, was received very coldly. And at the second concert, he was booed. Брамс писал Иоахиму, что его игра была блестящим и решительным… провалом.
• Осенью 1862 Брамс впервые посетил Вену, ставшую для него впоследствии второй Родиной.
• Первая симфония Брамса увидела свет в 1876, однако начал он ее писать в начале 1860-х. When this work was first presented in Vienna, he was immediately called the Beethoven Tenth Symphony.

sources of inspiration

Remeni introduced Brahms to Gypsy folk music in the style of chardash. Her motifs later formed the basis of his most popular works, including Hungarian Dances.

The work with Joachim in Gottingen, where he recorded student songs, was displayed and became the basis for his Academic Overture. In the same period, he wrote his ambitious First Sonata for piano.

When Brahms became aware of Schumann’s nervous breakdown, he hurried to Düsseldorf to support his family. At this time, he will write his early masterpieces, including the First Piano Trio.

Working at the court of Detmold, the great composer rested his soul after the disturbing years spent in Düsseldorf. It was this bright spiritual mood that was transmitted to the D majoror orchestral serenades in C major and D major.

Brahms music in contemporary films

The presented list is far from complete, but contains only the most famous films in which excerpts from the composer’s specified works are heard.

Films about Brahms and his work

Among the films, telling about the life and work of I. Brahms, the most significant include:

• Documentary film "Who is who. Famous composers: Brahms" (2014), USA. Screenwriter, producer and director M. Hossik. A 25-minute film will tell about the life and career of the great composer, introduce the audience to the places where he grew up, lived and worked.
• Authors cycle of A. Vargaftika’s programs “The scores don't burn” (2002-2010), Russia. This is a story about the "bearded uncle", his works and little-known details of his personal life. The author of the program talks lively and interestingly about Brahms, bypassing academic cliches. The film features music by the composer, showing places related to his life.
• The unique musical documentary film "Schumann. Clara. Brahms" (2006), Germany. The authors of the film paid more attention to the fate and creativity of Robert and Clara Shumanov. Since for many years their life was closely connected with Brahms, the film tells about him. This is not just a story about an outstanding trio, there are episodes of the magnificent performance of their music by Helene Grimaud, Albrecht Mayer, Truls Merck and Anna Sophie von Otter, in addition, the represented musicians share their experiences of learning Schumans and Brahms, their vision of their difficult lives.