Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

Born 7 May 1833 in Hamburg, Freie und Hansestadt, Deutscher Bund

Ancestors

Died 3 Apr 1897 at age 63 in Wien, Österreich

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Biography

Johannes Brahms is Notable.

Johannes Brahms was a German composer, pianist, and conductor. He was one of the most important German representatives of the mid-Romantic period. However, by incorporating baroque and classical forms, he went beyond Romanticism.

Johannes was born on 7 May 1833 in Hamburg. He received his first music lessons from his father, a town musician. Beginning in 1840, he received piano lessons from Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel. He also learned to play the cello. Through Cossel's support, Brahms was accepted in 1843 as a piano, musical theory, and composition student by the then well-known Hamburg composer Eduard Marxsen in 1843. In 1853 Brahms was discovered by Joseph Joachim on a concert tour and recommended to Robert and Clara Schumann. Robert Schumann introduced Brahms to the professional world in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik of 28 October 1853. After working as a conductor in Detmold and Hamburg, Brahms went to Vienna in 1862, where he directed the "Singakademie" from 1863 to 1864. Since 1864, he spent several extended periods working in Switzerland. In 1872, Brahms moved to Vienna. He was so successful as a pianist in those years that he was able to make a living without a permanent job. Nevertheless, he conducted the concerts of the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" from 1872 to 1875. He died in Vienna on 3 April 1897 and was buried at "Wiener Zentralfriedhof".^[1][2][3]

Birth

According to the church book of St. Michael's Church in Hamburg, Johannes Brahms was born there on May 7, 1833, the eldest son (2nd child) of the musician (horn player in the civil guard) Johann Jakob Brahms, early at 3:30 a.m.

Nach dem Kirchenbuch der Michaeliskirche in Hamburg wurde Johannes Brahms dort am 7. Mai 1833 als ältester Sohn (2. Kind) des Musikers (Hornist bei der Bürgergarde) Johann Jakob Brahms, früh um 3 h 30 m geboren.

Music Samples

Johannes Brams composed a total of 21 Hungarian Dances in the period 1869-80. Originally they were for four-hand piano, but Brahms chose at some point to transcribe them for orchestra. Hungarian Dance no. 5 is probably the best known of them and is performed here by Danmarks Radio's Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rafael Frübeck de Burgos.

Brahms composed 4 symphonies. At the following link you can listen to the 3rd movement of the 3rd Symphony in F major Op. 90 from 1883 3rd movement "Poco allegretto" in a recording with the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Sergiu Celibidache.

In addition to piano and orchestral works, Brahms also composed some chamber music. An example of this is Piano Trio No. 1 B major 1st movement "Allegro con moto" with ABEGG TRIO Ulrich Beetz, violin (Nicolas Lupot, Paris 1821), Birgit Erichson, cello (Alessandrus D`Espine, Turin 1829), Gerrit Zitterbart, piano (Bösendorfer Imperial). The trio is from 1854.

You cannot mention Johannes Brahms without mentioning his absolute masterpiece, composed in the period 1865-68, and therefore begun in the same year that his mother, Johanna, died, Ein Deutsches Requiem Op. 45. The chosen performance is with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln - Kölner Philharmonie conducted by Semyon Bychkov. "Selig sind, die da Leid tragen" (Blessed are those who mourn). If you want a CD with the work, a recording with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado is recommended (DGG 437 517-2).

Finally, you can dwell on the wonderful violin concerto in D major op. 77 from 1878, which of course can also be found on YouTube together with most of Johannes Brahms's other works.

If you want to know more about Johannes Brahms, you can visit Den store Danske, which contains an excellent and informative article about the composer. Also Wikipedia has an excellent article. Both contain lists of a large number of selected works.

Musikeksempler

Johannes Brams komponerede i perioden 1869-80, i alt 21 Ungarske Danse. Oprindelig var de for firehændigt klaver, men Brahms valgte på et tidspunkt at transskribere dem for orkester. Ungarsk Dans no. 5 er nok den kendteste af dem og opføres her af Danmarks Radios Symfoniorkester under ledelse af Rafael Frübeck de Burgos.

Brahms komponerede 4 symfonier. På følgende link kan man lytte til 3. sats af 3. symfoni i F-dur Op. 90 fra 1883 3. sats "Poco allegretto" i en optagelse med Münchner Philharmonikerne under ledelse af Sergiu Celibidache.

Foruden klaver- og orkesterværker, komponerede Brahms også en del kammermusik. Et eksempel herpå er Klaver Trio No. 1 B dur 1. sats "Allegro con moto" med ABEGG TRIO Ulrich Beetz, violin (Nicolas Lupot, Paris 1821), Birgit Erichson, cello (Alessandrus D`Espine, Torino 1829), Gerrit Zitterbart, piano (Bösendorfer Imperial). Trioen er fra 1854.

Man kan ikke nævne Johannes Brahms, uden at nævne hans absolutte hovedværk, komponeret i perioden 1865-68, og altså påbegyndt samme år som moderen, Johanna, dør, Ein Deutsches Requiem Op. 45. Den valgte opførelse er med WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln - Kölner Philharmonie under ledelse af Semyon Bychkov. "Selig sind, die da Leid tragen" (Salige er de, der sørger). Vil man have en CD med værket kan en indspilning med Berliner Philharmonikerne under ledelse af Claudio Abbado anbefales (DGG 437 517-2).

Til slut kan man dvæle ved den vidunderlige violinkoncert i D-dur op. 77 fra 1878, som naturligvis også findes på Youtube sammen med de fleste af Johannes Brahms's øvrige værker.

Vil man vide mere om Johannes Brams kan man besøge Den store Danske, der indeholder en glimrende og informativ artikel om komponisten. Også Wikipedia, har en udmærket artikel. Begge indeholder lister med en lang række af udvalgte værker.

Sources

1. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Johannes Brahms
2. ↑ Klassik.com: Johannes Brahms im Portrait. Biografie
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #129

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q7294
• English Wikipedia article on Johannes Brahms
• Clive, Peter. Brahms and His World: A Biographical Dictionary. The Scarecrow Press, 2006
• Bozarth, G., & Frisch, W. "Brahms, Johannes" at Grove Music Online. Retrieved 30 Sep. 2021, from Oxford Music Online [$].
• https://geneee.org/johannes/brahms?lang=en
• Johannes is mentioned in the book 'BOOSEY & HAWKES: THE PUBLISHING STORY' written by Helen Wallace.'Boosey & Hawkes, the Publishing Story' by Helen Wallace-1