Johannes Brahms

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Rising out of the ashes of the poor of Germany, Johannes Brahms is one of the most prominent musicians in history. His life was a grand one. He was one of the few of the greats of the classical music world to be widely recognized for, and prosper off of, his talent. Brahms went against the norm and that is what made him great.

Brahms was born into the slums of Hamburg, Germany in 1833. From the womb, however, he was destined for greatness. His father, a double bass player in the civic orchestra, recognized his son’s talent early on and tutored him in everything he knew. By the age of 10 he debuted as a pianist and before long he began to play at local dance halls, taverns, and restaurants to supplement his father’s meager wages. The dirty, overcrowded, dilapidated surroundings where young Brahms played began to take a toll on his music and before it could totally destroy his bright future, his father sent him away to a teacher where his skills at the piano began to blossom as a flower does under a new sun. Brahms desires resided in composing in the end and he hoped to one day obtain enough fortune to follow his dream.

His journey to stardom began in 1853 when he accepted an engagement as an accompanist to the renowned Hungarian violinist Remenyi and toured all over Europe. During one of his performances the piano was half-tone below the right pitch for the Kreutzer Sonata by Beethoven. Brahms not only skillfully transposed the piece from A to B flat, but played the entire part by memory. Attending the performance was the great violinist Joseph Joachim and upon seeing the grace and proficiency that Brahms played at, invited him before the extraordinary Robert Schumann himself. Brahms of course accepted the invitation. Aft...

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... The last of which is rightfully entitled, “O World I Must Depart from Thee.” Brahms eventually died of cancer in 1897 and was buried near the graves of Mozart and two of the greatest influences on his music, Schubert and Beethoven, all four of which were some of the select few composers whose greatness was recognized during their life.

Brahms was a true original that has yet to be matched. His life is a true example of what hard work and believing in your potential can do. There have been few, if any composers, that have matched him since. I will close with a quote by biographer Walter Niemann that describes Brahms better than any words my mind can string together, “The fact that Brahms began his creative activity with the German folk song and closed with the Bible reveals better than anything else the true religious creed of this great man of the people.”

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