Johannes Brahms. Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (German: [joˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist.
Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs". Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim.
Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. Life[edit] Early years[edit] Photograph from 1891 of the building in Hamburg where Brahms was born. Meeting Joachim and Liszt[edit] Brahms in 1853. Robert Schumann. Robert Schumann[1] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. In 1840, against the wishes of her father, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara, following a long and acrimonious legal battle, which found in favor of Clara and Robert. Schumann suffered from a lifelong mental disorder, first manifesting itself in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode, which recurred several times alternating with phases of ‘exaltation’ and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. Biography[edit] Early life[edit] Music room of Schumann 1830–34[edit]
Clara Schumann. Clara Schumann (née Clara Josephine Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era.
She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann. Together they encouraged Johannes Brahms, and she was the first pianist to give public performances of some of Brahms's works, notably the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel.[1] Early life[edit] Child prodigy[edit] From an early age, Clara's career and life was planned down to the smallest detail by her father.
In 1830, at the age of eleven, Clara left on a concert tour to Paris via other European cities, accompanied by her father. Later career[edit] Clara Schumann's reputation brought her into contact with the leading musicians of the day, including Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt. Joseph Joachim. Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim's signature Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist , conductor , composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms , he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.
Life [ edit ] Origins [ edit ] Joseph Joachim's birth house in Kittsee Joseph Joachim was born in Kittsee (Kopčany / Köpcsény), near Bratislava and Eisenstadt , in what is today's Burgenland area of Austria . Early career [ edit ] In 1833 his family moved to Pest , where he studied violin with Stanisław Serwaczyński, the concertmaster of the opera in Pest. Maturity [ edit ] Following Mendelssohn's death in 1847, Joachim stayed briefly in Leipzig, teaching at the Conservatorium and playing on the first desk of the Gewandhaus Orchestra with Ferdinand David .
Joseph and Amalie Joachim Joachim's time in Hanover was his most prolific period of composition. The famous Joachim Quartet. Repertoire [ edit ] Compositions [ edit ] J.