Johaness Brahms (1833-1897)

To some people, Brahms has been seen as something of an enigma in the course of music development. The Romantic movement was well underway in the first half of the 19th century, set in early motion by Beethoven and then kindled by Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Schumann, before being transformed by Liszt, Verdi and Wagner. It seemed like all composers of the day, despite differences in style and scale, were united in seeking a new freer means of expression. Brahms however chose the stricter conventions of the classical period, and as a result received much criticism from his more adventurous peers and later composers. Yet Brahms demonstrated time and again that it wasn't necessary to abandon the old forms in forwarding the ideals of Romanticism.

Compared to many musicians and composers, Brahms was a late developer. Brahms' early music career was as a pianist giving recitals in his late teens and 20s, and his exceptionl skills on this instrument brought him attention from the violinist Joachim, and Robert and Clara Schumann who were to befriend him. It was not until he reached his 30s that he began to compose with any regularity, and his first Symphony was complete in 1876 at the age of 43. Part of this reticence was the enormous historical figure of Beethoven in whose musical footsteps Brahms was to follow, and indeed his music was compared to Beethoven to the extent that the first Symphony was dubbed "Beethoven's 10th". Having put those first tentative steps behind him, Brahms went on to compose many great works in the remaining 2 decades of his life. His legacy is the melding of form and content, of powerful expression yet great economy.

Brahms' works:

• Symphony No. 1 in C minor - nicknamed "Beethoven's 10th"
• Symphony No. 2 in D
• Symphony No. 3 in F
• Symphony No. 4 in Em - the sublime culmination of Brahms' talents using forms dating back to the days of Bach
• 2 Piano Concertos in Dm and B-flat - immense pieces of the scale and power of Symphonies
• Violin Concerto in D - dedicated to his friend Joachim
• Double Concerto in Am - for violin and cello
• Set of Variations on Haydn's St. Anthony Chorale - two versions, one for piano duet and one for Orchestra
• Many Chamber works including String Quartets, a Clarinet Quintet, and Sonatas for Violin, Cello and Piano
• Variations on a theme of Paganini - the same theme later used by Rachmaninov, and Lloyd-Weber in the music to become associated with "The South Bank Show"
• Many other keyboard works, including Rhapsodies, Ballades, Hundarian Dances and Waltzes.
• Songs including "Wiegenlied", the famous Brahms' Lullaby

There are currently 2 pieces representing Brahms' output on mfiles:

Here is the Waltz no.15 for piano (from a set of 16 Op.39). You can download this as a page of Sheet Music, as a MIDI file or as an MP3 file.

From Brahms' significant range of chamber music, here is the 1st movement from his first sonata for Cello and Piano (Op.38) - as a playable Scorch page within which you will find the PDF sheet music and individual parts for cello and piano. You can download this as a MIDI file or as an MP3 file.

Recommended Sheet Music:

Here are some further links to good sheet music by Brahms:

• Piano works in 3 volumes from Sheet Music Plus:
  Volume 1 (Sonatas and Variations)
  Volume 2 (with Waltzes, Intermezzos, Ballads, Capriccios, and Rhapsodies)
  Volume 3 (Hungarian Dances and many others)
• The Complete Piano Works hardbound in 3 volumes from di-arezzo.com
• Waltzes for piano solo from The Music Room
• Waltzes arranged for guitar from di-arezzo.com