Johannes Brahms 1833-1897

Brahms was one of the seminal music figures of the 19th century. He composed symphonies, concertos and many songs, piano pieces, and chamber works. Opera is the only major musical medium in which he did not write.

More than any other composer of the second half of the 19th century, Brahms was responsible for reviving what is termed "absolute" music. This describes compositions which were to be accepted on their own terms as interplays of sound rather than as works that depict a scene or tell a story.

Brahms was a master of composition. He often used established techniques, but with such novel and refreshing approaches that the listener first perceives the beauty and strength of the music, and only later becomes aware of the composer's technical mastery. Through his entire life Brahms was looked upon as the successor to Beethoven in the evolution of German Romanticism and struggled to meet these expectations.