JOHANESS BRAHMS (1833-1897)

A Composer of the Romantic era.

Johannes Brahms, the son of an orchestral string bass player, was not a good student in school, but he excelled at the piano. He studied at first with a friend of his father and later with the most respected music teacher in Hamburg, Germany.

Johannes helped his family financially by playing popular music in dance halls.

By the age of 16 he was performing throughout Europe as a concert pianist. During his concert tours, Brahms met many famous musicians and composers who recognized his outstanding musical talent. He became friends with another composer, Robert Schumann. At twenty one, he took a position as conductor of a municipal orchestra in Detwold, Germany.

At Detwold he began to devote more time to composition. In 1856 (age 23), when his friend Robert Schumann died, Brahms moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, to console Schumann's widow, Clara. He eventually fell in love with her. Brahms and Clara Schumann remained in love for 40 years but never married. He relied on her advice and musical expertise throughout his career as a composer.

From 1859 to 1862 Brahms served as conductor of various orchestras. He finally settled in Vienna, Austria, where he lived for the rest of his life. Here he composed, conducts orchestras and choirs, and taught piano. Except for occasional tours as a concert pianist, Brahms lived a rather ordinary life in Vienna.

He began devoting more time composing, but it wasn't until 1873 (age 40) that he had his first success, with a work for orchestra entitled Variations on a Theme by Haydn. He also was continuing work on a symphony that he had begun in 1854. The First Symphony was finally performed in 1876, 22 years after Brahms began composing it. He was now 43 years old. Between 1877 and 1884 Brahms wrote three more symphonies, several concertos, and several pieces of chamber music.

For the last 20 years of his life, Brahms continued composing music in all forms except opera. He was recognized throughout Europe as a distinguished composer and honored by his adopted country, Austria. Many young composers moved to Vienna to study him. He spent summers in the country outside of Vienna. During these summers he did much of his composing. He was very disciplined as a composer and worked hard at perfecting his craft.

In Vienna Brahms lived a simple life, spending most of his time in a small, three-room apartment. He was very sociable and had many friends, but never wanted to be the center of attention. He dressed shabbily, often in cheap, worn clothing, but he was a shrewd businessman with his music. After his death, he left an estate worth more than $100,000, most of it from royalties on his published music. That was a huge amount of money for a composer who achieved little success until the age of 40.