BrahmsBio

Johannes Brahms grew up surrounded by a practical world of music. His father was a double bass player, and Brahms took early lessons in piano, theory and composition. As a teenager, he gained intimate familiarity with serious and popular styles, arranging music for his father's orchestra and playing piano in local dance halls. At twenty he began touring as an accompanist and began to make important contacts. Among these were Robert and Clara Schumann, both of whom had a lasting effect on his life and career. Robert, in his role as a critic, first brought Brahms' name to the notice of the German public, calling him a "young eagle." Clara became an emotional focus for Brahms, one that would last throughout his life.

Brahms spent many years working as a conductor and pianist, hoping for a prestigious appointment that never materialized. He did, however, serve two years as director of the Berlin Singakademie. In 1868 he settled in Vienna, where he would remain for the rest of his life. He soon composed two works that assured him both fame and financial security: the German Requiem (premiered in 1869) and his orchestral Variations on a Theme by Haydn (1873). With this success behind him, he finally finished his first attempt at a symphony. The work was premiered in 1876 to great acclaim, and Brahms was hailed as the true successor of Beethoven. This was followed by three other symphonies, all of which have become standards of repertory, along with a large body of important works in virtually every genre (except for opera, which, like marriage, he consciously avoided throughout his life).

In 1890, at the age of fifty-seven, Brahms announced his retirement from composition. He was coaxed out of retirement by the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, for whom Brahms wrote some of his last (and greatest) chamber works. Brahms died of cancer in 1897, not long after the death of his one love and close friend, Clara Schumann.

Brahms is an important figure in German music, standing almost as a rock of classicism in the onrushing stream of the new styles created by Wagner, Liszt and others. His music is unshakably absolute, never drawing on extramusical images or ideas. His study of the music of earlier composers added to the more conservative elements of his music. He often turned to older forms of expression, most notably that of variation. At the same time, his music has a strong personal aspect to it. His German Requiem, for example, is neither a sectarian religious work, nor a dramatic stage work (as was Berlioz's). Rather, it is a response to the subject of death, freely drawing passages from the Bible to create a piece that is both personal and national. All these qualities combine to make Brahms one of the truly distinctive voices of the late nineteenth century.

His music combines elements from Classical and Romantic schools. He wrote expressive music but Brahms preferred the logical structures of the Viennese Classical tradition -- symphony, sonata, fugue and variations. He did not explore new harmonic effects and tone colors for their own sake. There are few unnecessary passages of music; each theme, each figure, each modulation flows from what has come before and all display lyricism and melodic charm. Brahms often transcribed his works for different instruments (e.g. the sonatas for clarinet and viola).

"Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel" from the Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op.52

"Allegro appassionato" (06 min. 57 sec.) from Sonata in F minor op. 120/1 for clarinet and piano (1894)

Symphony No.1 in C minor

Symphony No.4 in E minor

SONATA FOR CLARINET (OR VIOLA) AND PIANO IN F MINOR, OP. 120, NO. 1

The first sonata begins in a minor key, with a brief piano introduction before the exposition of the main theme by the clarinet. There is some characteristic arpeggiaic figuring in the clarinet over a version of the theme in the piano, followed by the introduction of new thematic material and motifs. These are interwoven in the development before a recapitulation. There is an expressive coda - sostenuto ed espressivo - which summarises the movement with great emotion, drawing on themes from earlier material.

The full piano textures and feeling of poignancy, which is augmented by the timbre of the clarinet, are continued in the slow movement, Andante un poco adagio. This begins in the relative major key. Although the sonata form is discernible, this movement is motivic, giving the impression of a nocturne-like song. The mood brightens as the music progresses.

The next short movement, Allegretto grazioso, is like a gentle Ländler. It continues in the major key of the previous movement, however it has a contrasting middle section in which Brahms's returns for the last time to F minor, a key which ever since his early Piano Sonata, Op. 5, evoked turbulent emotion. Here, however it is sweetly melancholic, with the mellow lower register of the clarinet explored against piano syncopation.

The piano again starts in the final movement, the cheerful F major Vivace, in rondo form (ABACBA). The contrasting first episode utilises triplet rhythms, with a second episode in a minor key. The first episode returns before a recapitulation of the principal theme.

Sources:
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/.
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/lowfi/7/id8.htm.