Johannes Brahms

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Biography

Born: 1833   Died: 1897   Country: Germany   Period: Romantic
The stature of Johannes Brahms among classical composers is well illustrated by his inclusion among the "Three Bs" triumvirate of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Of all the major composers of the late Romantic era, Brahms was the one most attached to the Classical ideal as manifested in the music of Haydn, Mozart, and especially Beethoven; indeed, Hans von Bülow once characterized Brahms' Symphony No. 1 (1855-1876) as "Beethoven's Tenth." As a Read more youth, Brahms was championed by Robert Schumann as music's greatest hope for the future; as a mature composer, Brahms became for conservative musical journalists the most potent symbol of musical tradition, a stalwart against the "degeneration" represented by the music of Wagner and his school. Brahms' symphonies, choral and vocal works, chamber music, and piano pieces are imbued with strong emotional feeling, yet take shape according to a thoroughly considered structural plan.

The son of a double bassist in the Hamburg Philharmonic Society, Brahms demonstrated great promise from the beginning. He began his musical career as a pianist, contributing to the family coffers as a teenager by playing in restaurants, taverns, and even brothels. Though by his early twenties he enjoyed associations with luminaries like violinists Eduard Reményi and Joseph Joachim, the friend and mentor who was most instrumental in advancing his career was Schumann, who all but adopted him and became his most ardent partisan, and their esteem was mutual. Following Schumann's death in 1856, Brahms became the closest confidant and lifelong friend of the composer's widow, pianist and composer Clara Wieck Schumann. After a life of spectacular musical triumphs and failed loves (the composer was involved in several romantic entanglements but never wed), Brahms died of liver cancer on April 3, 1897.

In every genre in which he composed, Brahms produced works that have become staples of the repertory. His most ambitious work, the German Requiem (1863-1867), is the composer's singular reinterpretation of an age-old form. The four symphonies -- lushly scored, grand in scope, and deeply expressive -- are cornerstones of the symphonic literature. Brahms' concertos are, similarly, in a monumental, quasi-symphonic vein: the two piano concertos (1856-1859 and 1881) and the Violin Concerto (1878) call for soloists with both considerable technical skill and stamina. His chamber music is among the most sophisticated and exquisitely crafted of the Romantic era; for but a single example, his works that incorporate the clarinet (e.g., the Trio in A minor, Op. 114 and the two Sonatas, Op. 120), an instrument largely overlooked by his contemporaries, remain unsurpassed. Though the piano sonata never held for Brahms the same appeal it had for Beethoven (Brahms wrote three to Beethoven's 32), he produced a voluminous body of music for the piano. He showed a particular affinity for variations -- notably, on themes of Schumann (1854), Handel (1861), and Paganini (1862-1863) -- and likewise produced a passel of national dances and character pieces such as ballades, intermezzi, and rhapsodies. Collectively, these constitute one of the essential bodies of work in the realm of nineteenth century keyboard music. Read less

Featured Johannes Brahms CDs & DVDs:

Brahms: Haydn Variations, Etc / Argerich, Rabinovitch
Brahms: Haydn Variations, Etc / Argerich, Rabinovitch
Release Date: 11/01/1994   Label: Teldec  
Catalog: 92257   Number of Discs: 1
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Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1, 4 Ballades / Buchbinder
Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1, 4 Ballades / Buchbinder
Release Date: 06/23/2003   Label: Apex  
Catalog: 4603712   Number of Discs: 1
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Mozart, Brahms: Clarinet Quintets / Bso Chamber Players
Mozart, Brahms: Clarinet Quintets / Bso Chamber Players
Release Date: 12/26/2007   Label: Philips  
Catalog: 442149   Number of Discs: 1
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Music By Three - Brahms, Dubois, Holbrooke / Frautschi, Ruske, Prutsman
Music By Three - Brahms, Dubois, Holbrooke / Frautschi, Ruske, Prutsman
Release Date: 11/09/2010   Label: Albany Records  
Catalog: 1228   Number of Discs: 1
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Berg, Brahms: Violin Concertos / Capucon, Harding, Wiener Philharmoniker
Berg, Brahms: Violin Concertos / Capucon, Harding, Wiener Philharmoniker
Release Date: 10/09/2012   Label: Virgin Classics  
Catalog: 02653   Number of Discs: 1
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Work: Academic Festival Overture in C minor, Op. 80

Browse 101-116 of 116 Available Recordings
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  • 101.
    Art Of Classics - Brahms: Masterpieces Vol 1
    Art Of Classics - Brahms: Masterpieces Vol 1
    Label: Intercord Klassische Diskothek   Catalog: 25924 Release Date: 05/23/1995   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Mark Kaplan,  David Geringas,  Dieter Goldmann
    Conductor:  Michael Gielen,  Hans Swarowsky,  Alfred Scholz
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,  South German Philharmonic Orchestra,  Munich Symphony Orchestra
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  • 102.
    Brahms: Symphonie No 2, Etc / Bernstein, Vienna Po
    Brahms: Symphonie No 2, Etc / Bernstein, Vienna Po
    Label: Dg Masters   Catalog: 445506 Release Date: 03/14/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  Leonard Bernstein
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
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  • 103.
    Brahms: Symphony No 2, Tragic Overture, Etc / Pritchard
    Brahms: Symphony No 2, Tragic Overture, Etc / Pritchard
    Label: Imp Bbc Radio Classics   Catalog: IMP3BBCRD9113 Release Date: 03/01/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  John Pritchard
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  BBC Symphony Orchestra
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  • 104.
    The Complete Josef Hofmann Vol 2
    The Complete Josef Hofmann Vol 2
    Label: Vai Audio   Catalog: 1020 Release Date: 09/01/1994   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Frédéric Chopin,  Moritz Moszkowski,  Sergei Rachmaninov  ... 
    Performer:  Josef Hofmann
    Conductor:  Ignace Hilsberg,  Fritz Reiner
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Curtis Symphony Orchestra
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  • 105.
    Brahms - Greatest Hits
    Brahms - Greatest Hits
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 64054 Release Date: 08/09/1994   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Emanuel Ax,  Jaime Laredo,  Yo-Yo Ma,  Isaac Stern  ... 
    Conductor:  Zubin Mehta,  Michael Tilson Thomas,  George Szell,  Andre Kostelanetz  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  New York Philharmonic,  London Symphony Orchestra,  Cleveland Orchestra  ... 
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  • 106.
    Best Of Brahms
    Best Of Brahms
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 8556659 Release Date: 02/15/1994   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Péter Nagy,  Jénö Jandó,  Takako Nishizaki,  Idil Biret
    Conductor:  Alexander Rahbari,  István Bogár,  Stephen Gunzenhauser
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Brussels Belgian Radio & TV Philharmonic Orchestra,  Budapest Symphony Orchestra,  Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra  ... 
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  • 107.
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Tragic & Academic Overtures / Rahbari
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Tragic & Academic Overtures / Rahbari
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 8550281 Release Date: 02/15/1994   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  Alexander Rahbari
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Brussels Belgian Radio & TV Philharmonic Orchestra
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  • 108.
    Brahms: Choral Works & Overtures / Sawallisch, Vienna So
    Brahms: Choral Works & Overtures / Sawallisch, Vienna So
    Label: Philips Duo   Catalog: 438760 Release Date: 01/18/1994   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Aafje Heynis,  Wilma Lipp,  Franz Crass
    Conductor:  Wolfgang Sawallisch
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Singverein,  Vienna Symphony Orchestra
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  • 109.
    Brahms: Symphony No 2 For Piano Duo / Lonskov, Llambias
    Brahms: Symphony No 2 For Piano Duo / Lonskov, Llambias
    Label: Kontrapunkt   Catalog: 32120 Release Date: 09/18/1993   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Rodolfo Llambias,  Tove Lonskov
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Lonskov-Llambias Piano Duo
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  • 110.
    Brahms: Piano Concertos, Overtures / Arrau, Haitink
    Brahms: Piano Concertos, Overtures / Arrau, Haitink
    Label: Philips Duo   Catalog: 438320 Release Date: 08/10/1993   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Claudio Arrau
    Conductor:  Bernard Haitink
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
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  • 111.
    Best Of Brahms
    Best Of Brahms
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 8551109 Release Date: 04/02/1993   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Idil Biret,  Takako Nishizaki,  Péter Nagy,  Jénö Jandó
    Conductor:  Alexander Rahbari,  Stephen Gunzenhauser,  István Bogár
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Brussels Belgian Radio & TV Philharmonic Orchestra,  Bratislava Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra,  Stuttgart Soloists  ... 
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  • 112.
    Brahms: The Symphonies / Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    Brahms: The Symphonies / Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 430799 Release Date: 02/11/1992   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  Sir Georg Solti
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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  • 113.
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Etc / Szell, Cleveland Orchestra
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Etc / Szell, Cleveland Orchestra
    Label: Sony Classical Essential Classics   Catalog: 46330 Release Date: 04/05/1991   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  George Szell
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Cleveland Orchestra
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  • 114.
    Brahms: Serenade No 1, Overtures / Tilson Thomas, London So
    Brahms: Serenade No 1, Overtures / Tilson Thomas, London So
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 45932 Release Date: 01/14/1991   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  Michael Tilson Thomas
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra
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  • 115.
    Brahms: Symphony No 2 / Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra
    Brahms: Symphony No 2 / Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra
    Label: Philips   Catalog: 422334 Release Date: 02/05/1990   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  Riccardo Muti
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
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  • 116.
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Academic Festival Overture / Previn
    Brahms: Symphony No 4, Academic Festival Overture / Previn
    Label: Telarc   Catalog: 80155 Release Date: 10/27/1987   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms
    Conductor:  André Previn
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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