Johannes Brahms

Brahms did not marry. In 1858, he had an affair with Agathe von Siebold of Göttingen and became engaged to her in 1859. But all of a sudden, he withdrew from the relationship. His letters prove that he did not want to go into any kind of permanent relationship that would bind him to a particular person.

Brahms did not marry. In 1858, he had an affair with Agathe von Siebold of Göttingen and became engaged to her in 1859. But all of a sudden, he withdrew from the relationship. His letters prove that he did not want to go into any kind of permanent relationship that would bind him to a particular person.

One reason could be that Clara was fourteen years older than Brahms and had a large family. He was also torn between his regards for Robert and his love for Clara. Yet, Clara remained an important part of his life and when they were not together, they communicated through letters.

Johannes Brahms was born on 7 May, 1833 in Hamburg. His father, Johann Jakob Brahms, was a musician from Heide, who came to Hamburg to pursue a career in music. His mother, Johanna Henrika Christiane Nissen, was a seamstress. He was born the second of their three children.

Johannes had his first musical training from his father. When he turned seven, he started taking piano lessons from Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel and later from Eduard Marxsen.

When Brahms turned thirteen, he began contributing to the family income by playing at taverns, restaurants and local dance halls in the city’s dock area. Working for a prolonged period in smoke laden rooms soon affected his health and he became ill.

In 1847, he was sent to Winsen an der Luhe for rest. Here he conducted male choir and for it, he wrote his first choral composition. On returning to Hamburg, he resumed playing at taverns and to earn more money, started giving piano lessons.

Sometime now, he also started learning cello, but it came to an abrupt end when his instructor ran away with his instrument. During this period, he also performed in several concerts and began composing music for piano.

In 1850, Brahms met Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi, who introduced him to Hungarian gypsy music. For the next three years he composed several pieces for piano and then in April 1853, the two musicians went on a tour that actually launched Brahms in his career.

In May 1853, Brahms and Reményi went to Hanover and there they visited Joseph Joachim, a well-known Hungarian violinist. Earlier Brahms had heard Joachim play solo in violin concerto and was very much impressed. He now played a few of his pieces to Joachim.

Joachim was so impressed by what he heard that he provided Brahms with a letter of recommendation to Robert Schumann, a well known composer and influential music critic. The two also became life-long friends and close collaborators.

Sometime after that, Brahms and Reményi travelled to the Court of Weimar, where they were introduced to Franz Liszt. The elder musician was much impressed by Brahms’ work and invited him to join his group. However, Brahms failed to show proper appreciation of Liszt’s work, which offended Reményi and the two parted their ways.

On 1 October 1853, after a walking tour in the Rhineland, Brahms went to Düsseldorf to meet Schumann, armed with Joachim’s letter of recommendation. He had earlier sent the elder musician some of his work; but those were returned unopened. This time, the Schumanns welcomed him into their home.

*‘Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15’, completed in 1858, was Brahms’ first major work. It is written in three movements and is around 40 to 50 minutes long. It was also his first orchestral composition to be performed in public.

However, it was ‘Eindeutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift’ (A German Requiem), composed between 1865 and 1868, which confirmed his position as one of the best composers in Europe. The work comprises seven movements and lasts for around 65 to 80 minutes. It is sacred but non-liturgical and as the name suggests, is in German language.