JOHANNES BRAHMS

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Johannes Brahms was born in the German town of Hamburg in 1833. As the son of a double bassist, he began studying music at an early age, soon proving himself to be an excellent student of the piano-forte. At the age of 11, Brahms began to compose, playing his pieces in sailors' taverns, and saloons to earn money for the family. In 1853, he toured with famous Hungarian violinist Eduard Remenyi (Hoffman), who introduced him to Gypsy music; the music of the Gypsies was to become one of Brahms' major influences. On this tour, he also met Liszt, Schumann, Joachim, and other artistic luminaries of his time. In 1862, Brahms visited Vienna, where he chose to make his permanent home. By 1864, he had devoted himself to composition, and the performance of his own works. During this period, Brahms established his success as a composer, his works garnering international success. He earned a Ph.D. in music from Breslau in 1879. He had also been offered a Mus.D. from Cambridge in 1877, but he refused it because he did not wish to travel there in person to receive it. In 1896, he began to suffer from cancer of the liver, to which he succumbed the following year. The music of Brahms successfully merges Classicism and German Romanticism. In his compositions, he sought to create works of craftsmanship and coherence, qualities which spoke of his excellent musical workmanship.