Johannes Brahms

Born in Hamburg in 1833 and died in Vienna in 1897, Johannes Brahms is part of German Romanticism while remaining strongly attached to the forms inherited from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert. A pianist and conductor as well as a composer, Brahms made himself known very early in the Germanic musical circles, particularly after his meeting with Joseph Joachim and then with Robert and Clara Schumann in 1853, a decisive moment in his emergence. Settled permanently in Vienna from the 1860s, he developed a dense, rigorous and expressive writing style, based on thematic work, counterpoint and a constant balance between Romantic lyricism and classical architecture. His catalog covers almost all genres except opera, from chamber music to large choral and symphonic works, notably Ein Deutsches Requiem op. 45 (1868), Symphonies No. 1 (1876), No. 2 (1877), No. 3 (1883) and No. 4 (1885), Violin Concerto op. 77 (1878), Piano Concerto No. 2 op. 83 (1881), as well as a vast corpus of Lieder, piano pieces and chamber works. Brahms frequented concert stages in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, while maintaining close ties with performers such as Clara Schumann, Joseph Joachim and Richard Mühlfeld, who accompanied the evolution of his oeuvre.