Johannes Brahms - Life, Works, Influences on Brahms, Brahms's personality, Legacy, Books

Composer, born in Hamburg, N Germany. The son of a poor orchestral musician, he earned his living as a pianist until 1853, when he was able to concentrate on composition. He toured with the Hungarian violinist Reményi, meeting Joachim and Liszt, and then Schumann, who helped Brahms publish his piano sonatas. He settled in Vienna, making occasional public appearances in Austria and Germany. Firmly based on classical foundations, his works contain hardly any programme music. His great orchestral works are comparatively late, the first, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, appearing when he was 40. His main works include four symphonies, two piano concertos, a violin concerto, a large amount of chamber and piano music, and many songs. His greatest choral work is the German Requiem (first performed complete in 1869).