- Born
- Died
- German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833 and died in Vienna, Austria in 1897. A perfectionist, he often compared himself unfavorably to composers such as Beethoven and ended up destroying many compositions without their ever being heard. While basically conservative, he showed musical growth throughout his four symphonies and occasionally borrowed wilder folk themes, such as in his Hungarian Dances, and he explored a vast range of human emotion in his Violin Concerto.
Although he never married, much of his later life involved a seemingly unending devotion to Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann - both of whom were long-time friends to Brahms.
- IMDb mini biography by: Walter Snyder <xrysostom@aol.com>
- Brahms was the childhood piano teacher of famous film composer Max Steiner.
- A lifelong bachelor, Brahms lived in the same three-room apartment in Vienna for 30 years.
- Brahms never visited England or the United States, despite very lucrative offers to conduct his music there. He was terrified of sea travel.
- On December 2, 1889, Brahms recorded excerpts of two piano pieces onto Edison wax cylinders: his "Hungarian Dance No.1" and Josef Strauss's "The Dragonfly". These are the earliest known musical recordings by a famous composer. NOTE: There is an 1888 Edison recording of composer Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame), but only of him speaking.
- Adored the music of his good friend Johann Strauss. When asked for his autograph he would write the main melody of "The Blue Danube" and then add, "Unfortunately NOT by Johannes Brahms".
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