Today marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Brahms. He is the third "B" of the illustrious group of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. He was the consummate composer who wrote for all instrumental and vocal groups, encompassing chamber and orchestral music, various types of piano pieces, songs and choral music. With his keen, creative musical sensibilities, he absorbed and synthesized historic musical practices into his contemporary art.
His first music teacher was his father, a jack-of-all trades musician who played in dance halls, taverns and military bands. His serious study of piano began at age seven with Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel; he quickly advanced to the tutelage of the famous Hamburg pianist and composer Eduard Marxsen, who conveyed to his young pupil a love and knowledge of the music of Bach and the Viennese Classical composers.
In 1843, he performed an etude by Henri Herz and joined a chamber group in a Mozart piano quartet and in Beethoven's Wind Quintet op.16. On September 21, 1848, he gave his first solo recital which included a Bach fugue; his next solo outing occurred the following year where he played the Waldstein Sonata of Beethoven and his own pieces. By this time, he was earning a living by teaching piano, playing popular music for private parties, accompanying theatrical plays, and arranging music. His early compositions were for voice and solo piano; throughout his life, he proved to be his harshest critic. He worked with and knew the musical giants of his time including Hector Berlioz, Joseph Joachim, Franz Liszt, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, etc.
The Library has numerous recordings of his music. For further biographical insights, please feel free to consult Hans Gal's Johannes Brahms: His Work and Personality and Jan Swafford's Johannes Brahms: A Biography. For an analytic discussion of his musical writings, the library offers Leon Botstein's The Compleat Brahms: A Guide to the Musical Works of Johannes Brahms and Bernard Jacobson's The Music of Johannes Brahms. If you just want to savor his piano music, Denis Matthews' Brahms Piano Music may be sampled.