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Great Masters: Brahms- His Life and Music
Course Lecture Titles J.B., We Hardly Knew You! The Brothels of Hamburg The Schumanns The Vagabond Years Maturity Mastery The Tramp of Giants Farewells
6 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Robert Greenberg
156 books217 followersRobert M. Greenberg is an American composer, pianist and musicologist. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history and music appreciation for The Teaching Company.
Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.
Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 31, 2025
You guys, bring out the popcorn and soda of your choice and prepare to be entertained even if you are not classical music aficionados, but you enjoy biographies of famous people.
Trust Robert Greenberg to divert and intrigue you about the least well-known composer, Johannes Brahms (a surly Bear of the musical woods, with whom women would be safe).
Greenberg puts Brahms' life and times into an easily digestible historical context and presents it all with facts, musical snapshots in his usual style, which may take some time to get used to, but it's worth our while. As always, his materials are extensively and excellently researched and despite Brahms having destroyed many documents (he asked his friends to return his correspondence for example), he cannot elude Greenberg: he gets presented in 3D as completely as possible and IS he a fascinating study! :)
Greenberg's lectures on music and composers in The Great Courses series are worth checking out on Audible and some of them are always included in the Plus Catalogue as free listens.
Very much recommended.
Trust Robert Greenberg to divert and intrigue you about the least well-known composer, Johannes Brahms (a surly Bear of the musical woods, with whom women would be safe).
Greenberg puts Brahms' life and times into an easily digestible historical context and presents it all with facts, musical snapshots in his usual style, which may take some time to get used to, but it's worth our while. As always, his materials are extensively and excellently researched and despite Brahms having destroyed many documents (he asked his friends to return his correspondence for example), he cannot elude Greenberg: he gets presented in 3D as completely as possible and IS he a fascinating study! :)
Greenberg's lectures on music and composers in The Great Courses series are worth checking out on Audible and some of them are always included in the Plus Catalogue as free listens.
Very much recommended.
February 26, 2024
As already mentioned in my first review to one of these audiobook editions of lectures, I really wished I could have sat in on any of this guy's lectures in person.
Robert Greenberg was completely unknown to me. In fact, I only found out these book-versions of his lectures existed thanks to a GR-friend reading them last year. Since then, I have read the one on Haydn and am planning on reading one every month from now on until I've read / listened to them all.
This, then, is about Johannes Brahms.
Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833, in Hamburg to a quite poor north-German family as the second of three children. His father played two instruments (the horn and double bass). However, it was more a way of making money than being artistic. Which resulted in the parents forcing a young Johannes Brahms, once his talent at the piano had been discovered (though Brahms also played cello), to play at brothels in Hamburg's St. Pauli quarter. There, the boy suffered abuse at least from the prostitutes but, as Greenberg abtly supposes, by the sailors being on shore leave too - not least because Brahms looked and sounded quite feminine until his mid-twenties! This turned out to be a major influence on Brahms' outlook on women and love. As I said in my status update, I don't think enough blame was laid at the feet of the parents.
Eventually, he escaped that hell, met the Schumanns, was dismissed by Robert Schumann, met others, finally had someone listen to what he had composed - and everyone was flabberghasted. It didn't take long until he and the Schumanns met again and they were smitten with Brahms.
There were a lot of ups and downs in Brahms' life, he helped found a club for hornists, he even managed to grow facial hair for the first time in his thirties (hard to believe it took this long considering the full beard he sported in later years), he proposed to a number of women, broke up with them soon after, he got infatuated with Clara Schumann (and later her daughter), but Brahms never married. There were also all kinds of different jobs because he just couldn't stay in one for more than 3 years. Which is weird considering his thirst to prove himself on account of his background/upbringing.
After his mother had died, he moved to Vienna. He visited Germany (mostly Hamburg) quite often and was there when his father (divorced and re-married to a much younger woman by then) died as well. He genereally stayed close to his family members (even his stepmother and her son from her first marriage). But he always returned to Vienna once he had moved there and lived in the same apartment until he died on April 3, 1897.
Surprisingly, not THAT much can be said about Brahms' life. Not least because he kept preciously few records and was a private person. What I did learn from this lecture and cross-referencing with a few other sources is that he really wasn't too fond of women (or not for too long), with the exception of Clara and (and I don't get that) his mother. He also was generally difficult to get along with and had frequent and unpredictable outbursts.
His music, though, was fantastic. No, he's not my favorite composer and I don't know as much of his music as I'd like (I can always correct that in the future though), but there is a reason such a lecture exists about him.
Sorry there won't be more information here. If you wanna know the juicy tidbits, read / listen to the lecture. ;)
Which brings me to Greenberg himself. He was, interestingly, not quite as flamboyant here as when he told us about Haydn. I think it had to do with the subject. The lecture's structure and style were once again very nice, however, and I learned tons.
As with all of Greenberg's lectures, this, too, has a pdf file containing the script - which allows incredibly detailed and specific research at any point and one doesn't have to read through the whole biography. Quite neat!
Robert Greenberg was completely unknown to me. In fact, I only found out these book-versions of his lectures existed thanks to a GR-friend reading them last year. Since then, I have read the one on Haydn and am planning on reading one every month from now on until I've read / listened to them all.
This, then, is about Johannes Brahms.
Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833, in Hamburg to a quite poor north-German family as the second of three children. His father played two instruments (the horn and double bass). However, it was more a way of making money than being artistic. Which resulted in the parents forcing a young Johannes Brahms, once his talent at the piano had been discovered (though Brahms also played cello), to play at brothels in Hamburg's St. Pauli quarter. There, the boy suffered abuse at least from the prostitutes but, as Greenberg abtly supposes, by the sailors being on shore leave too - not least because Brahms looked and sounded quite feminine until his mid-twenties! This turned out to be a major influence on Brahms' outlook on women and love. As I said in my status update, I don't think enough blame was laid at the feet of the parents.
Eventually, he escaped that hell, met the Schumanns, was dismissed by Robert Schumann, met others, finally had someone listen to what he had composed - and everyone was flabberghasted. It didn't take long until he and the Schumanns met again and they were smitten with Brahms.
There were a lot of ups and downs in Brahms' life, he helped found a club for hornists, he even managed to grow facial hair for the first time in his thirties (hard to believe it took this long considering the full beard he sported in later years), he proposed to a number of women, broke up with them soon after, he got infatuated with Clara Schumann (and later her daughter), but Brahms never married. There were also all kinds of different jobs because he just couldn't stay in one for more than 3 years. Which is weird considering his thirst to prove himself on account of his background/upbringing.
After his mother had died, he moved to Vienna. He visited Germany (mostly Hamburg) quite often and was there when his father (divorced and re-married to a much younger woman by then) died as well. He genereally stayed close to his family members (even his stepmother and her son from her first marriage). But he always returned to Vienna once he had moved there and lived in the same apartment until he died on April 3, 1897.
Surprisingly, not THAT much can be said about Brahms' life. Not least because he kept preciously few records and was a private person. What I did learn from this lecture and cross-referencing with a few other sources is that he really wasn't too fond of women (or not for too long), with the exception of Clara and (and I don't get that) his mother. He also was generally difficult to get along with and had frequent and unpredictable outbursts.
His music, though, was fantastic. No, he's not my favorite composer and I don't know as much of his music as I'd like (I can always correct that in the future though), but there is a reason such a lecture exists about him.
Sorry there won't be more information here. If you wanna know the juicy tidbits, read / listen to the lecture. ;)
Which brings me to Greenberg himself. He was, interestingly, not quite as flamboyant here as when he told us about Haydn. I think it had to do with the subject. The lecture's structure and style were once again very nice, however, and I learned tons.
As with all of Greenberg's lectures, this, too, has a pdf file containing the script - which allows incredibly detailed and specific research at any point and one doesn't have to read through the whole biography. Quite neat!
August 25, 2023
4 ⭐️
Brahms - "Lonely but Free"
I'd never fully understood, just by listening to his music, why Brahms seems to be considered by many as a classicist or formalist. Greenberg does an excellent job of explaining why this is indeed an oversimplification and that Brahms was infact only a traditionalist in his proclivity for the classical forms/compositional structure rather than towards melody or harmony of which he was very much a modernist romantic equal to, if not surpassing, his contemporaries.
Having now listened to a few of these lectures from the 'Great Masters' series I will note that the recordings that are regularly sampled are, despite being very convenient, not of the highest quality. A minor concern with Spotify at the ready but worth noting.
Keep 'em coming Greenberg!
Brahms - "Lonely but Free"
I'd never fully understood, just by listening to his music, why Brahms seems to be considered by many as a classicist or formalist. Greenberg does an excellent job of explaining why this is indeed an oversimplification and that Brahms was infact only a traditionalist in his proclivity for the classical forms/compositional structure rather than towards melody or harmony of which he was very much a modernist romantic equal to, if not surpassing, his contemporaries.
Having now listened to a few of these lectures from the 'Great Masters' series I will note that the recordings that are regularly sampled are, despite being very convenient, not of the highest quality. A minor concern with Spotify at the ready but worth noting.
Keep 'em coming Greenberg!
January 26, 2024
This was a wonderfully conceived and executed journey through Brahms’s life! Incredibly accessible and engaging, I highly recommend this to anyone who considers themself a music lover! Filled with wonderful anecdotes about Brahms as a very down-to-earth human being, as well as terrific clips of music used very effectively throughout, this is anything but a dry, fusty lecture series!
September 23, 2018
Brahms wrote some of my favorite orchestral music, and now, I want to listen to all of his work, (except for the folksongs).
Robert Greenberg is the best lecturer of the series that I've come across. His excitement and absolute familiarity with the work brought me along to where I cried. Amazing. I'm sorry it's over, but I'm downloading the clarinet quintet now.
Robert Greenberg is the best lecturer of the series that I've come across. His excitement and absolute familiarity with the work brought me along to where I cried. Amazing. I'm sorry it's over, but I'm downloading the clarinet quintet now.
February 23, 2025
Greenberg treats Brahms as a summation of the classical age or at least as using classical structures/forms as settings for romantic melodies/harmonies.
December 24, 2017
Back in the day, I was not a fan of Brahms' music. Emphatically so. As a result I believed the critics who said he was not deserving of the praise heaped on him. And then two things happened. First, I fell hard for the Academic Festival Overture, and began to listen to other works of Brahms with a more open mind. Second, I listened to this course.
I've said before that Professor Greenberg has a knack for sharing his enthusiasm about a composer, and he purely loves Johannes Brahms. He also has a knack for contextualizing composers and their music in terms of not only their life experiences, but historical events and trends as well. And in this case he does a beautiful job of giving us a young Johannes who was set to play piano in Hamburg brothels when he was just a child. A natural musician and composer, a man who was a puzzle even to those closest to him, and a composer who, in holding to the rigorous musical forms of the past while expressing the spirit of German romanticism, produced work that made him the true heir to Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.
Brahms had issues. His childhood experiences in Hamburg brothels soured him on women, and though he fell in love several times in his life, he never married. Possibly this was as much a result of his mania for freedom which kept him from taking any real jobs for most of his life, as it was the trauma of those early years. But he led what appeared to be a happy, orderly life, had a great many friends in spite of his famously wicked temper and general grumpiness, made a good deal of money, which he then gave away freely, and not incidentally produced some glorious music.
I admit that the professor has some weird verbal tics. He's often over dramatic (You should see one of his video courses!) and a bit goofy, but his information is top notch and I don't think you could do better for clear, concise, and memorable learning experiences on music and music history. His Great Masters series, of which Brahms is one, is reasonably priced through Audible, possibly a bit less so directly from The Great Courses. But so far I consider them well worth the price. In fact, I sometimes find myself thinking longingly of listening to yet another of Greenberg's courses. They're that good.
I've said before that Professor Greenberg has a knack for sharing his enthusiasm about a composer, and he purely loves Johannes Brahms. He also has a knack for contextualizing composers and their music in terms of not only their life experiences, but historical events and trends as well. And in this case he does a beautiful job of giving us a young Johannes who was set to play piano in Hamburg brothels when he was just a child. A natural musician and composer, a man who was a puzzle even to those closest to him, and a composer who, in holding to the rigorous musical forms of the past while expressing the spirit of German romanticism, produced work that made him the true heir to Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.
Brahms had issues. His childhood experiences in Hamburg brothels soured him on women, and though he fell in love several times in his life, he never married. Possibly this was as much a result of his mania for freedom which kept him from taking any real jobs for most of his life, as it was the trauma of those early years. But he led what appeared to be a happy, orderly life, had a great many friends in spite of his famously wicked temper and general grumpiness, made a good deal of money, which he then gave away freely, and not incidentally produced some glorious music.
I admit that the professor has some weird verbal tics. He's often over dramatic (You should see one of his video courses!) and a bit goofy, but his information is top notch and I don't think you could do better for clear, concise, and memorable learning experiences on music and music history. His Great Masters series, of which Brahms is one, is reasonably priced through Audible, possibly a bit less so directly from The Great Courses. But so far I consider them well worth the price. In fact, I sometimes find myself thinking longingly of listening to yet another of Greenberg's courses. They're that good.
October 20, 2021
Yet another fantastic course by Robert Greenberg! I loved every minute of it. I was already fond of the four symphonies by Brahms, but now I'm looking forward to acquiring and listening to many more works by the composer.
Recommended for classical and romantic music fans.
Recommended for classical and romantic music fans.
March 14, 2016
Audio download of my first 'Great Masters' lecture set....8-45 minute lectures.
"JB (Brahms) we hardly knew you". What an apt title (for me) of the first lecture from Professor Greenberg. Other that knowing that Brahms had something to do with the children's tune "Lullaby and goodnight..." I knew nothing about Herr Brahms or the classics, for that matter. My idea of the classics was limited to music from the 1960's, certainly not the 1860's. Greenberg (or can I call him Bob) presents a set of well-organized lectures that weaves together a brief biography with examples of contemporaneous music composed during his career. From his early professional life playing piano in the bars and brothels of Hamburg to the concert halls of Vienna, Bob manages to generate a genuine interest in trying to understand both the man and his music, by inserting snippets of music with the narrative..always with great energy and humor.
But the real reason for the 5 star rating is that, after listening to Lecture #7, I became curious about just what the heck was so great about Brahms' Symphony #1 (hey, it's only an hour or so long...just about as long as a Led Zeppelin album)...so I googled YouTube and found a performance by the Cleveland Symphony (with Welser-Most conducting) and was most impressed (get it?). I then moved on to Symphony #2 (Dresden Symphony, conducted by Thielmann) and was really blown away...first by recognizing the "Cradle Song" (aka 'Lullaby and Goodnight') melody in the first movement, and then the dynamic 4th movement...that really got me hooked! I then moved on to several hours of Brahms music...notably the Hungarian Dance #5 (you will recognize it) to the most impressive Cello Sonata #1, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax.
The course is a good one standalone (good job, Bob)...but if you dig a little deeper, it becomes a great one. I look forward to the next 'Great Masters' lecture, when they go on sale and I have a coupon.
Highly recommended.
"JB (Brahms) we hardly knew you". What an apt title (for me) of the first lecture from Professor Greenberg. Other that knowing that Brahms had something to do with the children's tune "Lullaby and goodnight..." I knew nothing about Herr Brahms or the classics, for that matter. My idea of the classics was limited to music from the 1960's, certainly not the 1860's. Greenberg (or can I call him Bob) presents a set of well-organized lectures that weaves together a brief biography with examples of contemporaneous music composed during his career. From his early professional life playing piano in the bars and brothels of Hamburg to the concert halls of Vienna, Bob manages to generate a genuine interest in trying to understand both the man and his music, by inserting snippets of music with the narrative..always with great energy and humor.
But the real reason for the 5 star rating is that, after listening to Lecture #7, I became curious about just what the heck was so great about Brahms' Symphony #1 (hey, it's only an hour or so long...just about as long as a Led Zeppelin album)...so I googled YouTube and found a performance by the Cleveland Symphony (with Welser-Most conducting) and was most impressed (get it?). I then moved on to Symphony #2 (Dresden Symphony, conducted by Thielmann) and was really blown away...first by recognizing the "Cradle Song" (aka 'Lullaby and Goodnight') melody in the first movement, and then the dynamic 4th movement...that really got me hooked! I then moved on to several hours of Brahms music...notably the Hungarian Dance #5 (you will recognize it) to the most impressive Cello Sonata #1, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax.
The course is a good one standalone (good job, Bob)...but if you dig a little deeper, it becomes a great one. I look forward to the next 'Great Masters' lecture, when they go on sale and I have a coupon.
Highly recommended.
February 21, 2009
I really enjoy all his musical biographies. You learn so much about the composer and the composer's music.
January 28, 2020
I love listening to classical music. It helps me to relax and fall asleep at night and cook in the kitchen. I have listened to Professor Greenberg's lectures before and he is one of my favorites for the Great Courses.
The only thing I knew about Brahms before this course was the Lullaby. I learned a great deal about his life. When he was 9-12 his father sent him to whorehouses to play the piano because the family needed the money. The whores molested him and it caused him to hate all women, except his mother, step-mother and Clara Schumann. He never married.
His music was beautiful but he was a difficult person. He loved Clara Schumann his whole life and they were very good friends but he couldn't commit to marry her. She was the wife and then widow of Robert Schumann, also a composer who died in a mental hospital, leaving Clara to raise their 8 children. Johannes Brahms helped her all he could and grieved with her when her children suffered.
They vacationed in the same town the rest of their lives.
I enjoyed listening to the music samples that Professor Greenberg plays and it has made me find my own. I borrowed this course from my local library.
The only thing I knew about Brahms before this course was the Lullaby. I learned a great deal about his life. When he was 9-12 his father sent him to whorehouses to play the piano because the family needed the money. The whores molested him and it caused him to hate all women, except his mother, step-mother and Clara Schumann. He never married.
His music was beautiful but he was a difficult person. He loved Clara Schumann his whole life and they were very good friends but he couldn't commit to marry her. She was the wife and then widow of Robert Schumann, also a composer who died in a mental hospital, leaving Clara to raise their 8 children. Johannes Brahms helped her all he could and grieved with her when her children suffered.
They vacationed in the same town the rest of their lives.
I enjoyed listening to the music samples that Professor Greenberg plays and it has made me find my own. I borrowed this course from my local library.
April 23, 2023
Enthusiasm for the Hungarian dances and the 2nd piano concerto have brought me back to dear professor Greenberg for more information and boy did he not dissapoint. I learned plenty about Brahms's life and discovered countless interesting pieces of music along the way. This audio course is a treat for anyone who wants to go deeper into the rabbit hole. My only gripe could be that on the limitated space of about 6 hours it really isn't possible to go into that much detail about the individual opuses. Perhaps understandable though, given that Greenberg's other courses (e.g. about Wagner's operas) clock at 18 hours – and I am not sure I'd have it in me to sit through that. In any case a big recommendation for all classical music lovers.
February 27, 2024
Muahahahahahaha I think I rather love Brahms. His music is bombastic and really appealing, but after this little lecture series on Brahms, the man, himself, is highly amusing.
He LOVED messing with people. Between his devoted care of the Schumanns, his undying hate of Wagner, his many, many fireplaced works that might have been lost brilliance, this damn guy ALSO loved to insult many people to their faces while staunchly defending them behind their backs.
He's just that kind of guy. And money? He always dressed threadbare, earned tons of money, and just did all he could to give it away as soon as people threw it at him.
In a way, I think ALL of that expresses his musical genius, too. He threw it ALL at us, endlessly gregarious and generous.
What a damn guy.
He LOVED messing with people. Between his devoted care of the Schumanns, his undying hate of Wagner, his many, many fireplaced works that might have been lost brilliance, this damn guy ALSO loved to insult many people to their faces while staunchly defending them behind their backs.
He's just that kind of guy. And money? He always dressed threadbare, earned tons of money, and just did all he could to give it away as soon as people threw it at him.
In a way, I think ALL of that expresses his musical genius, too. He threw it ALL at us, endlessly gregarious and generous.
What a damn guy.
July 10, 2023
Once again, just marvelous. Apparently there isn't a lot known about Brahms' personal life. He burned all of his intermediate work and collected most of the letters he wrote to others and burned them too. He did that after he realized that he was within range of dying and he didn't like the endless picking apart of other composers after their deaths, so he destroyed anything he found embarrassing. A few things survive. It is all interesting, but not complete.
Of course, examples of music of Brahms are included. I wanted more and the professor knew it. He encouraged the listener to seek out more music by Brahms.
I'd listen to this audio course again.
Of course, examples of music of Brahms are included. I wanted more and the professor knew it. He encouraged the listener to seek out more music by Brahms.
I'd listen to this audio course again.
December 2, 2024
I never forget that Professor Robert Greenberg is, himself, a composer of note. He brings a special insight to courses like this one on Brahms.
Unimaginable, the childhood of Brahms. Or his adult years. Or his quirky generosity toward others.
Unimaginable too, by any other composer, is the Johannes Brahms body of work.
Robert Greenberg was at his best, his most superb, teaching about the music, alternating that with the remarkable life. Narrated without judgment and always with the loveliest appreciation.
Unimaginable, the childhood of Brahms. Or his adult years. Or his quirky generosity toward others.
Unimaginable too, by any other composer, is the Johannes Brahms body of work.
Robert Greenberg was at his best, his most superb, teaching about the music, alternating that with the remarkable life. Narrated without judgment and always with the loveliest appreciation.
March 24, 2019
I give it 10 stars out of 5. Simply one of the most wonderful series of lectures out there. If you enjoy Brahms’ work, this class is a must. But, if you are a fan of music in general, you will find the ideas presented in this class to greatly enhance your appreciation for wonderfully-crafted music and for the people who created it. Very highly recommended and one of my top favorite classes of all time.
August 18, 2016
As the second Great Course I have listened to and reviewed so far, and there will likely be plenty where that came from to come [1], there is a comfort in seeing something that is already familiar--namely a collection of 8 45 minute lectures that are delivered by an immensely passionate and knowledgeable professor, in this case a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, who clearly has a love of Brahms as a composer. Being a person who is greatly fond of what is termed classical music from several periods [2], and being fond of Brahms himself, I was greatly pleased to be able to understand his life better, even though, as the professor says, Brahms is among the least known of composers, and that which is known about his life is exceptionally superficial, such as accounts of him being a cranky and irascible fellow who made serious music and smoked a lot of cigars. Obviously, a man who composed the sort of well-beloved music that Brahms did surely had more going on than just a few odd personality quirks, and so I looked forward to finding out about him, and this collection delivered what I was looking for, and a lot that I was not looking for but which was compelling nonetheless.
The contents of this book, mostly chronologically organized, present 6 hours of lecture material in 8 cds that are finely balanced between the life and music of famed 19th century German composer Johannes Brahms. This collection of lectures manages to include a great deal of music from Brahms and, despite the fact that Brahms was so paranoid about his personal life that he burned virtually all of his letters in order to deny to posterity a look into his private emotional life and also destroyed his unpublished manuscripts, so that there was no treasure trove of back catalog material for others to look at after his death, manages to include a lot of detail about his life as well. The lectures themselves are structured in order, beginning from the notable fact that we hardly know J.B., a look at his traumatic childhood as a musician in the brothels of Hamburg, his productive time with the Schumanns, which included an awkward and intense and frustrated passion between J.B. and Mrs. Schumann, one of many awkward and frustrated passions in Brahm's life, apparently, his vagabond years, his coming into maturity as a composer, his mastery of difficult forms like the piano and strong concerto and sonata form, his move into symphonies despite the tramp of giants, and his long and productive goodbye. The author includes many excerpts from songs that one wants to hear in whole, and has insightful comments to make about their playfulness and Brahm's characteristic balance between the strict and disciplined forms of baroque and classical composition and the emotional warmth of 19th century romanticism.
As a romanticist myself with a strong appreciation for classical rigor and form, I found perhaps too much to relate to when it came to Brahms. Like many creative people, Brahms' background and emotional life can be considered immensely complicated and unpleasant. He came from a dysfunctional family, the child of an itinerant musician in Hamburg who faced child abuse as a slightly effeminate musician in the brothels of Hamburg, which appears to have given him a lasting horror at sexual intimacy. While his mentor Schumann went mad, he had a frustrated love for Schumann's wife, and later, while in his thirties, had a lengthy passion for one of their teenage daughters. He never married, and apparently dealt with his physical needs by consorting with prostitutes, although he once was engaged to an attractive soprano but broke the engagement in a fit of insecurity after negative reception to an early concerto, feeling in insupportable to require encouragement and support from a partner. He was a person of fairly rigid and inflexible routines, and generally indifferent to material wealth and possessions despite a childhood of intense poverty and privation. He was also someone who hid a rather tender and vulnerable heart behind a gruff and irascible exterior, a celebrity composer who valued his privacy, a compositional conservative who was simultaneously a political liberal, and a friend of Jews, and an enemy to the anti-Semitic cult of Wagner. He was, in short, the sort of person I could identify with, and a reminder of the private torment that often produces great art.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
The contents of this book, mostly chronologically organized, present 6 hours of lecture material in 8 cds that are finely balanced between the life and music of famed 19th century German composer Johannes Brahms. This collection of lectures manages to include a great deal of music from Brahms and, despite the fact that Brahms was so paranoid about his personal life that he burned virtually all of his letters in order to deny to posterity a look into his private emotional life and also destroyed his unpublished manuscripts, so that there was no treasure trove of back catalog material for others to look at after his death, manages to include a lot of detail about his life as well. The lectures themselves are structured in order, beginning from the notable fact that we hardly know J.B., a look at his traumatic childhood as a musician in the brothels of Hamburg, his productive time with the Schumanns, which included an awkward and intense and frustrated passion between J.B. and Mrs. Schumann, one of many awkward and frustrated passions in Brahm's life, apparently, his vagabond years, his coming into maturity as a composer, his mastery of difficult forms like the piano and strong concerto and sonata form, his move into symphonies despite the tramp of giants, and his long and productive goodbye. The author includes many excerpts from songs that one wants to hear in whole, and has insightful comments to make about their playfulness and Brahm's characteristic balance between the strict and disciplined forms of baroque and classical composition and the emotional warmth of 19th century romanticism.
As a romanticist myself with a strong appreciation for classical rigor and form, I found perhaps too much to relate to when it came to Brahms. Like many creative people, Brahms' background and emotional life can be considered immensely complicated and unpleasant. He came from a dysfunctional family, the child of an itinerant musician in Hamburg who faced child abuse as a slightly effeminate musician in the brothels of Hamburg, which appears to have given him a lasting horror at sexual intimacy. While his mentor Schumann went mad, he had a frustrated love for Schumann's wife, and later, while in his thirties, had a lengthy passion for one of their teenage daughters. He never married, and apparently dealt with his physical needs by consorting with prostitutes, although he once was engaged to an attractive soprano but broke the engagement in a fit of insecurity after negative reception to an early concerto, feeling in insupportable to require encouragement and support from a partner. He was a person of fairly rigid and inflexible routines, and generally indifferent to material wealth and possessions despite a childhood of intense poverty and privation. He was also someone who hid a rather tender and vulnerable heart behind a gruff and irascible exterior, a celebrity composer who valued his privacy, a compositional conservative who was simultaneously a political liberal, and a friend of Jews, and an enemy to the anti-Semitic cult of Wagner. He was, in short, the sort of person I could identify with, and a reminder of the private torment that often produces great art.
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https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
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https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
October 9, 2021
Vastly entertaining quick overview of Brahm's life and music. A huge bonus with the audio book is there are examples of the music. A good introduction for sure. It of course covers the highlights only.
May 15, 2022
Great lecture. A small note: I read on Wikipedia that the story of an impoverished Brahms playing in brothels as a kid is dismissed by scholars. If this is accurate the idea of that being the origin of his misogyny (and of his reserved nature) should be dismissed too.
June 18, 2019
Money, women, and perfection...oh my!
May 18, 2020
This was great. There's a few quotes that really hit me. The gruffy tramp from the brothels done good.
July 13, 2021
Another brilliant set of lectures on a brilliant composer. I enjoyed every minute of this course and now have a lot of music I want to investigate of Brahms.
December 5, 2021
Brahms music is new to me, so I am grateful for Professor Greenberg’s great lectures and the accompanying music.
October 24, 2023
Great listen! Prof Greenberg is enthusiastic and knowledgeable, his lectures well-ordered, interesting and full of insights. Brahms seems much more approachable after this course.
December 20, 2023
Presenter/instructor is brilliant. He is charming and the lectures are informative and perceptive.
February 12, 2024
Actually I listened to this lecture on Libby. This guy Greenberg is an amazing lecturer on music and I'm going to listen to a bunch more.
December 12, 2024
I always learn something new from these courses so it is a joy to interact with them.
December 17, 2024
I had no idea how interesting of a life Brahams lived! This course made me want to go read a biography of Brahms.
December 30, 2024
Audiobook/ lecture series with music synopses. My only complaint is that it was too short. Alas I must to youtube to listen to more Brahms.
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