Quintet and Quartets for Piano and Strings

by Johannes Brahms

By 1853 Brahms had emerged as a force in music and would afterward be acknowledged as the greatest master of the symphonic form of the last half of the century. In that generation of composers, only Dvořák (for whom he had a special regard and to whom he gave invaluable aid) produced as much chamber music as the prolific Brahms. This prodigious outpouring, perhaps more than any other aspect of Brahms's oeuvre, provides a clear and uninterrupted view of his artistic development.
Here reproduced in this handsome, inexpensive volume is a superb selection of chamber works — masterful compositions by Brahms, written for violin, viola, cello, and piano. Reprinted from the reliable Breitkopf & Härtel edition, they include Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34; the Quartet in C Minor, Op. 25; and Quartet in A Major, Op. 26, distinguished by their variety of moods, gypsy coloring, and richness of ideas; and the Quartet in C Minor, Op. 60, with its somber and foreboding atmosphere.
Standards of the repertoire, these four compositions are strongly dramatic, richly inventive, and filled with ingenious thematic transformations. Musicians, music lovers, and any admirer of Brahms will welcome their appearance in this convenient, affordable edition. Large, readable noteheads and ample margins for notations make this excellent volume an important addition to the library of every serious student of chamber music.

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

In 1833, Johannes Brahms was born in Germany. As a teenager playing for drunken sailors in a Hamburg bar, Brahms would prop up books of poetry to read as a diversion. His favorite poet was the anticlerical G.F. Daumer, described by the Catholic Encyclopedia as "an enemy of Christianity". Brahms' works were influenced by such writers as Hoffman, Friedrich Schiller and Robert Burns. He was well-read in philosophy and science, and was an avid hiker who took inspiration from nature. When asked by a conductor to add additional sectarian text to his German Requiem, Brahms responded, "As far as the text is concerned, I confess that I would gladly omit even the word German and instead use Human; also with my best knowledge and will I would dispense with passages like John 3:16." (Jan Swafford, Johannes Brahms: A Biography). A liberal, Brahms ardently opposed anti-Semitism, was approachable even at the height of his fame, and was always generous with his time and charity. Biographer Swafford writes of the young composer: "Though he was to be a freethinker in religion, Johannes pored over the Bible beyond the requirements for his Protestant confirmation." From then on, "Music was Brahms' religion." According to Swafford, Brahms was "a humanist and an agnostic." After nearly 64 years of near perfect health, never even enduring a headache, Brahms succumbed quickly to liver cancer. There was no deathbed conversion. D. 1897.

In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs". The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes...

http://www.johannesbrahms.org/

http://www.biography.com/people/johan...

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Brah...

http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/rom/br...

http://www.naxos.com/person/Johannes_...

http://www.last.fm/music/Johannes+Brahms

http://www.classicalarchives.com/brah...

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johann...

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/educati...