Brahms: His Life and Work

by Karl Geiringer

Karl Geiringer's biography of Brahms is generally regarded as the finest study of the composer ever published in any language. It is based upon the great body of material in the archives of the Viennese Society of Friends, for which Dr. Geiringer was curator from 1930–1938, and which contains more than a thousand letters written by and to Brahms. These letters, exchanged with family and with his famous contemporaries, reveal his loneliness, grim humor, loyalty, painful shyness, and enthusiasm for the music of Beethoven and Schubert—moods that the self-effacing composer did not publicly display. Divided into sections on Brahms's solitary, scholarly existence and his fruitful composing career—including examinations of rare first drafts—the biography relates how crises in Brahms's personal life were translated into his music, and how he often managed to ignore or suppress them. Supplemented with a new appendix on "Brahms as a Reader and Collector," this third edition of a classic biography is both a literary and musicological event.

Genres: Music, Biography

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography which at times wallows too much in 19th century clichés and bathos - letters reveal "the mood of a quiet evening landscape bathed in the last rays of sunset", "the warmest interest" is always being shown, people suffer "so cruel a fate," Brahms's father "married the old maid [his mother] with cheerful unconcern" but Brahms himself "unwedded and childless ... had to tread life's paths." He was born into a poor Hamburg family and after age 15 was largely self-taught, becoming an avid reader of many of the classics (in German, he was terrible with other languages). Brahms revered his genius predecessors, Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, the latter so much that when he collected Schubert's autograph manuscripts he lovingly brushed the drying-sand off them and saved it in a special box. He hunted through the works of the greats for parallel fifths and octaves (supposedly forbidden, according to the rules of music theory) and copied them for further study.

The author, as curator of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna in the 1930s, had access to a large cache of previously unpublished letters Brahms had received, and incorporates a lot of this material. The picture we get of his mother through her letters is wonderful, a warm and loving person, endlessly supportive of Johannes, seventeen years older than his father; her death was, at least in part, the inspiration for his greatest choral work, the deutsches Requiem.

The second section, on Brahms's works, is strongest. Geiringer was a Viennese musicologist, and knew his Stoff.

The only puzzling thing is how on p. 331 he calls Brahms "anything but a misogynist" but on p. 379 "in his copy of the Koran, the misogynist Brahms ... approvingly marked all those passages referring to the inferiority of women."

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating book. I feel like I went from 0% knowledge of Brahms to 100% knowledge, which is interesting. I was really into the life biography (Part 1), it was well written, organized well, and captivating. Four stars for that part alone. The description of every piece he ever composed (Part 2) was a huge slog and I had to persevere to get through it. It was well done, but not knowing the pieces of music myself made it hard to follow, or care. Two stars for that section. The final part, Part 3, was a fine conclusion but I’m not sure how much it really added, it mostly felt like a summary of the first part. Three stars for that part. Definitely recommended if you like Brahms or music history.

[Bob Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Brahms’s life is dizzying for someone new to the subject. This book flowed smoothly through it leaving me somewhat thirsty for more. Brahms was a fascinating person who wrote some truly wonderful music.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction into Brahms life and music and what stands out form this biography is just how much Brahms helped other people, a very selfless man who was always willing to help perfomers or young composers financially or by any means he could. If it wasnt for Brahms then Dvorak would never have been heard from. Im not sure why one reviewer said this book was all about his sex life, i cant remember sex being mentioned once, other than his relationship with Clara. But delving into the relationship with Clara is integral to understanding Brahms pyschological character. The biographer clearly has great reverence for Brahms but will pick out fauilts in his music when Brahms wasnt up to his usual standard. The book is in 3 sections a biography 1st then a section on his music and finally a section covering Brahms's letters. Recommended to any Brahmsian devotee's.

[ASHLY SANFORD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brahms is one of my favorite composers esepically his german requiem preformed by Furtwangler, but this book sucks and focuses to much on his sex life rather than the man as an artiest in history and his attempt to continue the tradition of Bach, Beethoven, etc.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn't finish. But I liked what I read. And he is by far my favorite composer

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13485359