8/3/2019 Composer Report

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The composer that I chose is Johannes Brahms. The reason I chose this composer is quite

simple. As I first did some research on him I found out that he was considered one of the

greatest and most influential composers of all time, along with Bach and Beethoven. It

wasn’t really that achievement that made me choose him, but the fact that I had no idea

who he was; it made me feel quite ignorant.

He was a German composer who later moved to Austria. He lived during the

Romanic period, which also excites me as it was a time of great flourishing and

achievements in the arts. His parents were of a middle class background, much like mine,

his father was a musician and his mother a seamstress. Brahms was forced to grow up

quickly and take on his profession at an early age, something that I can very much relate

to. In fact, Brahms gave his first concert at the age of nineteen, the same age I opened my

first company.

What I found most interesting about this musical genius was that he was full of 

self-doubt. He actually threw away a series of his works just because he did not think 

they were good enough. He continued to struggle with this until he was about thirty-five

and the world accepted him. Gaining this universal acceptance drove Brahms to compose

his first string quartet, third piano quartet and most notably his first symphony. It’s

amazing to see a man of this magnitude have the same fears and insecurities as any one

of us. The fact is that we do better when we feel accepted by a select group than if we

feel shunned or outcast. This personality of his can clearly be seen in his works. He

strived for perfection and maintained a classical style, which he very much admired; in

order to appease the masses which he was so concerned would accept him. After listening

8/3/2019 Composer Report

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to a few of his pieces, you can feel that passion that he felt and you can almost imagine

him trying to make it as perfect as possible no matter how many drafts it took.

His contributions to music are endless, in my opinion the inspiration that he

 passed on far surpassed any of his written work. He wrote a number of major works for 

orchestra which included a variety of instruments. His choral work was something that he

continued to add upon after some of the major events in his life as well as his extensive

contribution to chamber music. He was very much viewed as a serious composer but he

also contributed smaller and more commercial pieces to promote music.

Often too busy with his passion of music that Brahms let his love-life take a back 

seat and he never married. He was truly passionate about what he did. He was

determined to live up to expectations of him that had been previously set by other people.

He was often misinterpreted as being somewhat of a scrooge when he really was not. He

simply enjoyed his walks through nature and did not like to be disturbed, again

something I can identify with. At the age of fifty-seven he decided it was time to retire

from composing but this retirement was short lived. Nothing could keep him away from

this enthusiasm for music that ran through his veins. Although he made plenty of money,

he chose to remain humble and live in a simple apartment with a nurse and share his

wealth with others.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to learn about an individual that is one of the

greatest geniuses of the music world and saw so much of myself in him. The passion, the

fear, the need for acceptance, the need to be alone at times and the sacrifice all go with

 being passionate about what you do.