Biography of Brahms. Brahms. Vocal creativity The last years of life

SCHERR, Johannes (Scherr, Johannes, 1817–1886), German historian19 Caesar's madness. // Kaiserwahnsinn. This is the title of the chapter dedicated to Napoleon I in Scherr’s book “Blücher and His Epoch” (1862); further they spoke about “German Caesarist madness.” ? Gefl. Worte-01, S. 214. Then from Gustav Freytag

Johannes Brahms (Brahms, Johannes) The group “Sounds of Mu” had a saying: “Man is a composer for man.” Hm. What do we know about composers? The composer is like a radio receiver: he perceives his vision of beauty in the infinite universe and, to the best of his ability, transmits it to us. But here

As long as there are people who are capable of responding to music with all their hearts, and as long as Brahms’s music gives birth to exactly such a response in them, this music will live.
G. Gal

By joining musical life as the successor of R. Schumann in romanticism, J. Brahms followed the path of a broad and individual implementation of traditions different eras German-Austrian music and German culture in general. During the period of development of new genres of program and theatrical music (F. Liszt, R. Wagner), Brahms, who turned mainly to classical instrumental forms and genres, seemed to prove their viability and promise, enriching them with skill and attitude contemporary artist. No less significant are vocal works (solo, ensemble, choral), in which the range of tradition is especially felt - from the experience of the Renaissance masters to modern everyday music and romantic lyrics.

Brahms was born in musical family. His father, who went through a difficult journey from a wandering artisan musician to a double bassist with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, gave his son initial skills in playing various string and wind instruments, but Johannes was more attracted to the piano. Success in his studies with F. Kossel (later with the famous teacher E. Marxen) allowed him to take part in a chamber ensemble at the age of 10, and at 15 to give a solo concert. WITH early years Brahms helped his father support his family, playing the piano in port taverns, making arrangements for the publisher Kranz, working as a pianist in the opera house, etc. Before leaving Hamburg (April 1853) on a tour with the Hungarian violinist E. Remenyi (from those performed in Concerts of folk tunes later gave birth to the famous “Hungarian Dances” for piano 4 and 2 hands) he was already the author of numerous works in various genres, most of them destroyed.

The very first published works (3 sonatas and a scherzo for piano, songs) revealed the early creative maturity of the twenty-year-old composer. They aroused the admiration of Schumann, whose meeting in the autumn of 1853 in Düsseldorf determined the entire subsequent life of Brahms. Schumann's music (its influence was especially directly felt in the Third Sonata - 1853, in the Variations on a Theme of Schumann - 1854 and in the last of the four ballads - 1854), the whole atmosphere of his home, the closeness of artistic interests (in his youth, Brahms, like Schumann, was fond of romantic literature- Jean-Paul, T. A. Hoffmann, I Eichendorff, etc.) had a huge impact on the young composer. At the same time, the responsibility for the fate of German music, as if Schumann placed it on Brahms (he recommended him to Leipzig publishers, wrote an enthusiastic article about him “New Paths”), the catastrophe that soon followed (the suicide attempt made by Schumann in 1854, his stay in hospital for the mentally ill, where Brahms visited him, finally, Schumann’s death in 1856), a romantic feeling of passionate attachment to Clara Schumann, whom Brahms devotedly helped in these difficult days - all this exacerbated the dramatic tension of Brahms’ music, its stormy spontaneity (First concert for piano and orchestra - 1854-59; sketches for the First Symphony, Third Piano Quartet, completed much later).

In terms of his way of thinking, at the same time, Brahms was initially characterized by a desire for objectivity, for strict logical orderliness, characteristic of the art of the classics. These traits were especially strengthened with Brahms’s move to Detmold (1857), where he took the position of musician at the princely court, led the choir, studied the scores of the old masters, G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach, J. Haydn and V. A. Mozart, created works in genres characteristic of the music of the 18th century. (2 orchestral serenades - 1857-59, choral works). Interest in choral music Studies with an amateur women's choir in Hamburg, where Brahms returned in 1860, also contributed (he was very attached to his parents and his hometown, but never received a permanent job there that satisfied his aspirations). The result of the creativity of the 50s - early 60s. chamber ensembles with the participation of piano began - large-scale works, as if replacing Brahms symphonies (2 quartets - 1862, Quintet - 1864), as well as variation cycles (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel - 1861, 2 notebooks of Variations on a Theme of Paganini - 1862-63 ) are wonderful examples of his piano style.

In 1862, Brahms went to Vienna, where he gradually settled for permanent residence. A tribute to the Viennese (including Schubert) tradition of everyday music were waltzes for piano in 4 and 2 hands (1867), as well as “Songs of Love” (1869) and “New Songs of Love” (1874) - waltzes for piano in 4 hands and a vocal quartet, where Brahms sometimes comes into contact with the style of the “King of Waltzes” - J. Strauss (son), whose music he highly appreciated. Brahms also gained fame as a pianist (he performed since 1854, especially willingly performed the piano part in his own chamber ensembles, played Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, his own works, accompanied singers, traveled to German Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Hungary, and various German city), and after the performance in 1868 in Bremen of the “German Requiem” - his largest work (for choir, soloists and orchestra on texts from the Bible) - and as a composer. The strengthening of Brahms' authority in Vienna was facilitated by his activity as director of the choir of the Singing Academy (1863-64), and then of the choir and orchestra of the Society of Music Lovers (1872-75). Brahms was intensively active in editing piano works by W. F. Bach, F. Couperin, F. Chopin, R. Schumann for the publishing house Breitkopf and Hertel. He contributed to the publication of works by A. Dvorak, then a little-known composer indebted to Brahms warm support and participation in his fate.

Complete creative maturity was marked by Brahms's turn to the symphony (First - 1876, Second - 1877, Third - 1883, Fourth - 1884-85). On the approaches to realizing this main work of his life, Brahms honed his skills in three string quartets (First, Second - 1873, Third - 1875), in the orchestral Variations on a Theme of Haydn (1873). Images close to symphonies are embodied in “Song of Fate” (after F. Hölderlin, 1868-71) and in “Song of the Parks” (after J. V. Goethe, 1882). The bright and inspired harmony of the Violin Concerto (1878) and the Second Piano Concerto (1881) reflected the impressions of his trips to Italy. The ideas of many of Brahms’s works are connected with its nature, as well as with the nature of Austria, Switzerland, and Germany (Brahms usually composed in the summer months). Their spread in Germany and beyond was facilitated by the activities of outstanding performers: G. Bülow, conductor of one of the best Meiningen orchestras in Germany; violinist J. Joachim (Brahms's closest friend) - leader of the quartet and soloist; singer J. Stockhausen and others. Chamber ensembles of different compositions (3 sonatas for violin and piano - 1878-79, 1886-88; Second sonata for cello and piano - 1886; 2 trios for violin, cello and piano - 1880-82, 1886; 2 string quintets - 1882, 1890), Concerto for violin and cello and orchestra (1887), works for a cappella choir were worthy companions to the symphonies. These works are from the late 80s. prepared the transition to late period creativity, marked by the dominance of chamber genres.

Very demanding of himself, Brahms, fearing the exhaustion of his creative imagination, thought about stopping his composing activities. However, a meeting in the spring of 1891 with the clarinetist of the Meiningen Orchestra R. Mühlfeld prompted him to create a Trio, a Quintet (1891), and then two sonatas (1894) with the participation of the clarinet. At the same time, Brahms wrote 20 piano pieces (op. 116-119), which, together with clarinet ensembles, became the result of the composer’s creative quest. This especially applies to the Quintet and to the piano intermezzos - “sorrowful notes of the heart”, combining the rigor and confidence of the lyrical statement, the sophistication and simplicity of the writing, and the pervasive melodiousness of intonations. The collection “49 German Folk Songs” (for voice and piano), published in 1894, was evidence of Brahms’s constant attention to folk song - his ethical and aesthetic ideal. Brahms worked on arrangements of German folk songs (including for a cappella choir) throughout his life; he was also interested in Slavic (Czech, Slovak, Serbian) melodies, recreating their character in his songs based on folk texts. “Four Strict Tunes” for voice and piano (a kind of solo cantata on texts from the Bible, 1895) and 11 choral organ preludes (1896) supplemented the composer’s “spiritual testament” with an appeal to the genres and artistic means of Bach’s era, which were equally close to the structure of his music, as well as folk genres.

In his music, Brahms created a truthful and complex picture of the life of the human spirit - stormy in sudden impulses, persistent and courageous in internal overcoming obstacles, cheerful and cheerful, elegiacally soft and sometimes tired, wise and strict, gentle and spiritually responsive. The craving for positive resolution of conflicts, for reliance on the stable and eternal values ​​of human life, which Brahms saw in nature, folk song, in the art of the great masters of the past, in the cultural tradition of his homeland, in simple human joys, is constantly combined in his music with a sense of unattainability harmony, growing tragic contradictions. Brahms's 4 symphonies reflect different aspects of his worldview. In the First - a direct heir to Beethoven's symphonism - the sharpness of the immediately flaring dramatic collisions is resolved in a joyful, hymn finale. The second symphony, truly Viennese (its origins are Haydn and Schubert), could be called a “symphony of joy.” The third - the most romantic of the entire cycle - goes from an enthusiastic rapture of life to gloomy anxiety and drama, suddenly retreating before the “eternal beauty” of nature, a bright and clear morning. The fourth symphony - the crown of Brahms's symphonism - develops, according to I. Sollertinsky's definition, “from elegy to tragedy.” The greatness of those built by Brahms - the largest symphonist of the second half of the 19th century V. - buildings does not exclude the general deep lyricism of tone, inherent in all symphonies and which is the “main tonality” of his music.

E. Tsareva

Deep in content, perfect in skill, Brahms's work belongs to the remarkable artistic achievements of German culture of the second half of the 19th century. During the difficult period of its development, during the years of ideological and artistic confusion, Brahms acted as a successor and continuer classic traditions. He enriched them with the achievements of German romanticism. Great difficulties arose along this path. Brahms sought to overcome them by turning to understanding the true spirit of folk music, the richest expressive possibilities of the musical classics of the past.

“Folk song is my ideal,” said Brahms. Even in his youth, he worked with the village choir; later spent a long time in office choral conductor and, invariably turning to German folk song, promoting it, he processed it. That is why his music has such unique national features.

Brahms treated folk music of other nationalities with great attention and interest. The composer spent a significant part of his life in Vienna. Naturally, this entailed the inclusion of nationally unique elements of Austrian folk art into Brahms’ music. Vienna also determined great value in the works of Brahms, Hungarian and Slavic music. “Slavicisms” are clearly noticeable in his works: in the frequently used turns and rhythms of the Czech polka, in some techniques of intonation development, modulation. The intonations and rhythms of Hungarian folk music, mainly in the verbunkos style, that is, in the spirit of urban folklore, were clearly reflected in a number of Brahms’s works. V. Stasov noted that the famous “Hungarian Dances” of Brahms are “worthy of their great glory.”

Sensitive penetration into the mental structure of another nation is available only to artists who are organically connected with their national culture. This is Glinka in “Spanish Overtures” or Bizet in “Carmen”. Such is Brahms - an outstanding national artist of the German people, who turned to the Slavic and Hungarian folk elements.

In his declining years, Brahms dropped a significant phrase: “The two most important events of my life were the unification of Germany and the completion of the publication of Bach’s works.” Here, seemingly incomparable things stand in the same row. But Brahms, usually stingy with words, put deep meaning into this phrase. Passionate patriotism, a vested interest in the fate of his homeland, and an ardent faith in the strength of the people were naturally combined with a sense of admiration and admiration for the national achievements of German and Austrian music. The works of Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann served as his guiding lights. He also closely studied ancient polyphonic music. Trying to better understand the patterns musical development, Brahms paid great attention issues of artistic skill. He wrote in his notebook words of wisdom Goethe: “Form (in art.- M.D.) is formed by thousands of years of efforts of the most remarkable masters, and those who follow them cannot master it so quickly.”

But Brahms did not turn away from new music: rejecting any manifestations of decadence in art, he spoke with a feeling of true sympathy about many of the works of his contemporaries. Brahms highly appreciated “Die Meistersinger” and much of “Die Walküre”, although he had a negative attitude towards “Tristan”; admired the melodic gift and transparent instrumentation of Johann Strauss; spoke warmly of Grieg; Bizet called the opera “Carmen” his “favorite”; Dvorak had “real, rich, charming talent.” Brahms's artistic tastes show him as a lively, spontaneous musician, alien to academic isolation.

This is how he appears in his work. It is full of exciting life content. In the difficult conditions of German reality in the 19th century, Brahms fought for individual rights and freedom, praised courage and moral fortitude. His music is full of anxiety for the fate of man and carries words of love and consolation. She has a restless, excited tone.

The warmth and sincerity of Brahms' music, close to Schubert, are most fully revealed in the vocal lyrics, which occupy a significant place in his creative heritage. There are also many pages in Brahms's works philosophical lyrics, which is so characteristic of Bach. In developing lyrical images, Brahms often relied on existing genres and intonations, especially Austrian folklore. He resorted to genre generalizations and used dance elements of the landler, waltz, and czardas.

These images are also present in Brahms' instrumental works. Here the features of drama, rebellious romance, and passionate impetuosity emerge more sharply, which brings him closer to Schumann. In Brahms's music there are also images imbued with cheerfulness and courage, courageous strength and epic power. In this area, he appears as a continuer of Beethoven's traditions in German music.

An acutely conflicting content is inherent in many of Brahms' chamber instrumental and symphonic works. They recreate the exciting emotional dramas, often of a tragic nature. These works are characterized by the excitement of the narrative; there is something rhapsodic in their presentation. But freedom of expression in Brahms’s most valuable works is combined with an iron logic of development: he tried to put the boiling lava of romantic feelings into strict classical forms. The composer was overwhelmed by many ideas; his music was saturated with figurative richness, contrasting changes of moods, and a variety of shades. Their organic fusion required strict and clear work of thought, high contrapuntal technique, ensuring the connection of disparate images.

But not always and not in all of his works Brahms managed to balance emotional excitement with the strict logic of musical development. Those close to him romantic the images sometimes came into conflict with classic method of presentation. The disturbed balance sometimes led to vagueness, vague complexity of expression, and gave rise to incomplete, unsteady outlines of images; on the other hand, when the work of thought took precedence over emotionality, Brahms’ music acquired rational, passive-contemplative features (Tchaikovsky saw only these, distant to him, sides in Brahms’s work and therefore could not correctly evaluate it. Brahms’ music, in his words, “accurately teases and irritates the musical feeling”; he found it dry, cold, foggy, vague. ).

But on the whole, his works captivate with their remarkable skill and emotional spontaneity in conveying significant ideas and carrying them out logically. For, despite the inconsistency of individual artistic decisions, Brahms’s work is permeated with the struggle for the true content of music, for the high ideals of humanistic art.

Life and creative path

Johannes Brahms was born in northern Germany, in Hamburg, on May 7, 1833. His father, who came from a peasant family, was a city musician (horn player, later double bassist). The composer's childhood was spent in poverty. From an early age, thirteen years old, he already performs as a tapper at dance evenings. In the following years, he earned money by giving private lessons, playing as a pianist during theater intermissions, and occasionally participating in serious concerts. At the same time, having taken a composition course with the respectable teacher Eduard Marxen, who instilled in him a love of classical music, he composed a lot. But the works of the young Brahms are unknown to anyone, and in order to earn a penny, one has to write salon plays and transcriptions, which are published under various pseudonyms (about 150 opuses in total.) “Few people lived as hard as I did,” Brahms said, recalling the years of his youth.

In 1853 Brahms left hometown; Together with the violinist Eduard (Ede) Remenyi, a Hungarian political emigrant, he went on a long concert tour. His acquaintance with Liszt and Schumann dates back to this period. The first of them treated the hitherto unknown, modest and shy twenty-year-old composer with his usual benevolence. An even warmer welcome awaited him at Schumann's. Ten years have passed since the latter stopped taking part in the “New Musical Journal” he created, but, amazed by Brahms’ original talent, Schumann broke the silence and wrote his last article, entitled “New Paths.” He called the young composer a complete master who “perfectly expresses the spirit of the times.” The work of Brahms, and by this time he was already the author of significant piano works (among them three sonatas), attracted everyone's attention: representatives of both the Weimar and Leipzig schools wanted to see him in their ranks.

Brahms wanted to stay away from the hostility of these schools. But he fell under the irresistible charm of the personality of Robert Schumann and his wife, the famous pianist Clara Schumann, for whom Brahms maintained love and faithful friendship over the next four decades. The artistic views and beliefs (as well as prejudices, in particular against Liszt!) of this wonderful couple were indisputable for him. And therefore, when at the end of the 50s, after Schumann’s death, an ideological struggle for his artistic heritage broke out, Brahms could not help but take part in it. In 1860, he spoke in print (for the only time in his life!) against the assertion of the New German school that its aesthetic ideals were shared by All the best composers in Germany. Due to an absurd coincidence, along with the name of Brahms, this protest bore the signatures of only three young musicians (including the outstanding violinist Joseph Joachim, a friend of Brahms); the remaining, more well-known names were omitted from the newspaper. This attack, composed moreover in harsh, inept terms, was met with hostility by many, in particular Wagner.

Not long before, Brahms's performance of his First Piano Concerto in Leipzig was marked by a scandalous failure. Representatives of the Leipzig school reacted to him just as negatively as the Weimarians. Thus, having abruptly broken away from one bank, Brahms was unable to land on the other. A courageous and noble man, he, despite the difficulties of existence and the cruel attacks of the militant Wagnerians, did not make creative compromises. Brahms closed himself off, isolated himself from polemics, and outwardly withdrew from the struggle. But he continued it in his creativity: taking the best from the artistic ideals of both schools, with your music proved (though not always consistently) the inseparability of the principles of ideology, nationality and democracy as the foundations of life-truth art.

The beginning of the 60s was, to a certain extent, a time of crisis for Brahms. After storms and battles, he gradually comes to realize his creative tasks. It was at this time that he began long-term work on major vocal-symphonic works (“German Requiem”, 1861-1868), on the First Symphony (1862-1876), intensively manifested himself in the field of chamber literature (piano quartets, quintet, cello sonata). Trying to overcome romantic improvisation, Brahms intensively studied folk song, as well as Viennese classics (songs, vocal ensembles, choirs).

1862 is a turning point in Brahms' life. Unable to find a use for his powers in his homeland, he moved to Vienna, where he remained until his death. A wonderful pianist and conductor, he is looking for a permanent position. His hometown of Hamburg refused him this, leaving him with an unhealed wound. In Vienna, he twice tried to gain a foothold in the service as the head of the Singing Chapel (1863-1864) and conductor of the Society of Friends of Music (1872-1875), but left these positions: they did not bring him much artistic satisfaction or material security. Brahms's position improves only in the mid-70s, when he finally receives public recognition. Brahms performs a lot with his symphonic and chamber works, visiting a number of cities in Germany, Hungary, Holland, Switzerland, Galicia, and Poland. He loved these trips, meeting new countries, and as a tourist he was in Italy eight times.

The 70s and 80s were the time of Brahms's creative maturity. During these years, symphonies, violin and Second piano concertos, many chamber works (three violin sonatas, Second cello sonata, Second and Third piano trios, three string quartets), songs, choirs, and vocal ensembles were written. As before, Brahms in his work turns to a variety of genres of musical art (with the exception of musical drama, although he intended to write an opera). He strives to combine deep content with democratic clarity and therefore, along with complex instrumental cycles, he creates music of a simple everyday nature, sometimes for home music playing (vocal ensembles “Songs of Love”, “Hungarian Dances”, waltzes for piano, etc.). Moreover, working in both directions, the composer does not change his creative style, using his amazing contrapuntal skill in popular works and without losing simplicity and warmth in the symphonies.

The breadth of Brahms's ideological and artistic horizons is also characterized by a kind of parallelism in solving creative problems. Thus, almost simultaneously he wrote two orchestral serenades of different types (1858 and 1860), two piano quartets (op. 25 and 26, 1861), two string quartets (op. 51, 1873); immediately after the completion of the Requiem, he began to write “Songs of Love” (1868-1869); along with the “Festive”, he creates the “Tragic Overture” (1880-1881); The First, “pathetic” symphony is adjacent to the Second, “pastoral” (1876-1878); The third, “heroic” - with the Fourth, “tragic” (1883-1885) (To draw attention to the dominant aspects of the content of Brahms’ symphonies, their conventional names are indicated here.). In the summer of 1886, such contrasting works of the chamber genre as the dramatic Second Cello Sonata (Op. 99), the bright, idyllic Second Violin Sonata (Op. 100), the epic Third Piano Trio (Op. 101) and passionately excited, pathetic Third Violin Sonata (op. 108).

At the end of his life - Brahms died on April 3, 1897 - his creative activity weakened. He conceives a symphony and a number of other major works, but carries out his plans only for chamber plays and songs. Not only has the circle of genres narrowed, the circle of images has narrowed. One cannot help but see in this a manifestation of the creative fatigue of a lonely person, disappointed in the struggle of life. The painful illness that brought him to the grave (liver cancer) also took its toll. Nevertheless, these recent years have also been marked by the creation of truthful, humanistic music that glorifies high moral ideals. It is enough to cite as examples the piano intermezzos (op. 116-119), the clarinet quintet (op. 115) or the “Four Strict Tunes” (op. 121). And his undying love for the people Brahms's work captured in a beautiful collection of forty-nine German folk songs for voice and piano.

Style Features

Brahms is the last major representative of German music of the 19th century, who developed the ideological and artistic traditions of advanced national culture. His work, however, is not without some contradictions, for he was not always able to understand the complex phenomena of our time and was not involved in the socio-political struggle. But Brahms never betrayed high humanistic ideals, did not compromise with bourgeois ideology, and rejected everything false and transitory in culture and art.

Brahms created his own distinctive creative style. His musical language marked by individual traits. Typical for him are the intonations associated with German folk music, which affects the structure of themes, the use of melodies based on triad tones, and the plagal turns inherent in ancient layers of song. And plagality plays a big role in harmony; Often a minor subdominant is also used in major, and a major subdominant in minor. Brahms's works are characterized by modal originality. The “flickering” of major and minor is very characteristic of it. Thus, Brahms’s main musical motif can be expressed by the following scheme (the first scheme characterizes the thematic theme of the main part of the First Symphony, the second – a similar theme of the Third Symphony):

The given ratio of thirds and sixths in the structure of the melody, as well as the techniques of third or sixth doubling, are favorites of Brahms. In general, it is characterized by emphasizing the third degree, which is the most sensitive in the coloring of the modal inclination. Unexpected modulation deviations, modal variability, major-minor mode, melodic and harmonic major - all this is used to show variability and richness of shades of content. Complex rhythms, the combination of even and odd meters, and integration into smooth melodic line triplets, dotted rhythm, syncopation.

Unlike rounded vocal melodies, Brahms' instrumental themes are often open-ended, making them difficult to remember and perceive. This tendency to “open” thematic boundaries is caused by the desire to maximally saturate the music with development (Taneev also strived for this.). B.V. Asafiev rightly noted that in Brahms, even in lyrical miniatures, “one can feel development».

Brahms's interpretation of the principles of formation is particularly unique. He was well aware of the vast experience accumulated by the European musical culture, and, along with modern formal schemes, he resorted to long-standing ones that seemed to have gone out of use: such are the old sonata form, variation suite, basso ostinato techniques; he gave a double exposure in a concert, applying the principles of concerto grosso. However, this was not done for the sake of stylization, not for aesthetic admiration of outdated forms: such a comprehensive use of established structural patterns was of a deeply fundamental nature.

In contrast to the representatives of the Liszt-Wagnerian movement, Brahms wanted to prove his ability old compositional means for transmission modern building thoughts and feelings, and practically proved this with his creativity. Moreover, he considered the most valuable, vital means of expression, defended in classical music, as a weapon in the struggle against the decay of form and artistic arbitrariness. An opponent of subjectivism in art, Brahms defended the precepts of classical art. He turned to them also because he sought to curb the unbalanced impulse of his own fantasy, which overwhelmed his excited, anxious, restless feelings. He did not always succeed in this; sometimes, when implementing large-scale plans, significant difficulties arose. All the more persistently Brahms creatively implemented old forms and established principles of development. He brought a lot of new things into them.

Of great value are his achievements in the development of variation principles of development, which he combined with sonata principles. Drawing on Beethoven (see his 32 variations for piano or the finale of the Ninth Symphony), Brahms sought in his cycles a contrasting but purposeful, “cross-cutting” dramaturgy. Evidence of this is the Variations on a Theme of Handel, on a Theme of Haydn or the brilliant passacaglia of the Fourth Symphony.

In his interpretation of the sonata form, Brahms also gave individual solutions: he combined freedom of expression with the classical logic of development, romantic emotion with a strictly rational conduct of thought. The multiplicity of images in the embodiment of dramatic content is a typical feature of Brahms' music. Therefore, for example, five themes are contained in the exposition of the first part of the piano quintet, three different themes have the main part of the finale of the Third Symphony, two secondary ones - in the first part of the Fourth Symphony, etc. These images are contrasted, which is often emphasized by modal relationships ( for example, in the first part of the First Symphony, the side part is given in Es-dur, and the final part in es-moll; in the similar part of the Third Symphony, when comparing the same parts A-dur - a-moll in the finale of the named symphony - C-dur - c; -moll, etc.).

Brahms paid special attention to the development of the images of the main party. Its themes are often repeated throughout the movement without changes and in the same key, which is characteristic of the rondo sonata form. This also reveals the ballad features of Brahms' music. The main part is sharply contrasted with the final (sometimes connecting) part, which is endowed with an energetic dotted rhythm, marching, and often proud turns drawn from Hungarian folklore (see the first movements of the First and Fourth Symphonies, the violin and Second Piano Concerto, and others). The side parts, based on the intonations and genres of Viennese everyday music, are unfinished in nature and do not become the lyrical centers of the part. But they are an effective factor in development and are often subject to major changes in development. The latter is carried out concisely and dynamically, since the development elements have already been introduced into the exhibition.

Brahms excelled in the art of emotional switching, combining images of different qualities in a single development. This is helped by multilaterally developed motivic connections, the use of their transformation, and the widespread use of contrapuntal techniques. Therefore, he was extremely successful in returning to the starting point of the narrative - even within the framework of a simple three-part form. This is even more successfully achieved in the sonata allegro when approaching the reprise. Moreover, to intensify the drama, Brahms, like Tchaikovsky, likes to shift the boundaries of development and reprise, which sometimes leads to the refusal to fully carry out the main part. Accordingly, the value of the code as a moment increases high voltage in the development of the part. Remarkable examples of this are contained in the first movements of the Third and Fourth Symphonies.

Brahms is a master of musical dramaturgy. Both within the boundaries of one part and throughout the instrumental cycle, he gave a consistent statement of a single idea, but, focusing all attention on internal logic of musical development, often neglected externally colorful presentation of thoughts. This is Brahms's attitude to the problem of virtuosity; This is also his interpretation of the capabilities of instrumental ensembles and orchestras. He did not use purely orchestral effects and, in his passion for full and dense harmonies, doubled the parts, combined voices, and did not strive to individualize and contrast them. Nevertheless, when the content of the music required it, Brahms found the unusual flavor he needed (see the examples above). Such self-restraint reveals one of the most characteristic features of his creative method, which is characterized by noble restraint of expression.

Brahms said: “We can no longer write as beautifully as Mozart; let’s try to write at least as purely as he did.” We are talking not only about technique, but also about the content of Mozart’s music, its ethical beauty. Brahms created music much more complex than Mozart, reflecting the complexity and contradictions of his time, but he followed this motto, because the desire for high ethical ideals, a sense of deep responsibility for everything he did, was marked creative life Johannes Brahms.

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BRAHMS, JOHANNES(Brahms, Johannes) (1833–1897), one of the outstanding figures in German music of the 19th century. Born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, in the family of Jacob Brahms, a professional double bassist. Brahms's first music lessons were given by his father; he later studied with O. Kossel, whom he always remembered with gratitude. In 1843 Kossel handed over his student to E. Marxen. Marxen, whose pedagogy was based on the study of the works of Bach and Beethoven, quickly realized that he was dealing with an extraordinary talent. In 1847, when Mendelssohn died, Marxen told a friend: “One master has gone, but another, greater one, is coming to replace him - this is Brahms.”

In 1853, Brahms finished his studies and in April of the same year went on a concert tour with his friend, E. Remenyi: Remenyi played the violin, Brahms played the piano. In Hannover they met another famous violinist, J. Joachim. He was amazed by the power and fiery temperament of the music that Brahms showed him, and the two young musicians (Joachim was then 22 years old) became close friends. Joachim gave Remenyi and Brahms a letter of introduction to Liszt, and they went to Weimar. The maestro played some of Brahms's works from sight, and they made such a strong impression on him that he immediately wanted to “rank” Brahms with the advanced movement - the New German School, which was headed by himself and R. Wagner. However, Brahms resisted the charm of Liszt's personality and the brilliance of his playing. Remenyi remained in Weimar, while Brahms continued his wanderings and eventually ended up in Düsseldorf, in the house of R. Schumann.

Schumann and his wife, pianist Clara Schumann-Wick, had already heard about Brahms from Joachim and warmly received the young musician. They were delighted with his writings and became his most staunch adherents. Brahms lived in Düsseldorf for several weeks and headed to Leipzig, where Liszt and G. Berlioz attended his concert. By Christmas Brahms arrived in Hamburg; he left his hometown as an unknown student, and returned as an artist with a name about which the great Schumann’s article said: “Here is a musician who is called upon to give the highest and ideal expression to the spirit of our time.”

In February 1854, Schumann tried to commit suicide in a nervous attack; he was sent to a hospital, where he eked out his days until his death (in July 1856). Brahms rushed to the aid of Schumann's family and took care of his wife and seven children during the period of difficult trials. He soon fell in love with Clara Schumann. Clara and Brahms, by mutual agreement, never spoke of love. But the deep mutual affection remained, and throughout her long life Clara remained Brahms's closest friend.

In the autumn months of 1857–1859, Brahms served as court musician at the small princely court in Detmold, and spent the summer seasons of 1858 and 1859 in Göttingen. There he met Agathe von Siebold, a singer and daughter of a university professor; Brahms was seriously attracted to her, but hastened to retreat when the topic of marriage came up. All subsequent passions of Brahms's heart were fleeting in nature.

Brahms' family still lived in Hamburg, and he constantly traveled there, and in 1858 he rented a separate apartment for himself. In 1858–1862, he successfully led a women's amateur choir: he really liked this activity, and he composed several songs for the choir. However, Brahms dreamed of becoming the conductor of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1862, the former director of the orchestra died, but the place went not to Brahms, but to J. Stockhausen. After this, the composer decided to move to Vienna.

By 1862, the luxurious, colorful style of Brahms's early piano sonatas gave way to a calmer, stricter, classical style, which manifested itself in one of his best works - Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel. Brahms moved further and further away from the ideals of the New German School, and his rejection of Liszt culminated in 1860, when Brahms and Joachim published a very harsh manifesto, which, in particular, stated that the works of the followers of the New German School "contradict the very spirit of music."

The first concerts in Vienna were not met with a very friendly reception by critics, but the Viennese willingly listened to Brahms the pianist, and he soon won everyone’s sympathy. The rest was a matter of time. He no longer challenged his colleagues; his reputation was finally established after the resounding success German Requiem, performed on April 10, 1868 in Bremen Cathedral. Since then, the most notable milestones in Brahms' biography have been the premieres of his major works, such as the First Symphony in C minor (1876), the Fourth Symphony in E minor (1885), and the Quintet for clarinet and strings (1891).

His material wealth grew along with his fame, and now he gave free rein to his love of travel. He visited Switzerland and other picturesque places, and traveled to Italy several times. Until the end of his life, Brahms preferred not too difficult travel, and therefore the Austrian resort of Ischl became his favorite vacation spot. It was there, on May 20, 1896, that he received news of the death of Clara Schumann. Brahms died in Vienna on April 3, 1897.

Creation.

Brahms did not write a single opera, but otherwise his work covered almost all major musical genres. Among his vocal compositions, the majestic reigns like a mountain peak. German Requiem, followed by half a dozen smaller works for chorus and orchestra. Brahms' legacy includes accompanied vocal ensembles, a capella motets, quartets and duets for voices and piano, about 200 songs for voice and piano. In the orchestral-instrumental field, four symphonies, four concertos should be mentioned (including the sublime violin concerto in D major, 1878, and the monumental Second Piano Concerto in B flat major, 1881), as well as five orchestral works of different genres, including Variations on a Theme by Haydn (1873). He created 24 chamber instrumental works of various sizes for solo and two pianos, and several pieces for organ.

When Brahms was 22, experts such as Joachim and Schumann expected him to lead the resurgent Romantic movement in music. Brahms remained an incorrigible romantic throughout his life. However, this was not the pathetic romanticism of Liszt or the theatrical romanticism of Wagner. Brahms didn't like too much bright colors, and sometimes it may seem that he is generally indifferent to timbre. Thus, we cannot say with complete certainty whether the Variations on a Theme by Haydn were originally composed for two pianos or for orchestra - they were published in both versions. The Piano Quintet in F minor was first conceived as a string quintet, then as a piano duet. Such disregard for instrumental color is rare among the romantics, because the colorfulness of the musical palette was given decisive importance, and Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and others made a real revolution in the field of orchestral writing. But one can also recall the sound of the horns in Brahms’s Second Symphony, the trombones in the Fourth, and the clarinet in the clarinet quintet. It is clear that a composer who uses timbres in this way is by no means blind to colors - he simply sometimes prefers a “black and white” style.

Schubert and Schumann not only did not hide their commitment to romanticism, but were also proud of it. Brahms is much more careful, as if he is afraid of giving himself away. “Brahms does not know how to rejoice,” Brahms’s opponent, G. Wolf, once said, and there is some truth in this barb.

Over time, Brahms became a brilliant contrapuntalist: his fugues in German Requiem, in the Variations on a Theme of Handel and other works, his passacaglias in the finales of the Variations on a Theme of Haydn and in the Fourth Symphony are directly based on the principles of Bach's polyphony. At other times, Bach's influence is refracted through Schumann's style and reveals itself in the dense, chromatic polyphony of Brahms's orchestral, chamber and late piano music.

Reflecting on the passionate devotion of the Romantic composers to Beethoven, one cannot help but be struck by the fact that they turned out to be relatively weak in the very area in which Beethoven especially excelled, namely, in the field of form. Brahms and Wagner became the first great musicians who appreciated Beethoven's achievements in this area and were able to perceive and develop them. Already Brahms's early piano sonatas are permeated with such musical logic as has not been seen since the time of Beethoven, and over the years Brahms' mastery of the form became more and more confident and sophisticated. He did not shy away from innovations: one can mention, for example, the use of the same theme in different parts of the cycle (the romantic principle of monothematicism - in the G major violin sonata, op. 78); a slow, reflective scherzo (First Symphony); scherzo and slow movement merged together (string quartet in F major, op. 88).

Thus, two traditions met in Brahms’s work: counterpoint, coming from Bach, and architectonics, developed by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. To this is added romantic expression and color. Brahms connects different elements German classical school and sums them up - we can say that his work completes the classical period in German music. It is not surprising that contemporaries often turned to the Beethoven-Brahms parallel: indeed, these composers have a lot in common. The shadow of Beethoven hovers - with more or less distinctness - over all the major works of Brahms. And only in small forms (intermezzos, waltzes, songs) does he manage to forget about this great shadow - for Beethoven small genres played a secondary role.

As a songwriter, Brahms covered perhaps less wide circle images than Schubert or G. Wolf; Most of his best songs are purely lyrical, usually based on the words of second-rank German poets. Several times Brahms wrote to poems by Goethe and Heine. Almost always, Brahms's songs exactly correspond to the mood of the chosen poem, flexibly reflecting changes in feelings and images.

As a melodist, Brahms is second only to Schubert, but in compositional skill he has no rivals. The symphony of Brahms's thinking is manifested in the wide breathing of vocal phrases (often posing difficult tasks for the performers), in the harmony of form and richness of the piano part; Brahms is endlessly inventive in the field of piano texture and in his ability to apply one or another textural technique at the right time.

Brahms is the author of two hundred songs; he worked in this genre all his life. The pinnacle of song creativity is a magnificent vocal cycle written at the end of life Four strict tunes(1896) on biblical texts. He also owns about two hundred arrangements of folk songs for various performing groups.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is an outstanding German composer of the second half of the 19th century, a time when, in the person of Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, the artistic movement of Romanticism reached its highest peaks.

Brahms's work covers all known genres except opera and ballet. In total he has 120 orus.

Brahms's symphonic works include: four symphonies (op. 68 in c-moll, op. 73 in D-dur, op. 90 in F-dur, op. 98 in e-moll), two overtures ("Solemn" (op. 80) and "Tragic" (op. 81)), variations on a theme by Haydn (op. 56) and two early serenades (op. 11 D major and op. 16 A major).

IN vocal-choral genre Brahms wrote about two hundred works, including romances, songs, ballads and choirs (male, female and mixed).

As you know, Brahms was a wonderful pianist. Naturally, he wrote a huge number of works for piano: one scherzo (op.4 es-moll), three sonatas (op.1 C-dur, op.2 fis-moll, op.5 f-moll), Variations on a Theme of Schumann (op.9), Paganini (op.35), Variations on a Hungarian Theme (op.21), Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel (op.24), 4 ballads (op.10), 4 capriccios and 4 intermezzos (op. .76), 2 rhapsodies (op.79), fantasies (op.116), many pieces.

Among Brahms's solo piano works, two rhapsodies op. 79, written in 1880, are very popular among performers and listeners. Brahms was not the first to use this genre in piano music. It is known that the Czech composer V.Ya. Tomaszek already in 1815 had works in this genre. But, despite this fact, the rise of the rhapsody genre is rightfully associated with the name of the outstanding Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. His 19 Hungarian rhapsodies, composed by the composer between 1840 and 1847, became world famous. It is known that almost all of them use authentic folk song and dance melodies. The two-part structure of Liszt's rhapsodies is also due to the folk tradition of contrasting song and dance. The internal development of Liszt's rhapsodies is quite free, improvisational, based on the alternation of individual large sections according to the principle of end-to-end or contrasting-composite form. But the most main feature Liszt's rhapsodies lie in their deep Hungarian national flavor.

But completely different are Brahms’s two rhapsodies op.79, which give a fairly complete idea of ​​the figurative content of the composer’s music, the main advantages of his talent and the features of his style.

In particular, Rhapsody op.79 No. 2 in g minor is a lyrical-dramatic work, written in full sonata form.

The Second Rhapsody is based on four brightly expressive, poignant themes, which in their alternation form an exposition in sonata form. Each of these topics has its own “face”. They are defined in genre and especially in structural terms, which is typical for Brahms as a German composer.

The first of the four themes (the main theme of the sonata form) is excited and impetuous, romantically aspirational, with a characteristic German pathetic romance. The means of expressiveness (melody, mode and tonality, harmony, rhythm, texture, form) in it are aimed at expressing the violent excitement of human feelings. In terms of genre, the main theme is heterogeneous: the monophonic melody in the right hand is clearly songlike; triplets in the middle voice are a characteristic feature of romance accompaniment, and iambic octave basses in the left hand give the theme the characteristics of a march. As a result, a three-layer genre texture is created, expressing the rich, complex, intense figurative content of the main theme. The form of the main theme is a simple period of repeated construction, where each of the two sentences is a four-beat wave with a rise and fall.

It is interesting that after the presentation of the main theme there is no any developed connecting part (which, in principle, was characteristic of the sonata forms of German classical composers), but there is a sudden, sharp switch to a bright, independent, very laconic connecting theme. In terms of imagery, it is internally contrasting: courageously decisive exclamations are replaced by scherzo-flying elements. The chord-octave texture, loud (f) dynamics and pauses that permeate the entire theme give the music an excited, strong-willed, aspirational character. In form, the connecting theme represents a simple period of repetition, but not a square structure, like the main theme. And in scale it is even more brief, “unspoken,” truncated, requiring (due to the openness of the period) continuation.

New, contrasting, the most lyrical image exposition arises with the appearance of a secondary topic. The melody is based on an expressive, aching triplet motif, singing the fifth of D minor with a diminished third, and with an accented stop at the IV raised degree, which in the same measure is “cancelled” by the IV natural degree. As a result of the non-stop, without a single pause, chanting of the melody in conjunction with widely spaced figurations of the accompaniment, a feeling of anxiety, hidden heartache, painful sighs. Passionate impetuosity brings Brahms closer to Schumann. The Chopin-like chanting melody seems to float above the rest of the texture of the theme.

A side theme leads to a proud, dramatic closing theme. At first it sounds very secretive, even gloomy. In the first sentence of the simple period, the same repeated note in the right hand creates a fantastic feeling of tension, anticipation of some kind of breakdown, a violent outburst of emotions. The octave basses in the left hand seem to represent sneaking steps, and the triplets in the middle voice, pulsating throughout the presentation of the theme, give the theme even more excitement and tension. In the second sentence, the music sounds more confident, insistent, even marching. It ends (by the way, for the first time in an exposition of sonata form) on the expanded pure tonic of D minor.

The psychological and artistic effect of this tonic is amazing: as if after all the confusion, excitement and doubts of the soul, through an effort of will, a certain confidence and certainty of a person’s emotional state has finally been achieved.

Following the tradition of the Viennese classics, Brahms repeats the exposition of sonata form. Making you relive the sudden mood swings typical of romantic heroes. It is interesting that Brahms embodies the purely romantic content of all four themes of the exhibition in classically clear, laconic forms of the simple period, each with a different internal structure: the main theme is the simple period of the square structure (4+4), the connecting theme is the simple period of the non-square structure ( 3+2), a secondary theme is the period of a single structure, the final theme is a simple period of repeated structure with the expansion of the second sentence (4+8). It is surprising that, despite all the figurative and genre contrast of the themes, they have a lot in common: everywhere in the foreground there is an expressive melody, a triplet rhythm that unites all the themes, and a three-layer texture. In general, the musical images of the exhibition develop rapidly, actively, and on an extremely compressed scale: the exhibition contains only 32 bars.

In development, Brahms emphasizes the conflictual, dramatic essence of his rhapsody, developing exclusively the main and final themes, that is, the most excitedly impetuous and courageously proud of all the themes of the exposition. The development is quite extensive (53 bars versus 64 bars of exposition) and consists of three sections: the first and third sections develop the main theme, and the middle section develops the final theme. In connection with this thematic content, the development is perceived as a large-scale three-part form with a contrasting middle and dynamic reprise. In the first section of the development (20 bars), Brahms intensifies the emotional excitement and confusion of the sound of the main theme, extremely complicating its mode-tonal development, including the alternation of distant tonalities (F, f, gis, e, h), shown through their dominants, which in principle was embedded in the presentation of the main theme in the exhibition. In the middle section, the final theme sounds either anxiously hidden (p mezzo voce), or furiously angry (ff), and also with sharp mode-tonal breakdowns from h-moll to G-major, g-moll and d-moll. The third section is perceived as a huge intense precursor to the reprise of the sonata form, based on multiple ostinat, impetuous ascending appealing motives isolated from the main theme, also pumping up dynamic tension (from pp to ff). The entire development is united by a seething triplet rhythm in the middle voice of the three-layer texture. After such a purposeful developmental intensification of drama, the Reprise of the sonata form is perceived as an “island of salvation” from the storms experienced, although it, of course, is built on the same four contrasting themes as the exposition. But now their contrast is partly smoothed out by the main tonality of the rhapsody that is common to them. - d-minor, and Brahms retained both the structure and scale of all themes in the reprise, adding only a short (8 bars) coda with a pulsating and fading triplet rhythm at the end.

Rhapsody paints a portrait of Brahms - a passionate dreamer with a stormy temperament and rebellious feelings.

The form of the rhapsody is distinguished by its harmony and precision; the composer ingeniously combines the features of sonata and three-part compositions. The Second Rhapsody is a magnificent example of Brahms's concert pianism.

The development, as usual with Brahms, is compressed and tense. Transforming the main themes, in development he reveals the conflictual content of the drama. Drama and figurative conflict are revealed with the utmost laconicism.

Brahms is the last largest representative of the German 19th Romanticism century. He managed to create his own original creative style. His musical language is marked by individual features: typical intonations of German folk music (movements along the sounds of triads with plagal turns in melody and plagalism in harmony); characteristic “flicker” of major-minor; characteristic unexpected deviations, modal variability, melodic and harmonic major.

To express the richness of shades of content, rhythm is used: the introduction of triplets, dotted lines, syncopation. Topics are often open-ended, which opens the way to further development of thought.

The use of structures established since the time of the Viennese classics was of a deeply individual nature for Brahms: Brahms wanted to prove the ability of old forms to convey a modern system of thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, classical forms helped him “curb” the excited, anxious, rebellious feelings that overwhelmed him.

The multiplicity of images is a typical feature of Brahms' music. He combined freedom of expression in sonata form with a classical, rational logic of development.

Brahms wrote a complex and contradictory work, reflecting in it the style and speech of his time.

Brahms composer romanticism rhapsody