The stature of Johannes Brahms among classical composers is well
illustrated by his inclusion among the "Three Bs" triumvirate of
Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Of all the major composers of the
late Romantic era, Brahms was the one most attached to the
Classical ideal as manifested in the music of Haydn, Mozart, and
especially Beethoven; indeed, Hans von Bülow once characterized
Brahms' Symphony No. 1 (1855-1876) as "Beethoven's Tenth." As
aRead more youth, Brahms was championed by Robert Schumann as
music's greatest hope for the future; as a mature composer,
Brahms became for conservative musical journalists the most
potent symbol of musical tradition, a stalwart against the
"degeneration" represented by the music of Wagner and his
school. Brahms' symphonies, choral and vocal works, chamber
music, and piano pieces are imbued with strong emotional
feeling, yet take shape according to a thoroughly considered
structural plan. The son of a double bassist in the Hamburg
Philharmonic Society, Brahms demonstrated gr