The musical world remembers Johannes Brahms as one of the leading composers of the Romantic era. His musical output included four symphonies, concertos, a Requiem, folk songs, Lieder, chamber music, and choral works. Born in 1833 in Hamburg, he lived with his family under poor circumstances, began music lessons as a child, and played the piano in Hamburg’s taverns and houses of ill repute to support his family. He visited Hungary several times and was influenced by the local folk music, an element that would later emerge in his compositions, particularly in his famous Hungarian Dances.
At the age of twenty, Brahms met the Schumann family, Robert and Clara, who welcomed him into their family. They found in Brahms a devoted friend and musical collaborator. With Clara, herself an accomplished pianist and composer, he established a deep artistic bond of respect and mutual admiration. Robert’s mental condition deteriorated, culminating in a suicide attempt, institutionalization, and death in 1856.
Brahms’s relationship with the Schumann family is a significant aspect in the development of Romantic music. Robert recognized his talent and facilitated his early recognition, while Clara supported him and inspired him with her own compositions.
As Brahms’s career progressed, he began to experience troubling pain in his hands and feet, along with stiffness and reduced mobility, leading him to spend more time composing than giving concert performances. His symptoms may have been due to carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis.
In time, Brahms also required corrective eyeglasses for myopia (nearsightedness). This may have led him to prefer smaller indoor musical settings rather than large audiences. His vision gradually deteriorated, making reading music and conducting quite difficult.
As a young man, he had a muscular build, with a broad chest and a robust physical structure. He enjoyed taking long walks which took him across Vienna and the Austrian countryside. In his later years, he led a sedentary lifestyle, became overweight, and, as a member of the Viennese intellectual class, enjoyed good food and wine, brandy, and cigars.
Brahms had a complex, melancholic, and introspective personality, inclined to depression. His childhood experiences warped his outlook on life and complicated his emotional relationships with women.
In July 1858, two years after the death of Robert Schumann, Brahms went on vacation to the town of Göttingen, accompanied by Clara Schumann and five of her children. He started flirting with Agathe von Siebold, an attractive amateur composer and soprano chorus member, which upset Clara so much that when she caught them embracing, she abruptly cut short her vacation. Brahms became briefly engaged to Agathe and was expected to marry her, but hesitated because he feared it would stifle his creativity. He wrote to Agathe, saying that he loved her but did not want a permanent commitment. She interpreted this to mean he wanted a mistress rather than a wife and sent him back her engagement ring. The marriage was off.
At the age of fifty-three, in 1868, Brahms fell in love with Julie Schumann, the daughter of Robert and Clara, but kept his feelings private; Julie married another man shortly thereafter. At age sixty Brahms spent time with the Italian mezzo-soprano Alice Barbi but their connection never advanced past becoming friends.
Brahms’ health began to decline in 1896 when he experienced increasing fatigue, weight loss, and abdominal pain, followed by jaundice. He seems to have suffered from hepatocellular carcinoma or primary liver cancer. He died in Vienna at the age of 64 after a life marked by great achievements and brilliance.