Arnold Schoenberg, a 20th-century composer and theorist, later described Brahms as a 'progressive' for his innovative approach to composition in a field that had been neglected for half a century.
Composition History
Brahms was highly self-critical, admitting to composing over twenty quartets in his youth that he deemed unworthy of preservation.
Performer Biography
This album is dedicated to the memory of Friedemann Weigle, the viola player of the Artemis Quartet, who passed away in 2015.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms, the composer, was introduced to the musical public in 1853 by Robert Schumann, who declared him 'the Chosen One'.
Composition History
Brahms humorously referred to his Op. 51 string quartets as a 'forceps delivery' when dedicating them to his friend, the Viennese surgeon Theodor Billroth, implying they required medical assistance to be brought into the world.
Compositional Technique
Brahms's compositional approach, described as 'musical prose' by Schoenberg, involved shaping individual musical elements according to the demands of the work, rather than a predetermined symmetrical system.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Brahms prioritized rigorous construction and compositional logic over programmatic content and emotional expression, which many contemporaries found to be a reactionary approach.
