Johannes Brahms composed and published his three piano sonatas around the time he turned twenty years old.
Composition History
Brahms's popular set of sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39, were initially conceived for four hands in 1865, with two arrangements for two hands published in 1867.
Composition History
The Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 2, was published three months before Brahms's twenty-first birthday, though he had started composing it earlier.
Composition History
Brahms sent the manuscript of his arrangement of the variations from his String Sextet in B flat, Op. 18, to Clara Schumann as a forty-first birthday present in 1860.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann, a prominent composer and critic, met Brahms in 1853 and hailed him as a musical genius in his famous review 'Neue Bahnen' (New Paths).
Compositional Technique
Brahms's Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 2, shares its relatively unusual key and complex piano textures, sometimes requiring three staves, with Schumann's Piano Sonata, Op. 11.
Composition History
Brahms dedicated his Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 2, to Clara Schumann, a renowned pianist and composer, as a mark of his esteem and thanks.
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Sonderausgabe für Augustinermuseum Freiburg: Johannes Brahms, Vol. 2
