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BRIGHAMYi. ERSIT* PROVO, UIAH

S^agtxrg of Contemporary 9£usic

A SERIES OF BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SKETCHES

.ptastm

of Contemporary .ptimc.

With Portraits,

&c.

MASTERS OF ENGLISH MUSIC. By Charles Willeby, Crown

8vo, cloth, 5s.

MASTERS OF FRENCH MUSIC. By Arthur Hervey, Crown

8vo, cloth, 5s.

Frontispiece

$)a0ter£ of

German

0Busrtc

BY J.

A.

FULLER MAITLAND

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1894

DEDICATED BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION TO

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS

PRINCESS CHRISTIAN OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN PRINCESS HELENA

OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND

PREFACE For much

of the material of this book I

am

indebted,

not only to several of the composers themselves,

who

have kindly given information not otherwise obtainable, but to

G. J. Bennett, Esq., Mus.D.; G. Milner-

Gibson-Cullum, Esq.;

W.

Dr. Kilian, of Dresden; Miss Eugenie Schumann

;

Messrs. Simrock

;

speare

;

in particular to R.

Ashton

Ellis,

Esq.; Frau

H. E. Rensburg, Esq.; Mr. and Mrs. W. Shake-

Edward

H. Legge,

Esq.,

Speyer, Esq., and

who has given me

invaluable assistance in every part of the work. J. A.

London, 1894.

FULLER MAITLAND.

CONTENTS PAGE

JOHANNES BRAHMS

MAX BRUCH

j

.

gj

KARL GOLDMARK

joy

JOSEF RHEINBERGER

jyo

THEODOR KIRCHNER BARGIEL JOSEPH JOACHIM

—CARL REINECKE—WOLDEMAR

.......

—CLARA

SCHUMANN

.

.

.

— HEINRICH HOFBRUCKNER — FELIX DRAESEKE JEAN LOUIS NICOD^— RICHARD STRAUSS — HANS SOMMER — CYRILL KISTLER

IQQ

217

HEINRICH VON HERZOGENBERG

MANN

—ANTON

.

.

.

237

263

LIST

OF ILLUSTRATIONS

JOHANNES BRAHMS

FRAGMENT OF SONG BRAHMS

.

.

"

.

.

"

MAGYARISCH

Frontispiece

BY To face p. 28

AUTOGRAPH CANON BY BRAHMS HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED

80

MAX BRUCH

97

FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE BY MAX

BRUCH

II7

KARL GOLDMARK

1

37

FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE BY KARL

GOLDMARK JOSEF RHEINBERGER

FACSIMILE

OF

AUTOGRAPH

JOSEF RHEINBERGER

.

SCORE .

.

„

158

,,

173

,,

184

BY

JOHANNES BRAHMS Little more than a decade

since, the

musical

world of Germany was dominated by two

who

men

divided between them the allegiance of the

intelligent musicians of the Fatherland.

If

you

were not among the Wagnerians you were by that

fact

enrolled

among

Brahms to appreciate own yourself a hopeless ;

an admiration

the

partisans

of

neither master was to Philistine,

but to profess

both was to adopt a position

for

which was obviously untenable.

The war was

not the less keenly carried on because there were

no such scenes

as

of the Gluckists

made memorable

and

the battle

Piccinists, or that of the

admirers of Faustina and Cuzzoni.

Every

sort

of invective and misrepresentation was employed

by the

journalists

who

fought in the front ranks

some ingenious person will one day collect from the Wagnerian literature a companion volume to the famous

of the action, and no doubt

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC dictionary of opprobrious epithets applied to the

Bayreuth master by his opponents.

be

clearly

was

It

understood that the question

chiefly the position of

Wagner

should at issue

the parties

;

were rightly described as Wagnerians and

anti-

Wagnerians, not as Brahmsians and anti-Brahms.

and Brahmsians. But the most influential and

ians or even as Wagnerians

whom

the composer to intelligent

of

anti -Wagnerian

the

party

have

looked to counteract the tendencies of "the

music of the future," and to continue the great line of

German composers, has

of course been

forced into a prominent position in the combat,

even though his personal share in the quarrel has been of the Since the \

composer

German up a

slightest.

death

of the

Wagner

of

only

left

one

highest rank at the head of

musicians, there has gradually sprung

feeling of toleration

on each

side,

not for

who can conscientiously be numbered among the admirers of

the other, but for those

claim to

both the great masters of the nineteenth century. that

mankind can

things

— either

And

it is

latter half of

absurd to suppose

persist in ignoring

the

poetic

the

one of two

imagination

and

dramatic power of the creator of the " music

drama," or the freedom, 2

originality,

and con-

JOHANNES BRAHMS structive genius of the present representative of

the classical masters.

Part of the great debt

which English lovers of modern music owe to

Hans Richter

is

on account of

having

his

placed, from the beginning of his concerts in

London, the works of Brahms and Wagner side by side in positions of equal honour. His doing so has undoubtedly enabled English musicians to free themselves from the prejudices to

which

many Germans are still subject. As an instance of how little the German condition of things can be paralleled among ourselves, the too

remark

of

eminent

an

centred English musician

and

somewhat

may be

self-

quoted, who,

on hearing of a new appointment on the musical " is a dangerous man press, observed he is an admirer of Brahms and Wagner." One can hardly conceive the remark being made by even the most borne of German musicians. :

It

is

;

not necessary to go into the

Wagner

controversy, except for the sake of illustrating

the position

held by Brahms in the musical

world of Germany at the present time. desire to bring forward a

champion

In their in opposi-

Wagner, the antagonists of the modern developments of the art could find no composer

tion to

but Brahms worthy of the place. 3

In fact no

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC attempt

was made

on

any other

behalf of

him as the Of course a

musician, and both sides accepted

defender of musical orthodoxy.

position of this kind, or even one of absolute

pre-eminence,

In England, as everywhere

of greatness. sensible

men know how little

in such matters

the present of

the

not any sort of actual criterion

is

is

moment

And

it

;

but Germany at

affords a striking instance

coincidence

valuation.

the public estimate

worth

really

else,

popular

of

and

expert

impossible to study the

is

compositions of Brahms as a whole and not to realise that their

author

personalities in the

is

whole

one of the strongest

line of the masters of

music.

If evidence of this

without,

we have only

with which

they

were wanting from

to consider the hostility

are

received

still

in

some

quarters ;/for the existence of a strong opposition

implies

strength

the

in

thing

opposed.

Relatively to his contemporaries, he stands on

so great a height that the great line of

maintained

after

it

is

difficult to see

German composers

He

him.

is

is

of an age

how to

be

when

work the world of music, but as yet no one has ill appeared who promises to succeed him worthily, and it would almost seem as if the tide of music,

his successor should

be already

4

in active

JOHANNES BRAHMS which

for so

above

all

many

years has favoured

Germany

other nations, were at the ebb at

last.

and Germany is to become a second-rate power in art, it will be interesting to see which of the nations will If

is

it

succeed

fated to be so,

her

supremacy.

the

in

long had a fine school of earnest plished composers follow

the

noble

;

the younger Italians will

if

example

oldest composer, they

France has

and accom-

may

set

them by

their

reach the high place

countrymen by a kind of natural heritage ; and a wave of music has lately been passing over England which that

may

once belonged to

their

about a condition of things only

bring

be compared with the glorious days when

to

England was the chief among musical

We

have not to

nations.

deal, however, with the future,

but with the present state of music in Germany,

and with

its

greatest representative there.

It is difficult to see is

absent

from

this

what quality of greatness composer's

work

;

the

grandeur, wealth, and originality of his ideas,

and the ease and power with which he uses forms already invented, or develops them into new organisms full of suggestion and opportunity for those

who may come

after, are,

perhaps,

the most striking of his peculiar attributes 5

;

but

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC there

is

also a

deep expression as well as an

exquisite beauty in the greatest of his works.

He

is

sometimes accused of neglecting the

merely pleasing side of music, and, as

some it

of his earlier compositions are concerned, certainly possible to find passages

is

as

far

sensuous beauty of melody

is

not easily to be

Taking the whole of

discovered.

consideration, however,

it is

where

his

work into

quite impossible to

agree with the charge, for no composer, past or present, has invented lovelier melodies, or has set

them

in

more

delightful surroundings

they are to be found in nearly scattered through

Of

course,

if

and

;

his works,

all

them with no niggard hand.

the only function of music

appeal to the lower emotions of the less

is

to

culti-

vated classes, then Brahms cannot rank with the great masters at

all

but in that case the whole

;

must be re-arranged, and

of musical history

Beethoven must be recognised as the

Offenbach or the compiler of the

ferior of

street song.

merit are

Where

test

fairly applied,

since

it

which

it is

a

last

the usual tests of musical there must

with the masters of the

one

artistic in-

little

first

Brahms rank

order.

There

is

dangerous to apply,

takes from certain popular idols their

long-held position of supremacy 6

:

it

can only be

JOHANNES BRAHMS when all allowances are made for circumstances and the influence of the outer world upon the artist's life. It is the test that is of real value

strength of which

applied to a chain,

the

judged by that of

weakest link

of art

it

its

is

in matters

;

resolves itself into the question,

"

Does

a man's work contain examples altogether unat his best ? "

worthy of himself

This does not,

of course, imply a dead level throughout his

work, for such a level must be one of mediocrity

;

but

requires the absence of any

it

com-

position obviously written to order or against

the grain, or of anything the composer would be

ashamed of

We

moments.

in his better

positions

of

any

master,

for

need

com-

not take into account the posthumous

may be

these

merely the contents of his waste-paper basket, thrust

into publicity by injudicious survivors

but the

many

Devil's

a famous

Advocate

will

name from

supreme masters, and in

fact,

have to expel the

list

putting aside the

old composers, whose weaker works likely

have disappeared, there

of the

will

may

very

remain few

beside Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and, curi-

In the case of Mozart

ously enough, Chopin.

and Haydn,

it

must be remembered

that the con-

dition of the musical world in their day 7

made

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC it

imperative upon them to write in and out of

season.

This high

name

it

by one

say, is fulfilled

and

test,

is

much

not too

living

to

composer alone,

Johannes Brahms. Through the long list of his works we may search in vain for music that he need blush to own naturally some are far better than others, but in the least attractive we shall find signs of the master's his

is

;

genius, whether in the manipulation of an un-

promising theme or the exact portrayal of some subtlety of expression.

The

of ideal with

the

passionate

characteristic of Southern

have the

its

first

combinaaim and nobility

felicitous

tion of intense earnestness of

ardour that

countries,

may

origin in the circumstances of his

possibly

birth, the

comes from

second from the

his

is

well life

North German

artistic

atmosphere

of Vienna, the city of his adoption.

Johannes Brahms was musical by ance his father, a double-bass player ;

inherit-

in

the

opera band at Hamburg, was also a proficient

on other instruments, and the boy, born May 7, 1833, was put, at a very early age, under the tuition of a

pianoforte-teacher

Eduard Marxsen being

named

teacher,

and

of Altona has the

as the

his

named

Gossel.

honour of

young composer's principal

complete theoretical equipment, 8

JOHANNES BRAHMS refined

his

and great experience

taste,

as

a

teacher, were invaluable in directing the genius

of his pupil into the highest paths.

At fourteen

Brahms gave a concert

years of age,

or "piano-

on a Volkslied was brought forward as an example recital,"

which

at

a

set

Most

of his creative power.

and

for

his

of variations

fortunately for

him

he was not forced into the

art,

no doubt this Marxsen's good sense and

career of a pianoforte prodigy;

was due partly

to

the parents' wisdom, but

the

amount of

it

is

also possible that

actual "virtuosity" displayed

the boy was not so exceptional as to

make

advisable from a commercial point of view. later

the

life,

composer's playing

by it

In

been

has

described as possessing an amount of interest

and beauty

all

its

own

:

in particular, his per-

formance of Bach's organ works on the piano said to

be quite phenomenal, and of

in general

and

soft,

it

full

louder than

has been said that of pith

it is

it is

is

his playing

" powerful

and meaning, and never

lovely."

Still,

the qualities that

are essential in a successful performer, such as brilliancy

among

and

perfect technical accuracy, are not

the attractions mentioned by those

have been privileged to hear him play. in

Germany, where we are accustomed 9

who

Even

to think

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC of musical

skill

always and at once receiving

its

due reward, young composers cannot immediately make a living by their works, and an

Hungarian

association with Remenyi, a

who

has

already

almost

on

Brahms'

the

outlived

reputation he once enjoyed, had

great

an influence

which could While acting as

have

not

career

been foreseen.

violinist

this

artist's

accompanist on a concert tour in

came

whom

Joachim and

across

was destined

to

1853 he the former of

Liszt,

become one

intimate friends and keenest admirers. easily

It

may

be imagined how great was the influence

exerted by the illustrious violinist,

an

most

of his

artist

of the

who was

also

most earnest purpose, upon the

young composer, to whom the companionship of a mere virtuoso must have been far from satisfying.

We

have only to look

Brahms' works

to see

at

the

list

of

how many and how im-

portant are the results of the intimacy which

now began

;

for

it is

no

secret that

some

of the

most beautiful and popular of these compositions were primarily intended

for

Joachim, and

first

Joachim was nearly two years the older of the pair, and by this time had

played by him.

already

made an European fame

for himself.

was no doubt a thing quite outside 10

It

his previous

JOHANNES BRAHMS experience to

a

find

who could

pianist

at

a

moment's notice transpose the piano part of to B flat when the " Kreutzer sonata " from

A

he found that the pianoforte was half a tone

and it was not every day that he met with a composer or a composition student, who had flat

;

a group of works so original

already finished

and

of promise as the pianoforte sonatas,

full

the scherzo in

E

minor, and the

flat

first set

of

That he should give the young man a of introduction to Schumann, who was then

songs. letter

was almost a matter of course, since Schumann was always eager to

living at

Diisseldorf,

new

hear of

who were

writers or musicians

of any kind

When we

really in earnest.

consider

these earliest achievements of Brahms' genius, it

seem

not

will

surprising

that

Schumann

should have taken up his pen, which had been long

idle, in

The

eloquent praise of the newcomer.

sonata in C, op.

subject of

its

first

i,

has for the principal

movement

a theme almost

identical with that of Beethoven's great sonata in

B

flat,

op. 106.

The resemblance

saute

aux

yeux, and has not escaped the notice of the

German biographers throws

into

all

the

of

the

greater

astonishing originality of ii

its

master;

but

it

prominence the treatment.

The

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC slow movement, built upon national song,

an early

is

fondness

poser's

theme of a example of the com-

for

the

characteristic

movement

melodies, and the coda of the

magical

of

employment of the same the slow movement and the scherzo, the

in

subject for

is

The second sonata, in F much originality of design,

beauty.

sharp minor, has exhibited

traditional

and the expressive recurrence of the

intro-

The

third,

duction to the finale at in

F

minor, op.

its

must almost have been the

5,

piece about which a story that

close.

to the effect

is told,

when an admirer ventured

to point out

some reminiscence of Mendelssohn, poser remarked rather grumpily

might)

:

" True, such things will

times, even to the best of us that every

once

!

"

;

story

is

told of a

well

he

happen some-

the pity only

donkey should go and

The

(as

the com-

find

it

is

out at

new concerted

piece of his later period, but as this sonata

is

the only instance of Mendelssohn's influence

may perhaps be

on the composer,

I

surmising that

belongs to the earlier work.

The ment

it

forgiven for

beautiful resumption of the slow called

subsidiary

subject in

" Riickblick,"

and the

move-

exquisite

theme of the finale, a chorale-like D flat, are enough to distinguish the 12

JOHANNES BRAHMS The

sonata.

scherzo,

in the vein of a

op.

4,

was

sufficiently

more vigorous Chopin

to excite

the admiration of Liszt, an admiration which

was bestowed on very few other works by Brahms. Perhaps the most surprising thing batch of compositions

in this first

the very

is

song of the group numbered op. 3, the powerful ballad " Liebestreu," beginning "O first

The

!

versenk "

setting of each stanza

and

is

the

perhaps unlikely that

same,

it is

in his

maturer years Brahms would have been

true,

content to leave in

it

is

it

so

dramatic passion

but the steady increase

;

actually intensified

is

the fact that the change

and

Surely

tone-colour.

genius were

ever

than

or

these,

promise.

If

no

it

set of variations

easier task here,

made

things

speed of

individual

of

greater

experienced

undoubtedly

Chopin

in

first-fruits

strikingly

contained

characteristics of a

article,

more

only

Schumann's

could detect, as

famous

is

by

eye

did, the future

in the conventional

on "La ci darem," he had an and the different tone of his " Neue Bahnen," marks his

sense of the greatness of the career he foresaw.

remarkable

In

this

is

greeted

as

article the

"one who

mastership by no gradual J

3

young composer

should

claim

the

development,

but

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC upon

as

Minerva

sprang from the brain of Jupiter."

In one

burst

us

was

alone

respect

prophecy

equipped,

fully

— that

Schumann wrong

there

was to be no

his

in

further

no

development in

Brahms'

doubt true

he has undergone no great

that

powers.

It

revolution of convictions or of style,

the

earliest

more

possibly

and in

latest

common

of

and that

works

his

is

have

with each other than

the corresponding works of any other composer

whatever

;

but at the same time an unmis-

takable tendency has

shown

itself in his later

years towards clearness of utterance and the

abandonment of many

of the

characteristics

that were least pleasing to superficial hearers.

Not

tt^at his

now than

thoughts are less deep

when they were harder to understand, but they are more clearly and directly enunciated, more flowing in their treatment, and therefore more agreeable to those who do

they were

For those

not care to go beneath the surface.

who do

care to go deeper,

and who

capable of the highest degree of musical

fore,

enjoyment, the later works are not full

are, there-

less,

but more,

Looking back group of works, they afford an

of interest, than the earlier.

upon

this first

interesting parallel

with 14

those

of

Beethoven,

JOHANNES BRAHMS for, like

them, they are influenced by the com-

poser's predecessors, while they contain unmis-

takable tokens of strong individuality.

same group falls

the

as the compositions just referred to

first

strings, the

In the

and which was

of the master's trios for piano

work

in

B

major, op.

8,

published about the same time as the sonatas

and three books of songs. This trio has lately acquired an interest and importance beyond almost any other work of the composer's, since a few years ago he remodelled it, and a comparison of the two versions is an invaluable lesson in composition, as well as an incident scarcely to be paralleled in musical history. is

It

the best proof that can be given of what was

asserted above

—that

an exceptional degree of

unity in style has always subsisted between the

and the later compositions of Brahms. though a period of nearly forty years

earlier

For

divides the two versions, the latter, which contains

very

little

material that

is

actually new,

has no lack of homogeneity, although in every

movement important alterations have been made. As a rule these are in the direction of making the general course of the work clearer and more intelligible in its earlier form it was one of the most difficult of his works, not only \

x

5

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC to

but

play,

changes of

occurred

is

all

a

character,

One

understand.

amount

an

demonstrates

criticism that artists

to

the rarest of

all

In

kinds.

theme of

of

its

self-

among

virtues

adagio

there

melodious

beautifully

exactly suiting

trasting subject to the

the

the

of

place as a con-

main theme,

but, unfor-

tunately, very strongly resembling the opening

of Schubert's

now been

G

song,

"Am

This has

Meer."

replaced by a long-drawn theme in

sharp minor, given out by the violoncello.

But

it

would take too long

alterations

more

and the reasons

to

enumerate the

profitable exercise can hardly

mended

to

though a

for each,

be recom-

young composers.

In 1854 Brahms stayed for some time with Liszt at Weimar, and appeared on several occasions as a pianist at

had not been

Hanover,

for

this

up at that time; the post of choir-director and music-

career

definitely given

master to the Prince of Lippe-Detmold,

to

which he was appointed about the same time, gave him occupation of a more or

less lucrative

kind during the winter months, and plenty of opportunity for the quiet development of his powers, for which, of course, no help from other

composers was any longer necessary. 16

It

would

JOHANNES BRAHMS be an interesting study

for the musical historian

to estimate the influence of these posts at the

small

Not merely the various

leisure

opportunities

composer's the

German

German Courts upon

efforts,

have to be considered, but

—and,

—

in

this

the

last

but not

least,

with cultivated

people.

A

case with a choir

the

performance of the

with practical music

familiarity

intercourse

for

music.

composition,

for

long

period of service in this sort of capacity would inevitably lead, however, to a gradual merging

and it was to Brahms' advantage that he gave up the post after a few years, and returned to Hamburg, of the

artist

in

the

pedant,

subsequently living for a time in Switzerland,

where he enjoyed the friendship, sympathy, and

good advice of Theodor Kirchner. His appearance at one of the Gewandhaus concerts in conservative Leipzig, in January 1859, in his

own

pianoforte

successful

the

;

concerto,

op.

15,

was

not

for this the notorious reluctance of

audience to accept anything really

new

cannot be held wholly responsible, since the concerto

is

one of the

least attractive of the

composer's works, exhibiting

all

the harshnesses

manner in an excessive degree. At same time it is interesting to notice how

of his early

the

17

B

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC even here

is

the master's

to

be traced a characteristic of

work

in

all

kind, the complete

this

blending of the solo part with the orchestral, so that each part exists for the sake, not of

but of the whole. in the early sixties,

When it

was

it

appeared

in

the

itself,

in print,

same group

some compositions that have enjoyed immediate and almost universal popularity from with

the

date

of their

first

performance

until the

The two serenades (op. n and and A respectively) are less often England than the lovely sextet in B

present day. 1 6,

in

D

given in

flat for strings,

op.

18,

but they are not

less

and the wonderful and, as it has been called, Haydnesque, clearness of structure which now begins to distinguish the composer's best works, is all the more remarkable when compared with the qualities of the piano An " Ave Maria " for female chorus, concerto. orchestra and organ (op. 12), a funeral hymn for chorus and wind instruments (op. 13), and beautiful

;

a group of part-songs or trios for female voices

accompanied by two horns and harp (op. 17) show that at this time the composer was making experiments in tone-colour ; the last is especially successful, and it is curious to note how happy the composer has always been in 18

JOHANNES BRAHMS dealing with the horn, whether in the larger or the smaller combinations.

Though many

of these works have precisely

the characteristics that were ascribed, a

while ago, capital,

influence

until

after

they

Austrian

of the

Brahms did not take up

Vienna

in

the

to

his residence

were

written, but actually published.

little

It

not

was

in

only

1862

and gave a number of the delight of the more

that he appeared there,

pianoforte recitals to

cultivated Viennese musicians.

from

his arrival

Within a year

he was appointed director of

the Singakademie

;

but resigned

it

after a year

of useful work, devoted in large measure to the

study of Bach's choral music.

For some three

he had no fixed place of abode, but He visited various towns for short periods. years

conducted the

first

serenade at Cologne (where

he had, years before, been offered a post in the Conservatorium, but had refused it), and gave concerts in Switzerland.

In 1867 he returned

Vienna, which has since been his head

to

quarters.

The

artistic result

of these " Wanderjahre

was a most important group of chamber-compositions, including the two delightful quartets for

piano and strings (op. 25 and 26, 19

in

G

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC minor and in

F minor

A

respectively), the splendid quintet

G

(op.

and violoncello "horn" trio in E flat

(op.

second sextet

(op. 34), the

in

36,) the sonata for piano

and the

38),

40)

—

truly, a

have

set

lovely

up two or three composers

estimation of musicians first

(op.

batch of compositions that might

!

in

the

In the finale of the

of these, the wonderful " Gipsy rondo " of

G

minor quartet, we have the most important example of that love of Hungarian colour-

the

ing and themes which, in connection with the well-known arrangements of the " czardas " for

name

familiar to

quisite tone-colour

other quartet

is

much

make Brahms' English amateurs. The exof the slow movement of the

pianoforte duet, did so

to

not less worthy of remark, and

these two works and the quintet are loveliest of the master's works.

among

the

Another beau-

Magyar characteristics is a set of variations upon a Hungarian song, for piano, op. 2 1#, the theme of which has a curious rhythm

tiful

instance of

of seven crotchets disposed in two bars, that

movement of the latest of his pianoforte trios. The variation form occupied the composer much at this time not only reappears in the slow

;

was there a very beautiful companion already mentioned,

set to that

but a four-hand set on a 20

JOHANNES BRAHMS theme by Schumann, a solo set (culminating in a masterly fugue) on a theme from one the

of

less

Handel, and a

familiar

harpsichord

set of twenty-eight

difficult studies in the

suites

of

enormously

form of variations on a

theme by Paganini, date from the same period, the earliest of the composer's maturity. In two other branches of composition the same group contains work of importance the set of nine songs to words by A. von Platen and G. F. Daumer, containing the exquisite lyric, "Wie bist du, meine Konigin ? " and the great set of fifteen romances from Tieck's " Magelone," are unsurpassed in beauty and tenderness of expression by any of his later songs, and in them is reached the highest point of development of ;

German " Lied." The chief interest

the

works, such as Psalm

of certain xiii.

sacred choral

for female choir

organ, the setting of Flemming's

nur nichts dauern," and others,

is

and

" Lass dich

in the fact that

they are practically sketches for the most famous of Brahms' contributions to sacred music, the "

German Requiem."

In the sketches a most

noble dignity and gravity

is

maintained, while

every sort of contrapuntal device

is

to

be found

in them, though these are in no sense obtruded 21

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC upon the

hearer's

The two works

notice.

mentioned, as well as the two motets for

five-

which

the

unaccompanied,

chorus,

part

vigorous " Es

England

in

ist

das Heil"

is

of

the better known,

at least, are in the finest style of

church music

—broad,

dignified,

As an

from sentimentality.

and wholly

free

illustration of the

composer's industry in the production of choral

music

just

at

time,

this

mentioning that

may be worth

it

branch of

this

art

is

repre-

sented in this period by no less than seven

opus-numbers including as

The work

in the catalogue,

many for

paratory studies

some of them

as five compositions.

which these were in a sense preis, it is

not too

greatest achievement of

much to

say, the

modern sacred music

Germany. It was possibly suggested by the Austrian and Prussian war of 1866, but a more in

personal

element

obtruded

itself.

have been

seems It

is

gradually

curious that

to it

have should

first

performed piecemeal, the three choruses under Herbeck in 1867,

and

six

Bremen

at

first

out of the seven numbers in 1868 at :

the reason for this was simply that

the oratorio as

we now have it was not The scheme lent

until later in 1868.

finished itself to

gradual enlargement, for the words chosen from 22

JOHANNES BRAHMS by the composer himself do not any very necessary sequence. The

Scripture follow in title

is

a

clumsy, for there

little

whatever in

common and

with the

there

Catholic

ritual,

German

in the passages

is

nothing

is

Requiem

of the

nothing essentially

selected or

in

their

treatment, except that they are taken from the

Lutheran

Bible.

Without

touching

further

upon the composer's religious beliefs, it is quite clear, from the way in which the different texts are strung together and from the depth of devotional expression revealed in almost every

number, that Brahms must,

at the time of its

composition, have been under strong religious

Not Bach himself has penetrated more deeply into the spiritual meaning of the thoughts called up by the death of one beloved, impressions.

though the distinctively " pietistic " element of his church cantatas and the like is not forth-

coming

in

the newer composition.

The

first

chorus opens with the calm utterance of the

words " Blessed are they that mourn," succeeded by the promise " They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," set to music of the most consolatory character imaginable.

number we

upon the contemplation of things," which, it may be, would

enter

the "four last

With the second

23

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC have suggested the

title

for the

name had

equivalent of this

work,

if

the

not already been

we in " The Last Judgment." The

appropriated by Spohr in the work which

England know as idea of the whole human race marching in solemn procession to the grave, is one that on two separate occasions inspired no less prosaic a person

than

Dr. Watts

to

genuine poetic

utterance ; in Blake's wonderful illustrations to Young's " Night Thoughts " there is a design,

among many

others

Time

representing

that haunt the

memory,

as sitting beside a river in

the stream of which are borne along types of

every age and condition of mankind on their

way to

The same

to death.

the

composition of

idea inspired

a

Brahms

march unlike

all

marches that ever were written, but not to be mistaken by the most superficial hearer for anything but a march. this,

and

in

the

It is in

inevitable

triple time,

and

in

character of the

we know that we are listening to the tramp of no ordinary host. The effect is heightened by music,

the employment of unisons in the vocal parts,

which seem

to give the sense of chill helpless-

ness as the words are sung " Behold,

the

The imagery

all flesh is

words, perhaps connected with the " sowing in tears "

as

grass."

24

of

the

JOHANNES BRAHMS of the previous chorus, suggests the passage from the Epistle of St. James, " The husband-

man

waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,"

and

this leads

by no abrupt transition to the

fugal

beautiful

setting

of the familiar words,

Lord shall return." The reiteration of the words "joy everlasting," with which the chorus closes, is a most striking A contrast to the gloom of the beginning. somewhat analogous principle of construction "

The redeemed

of the

underlies the next number, yet the treatment so vastly different that

no sense of

repetition

is is

It starts with a baritone solo, " Lord,

created.

make me

to

know mine

end,"

melodious,

and pre-eminently vocal ; a passage words " My hope is in which the four sections of the choir,

expressive,

of fine suggestion, at the

Thee," in

entering successively from the lowest register of

the bass to the high soprano, give the idea of a

upon a sure foundation, leads into the splendid fugue throughout on a "pedal point," "But the righteous souls are in the hands of God," in which the same impression of stability and permanence is admirably conhope

built

veyed.

If

any doubt existed as to the

ness and originality of this creation, the

crowning testimony to 25

its

it

power

great-

received in

the

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC disapproval

who were

pundits of the time, its

among

excited

it

German

the

naturally blind to

emotional meaning, and only saw in

innovation

on

a bold

it

jealously-guarded

their

fugue-

form. After the assurance as to the destiny of the " righteous souls " it is natural to turn to the celestial joys

number, "

of their abode, and in the next

How

lovely

is

Thy

dwelling-place

the perfect peace of heaven

the

longing

the

of

heart

faithful

The

Vision.

Beatific

reflected,

is

for

the

of

subject

" !

and the

next

number, that of comfort to mourners, based

upon

the so

follows that

it

composed

later

all

the

gone

has

believe

to

holy

the

of

what

than

it

A

rest.

solo,

its

form, which

dead, before

have been

to

of the composer's mother,

have determined soprano

state

naturally difficult

is

loss, that

happy

is

is

personal said to

that of a

kept for the most part in

its

high

and accompanied by a quiet choral " As one section, which repeats the words, whom his own mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." The solo part may be open to register,

the reproach of not being very easy to sing

—an

unpardonable sin in the eyes of many English amateurs

—but of

its

and profoundly the hands of a competent

real effect

impressive character in

26

JOHANNES BRAHMS artist

there can be

no manner of doubt.

monumisapplied by German and

sixth chorus really deserves the epithet

mental," so often

English

critics.

The

'

'

Beginning with a passage of

"Here we have no composer leads our continuing place," the thoughts towards that change from mortality to simple four-part harmony,

immortality on

which the Lutheran,

Anglican, burial-service lays stress. amateurs, saturated with their earliest youth, there

To

like the

English

"The Messiah" from may well have seemed

something almost sacrilegious in resetting the

"For the trumpet shall sound," etc., and them to a baritone soloist but even if the resemblance to Handel's work went farther than it does, we must remember that the oratorio in words,

giving

;

which the familiar given,

and

far

Germany than

occurs

air

far less often

universally

less

here.

is

The

adored,

in

" mystery," described

strains, though by the means imaginable, is represented in the chorus parts by a vigorous and well-developed

in wonderfully graphic

simplest

section in triple time, " For the trumpet shall

sound," in

which,

dramatic excitement

for is

once,

the

element of

allowed to appear, though

only as a preparation for the calm dignity and devotional grandeur of the magnificent double 27

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC fugue,

" Lord,

surprising

Thou

art worthy."

peroration, in order

After this

back

to bring

the prevailing tone of the Requiem, the final

number, modelled more or first,

less closely

resumes the thoughts connected with the

departed,

and

closes

chorus, with

been allowed

the penultimate

if

had

jubilant outburst of praise,

its

end the work. While preparing this work the

more

undoubtedly

in

appropriate expression than

in

upon the

to

summer

of

1868,

Bonn, where he wrote also

for

the

press,

Brahms stayed at a large number of

songs and two important works for male choir

and

orchestra,

voice in

to

;

the

first

each with a part

which a tenor Goethe's

a

for

solo

of these, " Rinaldo " (op. 50), soloist

adaptation

conceived in the

employed,

is

set

and is of romance the

from

finest spirit

is

Tasso,

;

second, " Rhapsodie " (op. 53), set to a passage from the same poet's " Harzreise im Winter," contains a part for alto or mezzo-soprano, and the strange

and

beautiful

effects

unusual combination of voices to

if it

to

entitle the

more general recognition than

received, even

due it

the

work

has yet

were not one of the most

melodious and impressive of the larger works of the master.

The smooth, 28

sustained

passage,

o VO

*

a,

in

S a

«o

S

^

M

a

-^

^

^ "fe

.a 4«

I

JOHANNES BRAHMS " 1st auf

deinem

Psalter, Vater der Liebe," has

a haunting loveliness that

is

not easily forgotten.

In strong contrast with these and the Requiem

one of the works produced about this time, which may perhaps be regarded as the healthy

is

natural reaction after the continued concentra-

on the solemn subject of the Requiem the famous " Liebeslieder-Walzer," op. 52, though written away from Vienna, may well have been a reflection of the most characteristic popular music of the Austrian capital and the performtion

:

band

ances of Strauss'

the

in

Volksgarten,

which have been among Brahms' most constant enjoyments since In

pleasure.

his first visit to

the

waltzes

some time Brahms showed

written

before for piano duet, op. 39,

how much

that city of

of real emotion could be put into

the conventional form, without straining

Schumann

as

often did in his adaptations of the

Here the piano duet

waltz to romantic music. is

it,

again employed, but in association with four

solo voices, a combination

the

first

which Schumann was

to use in his " Spanische Liebeslieder."

Brahms' waltzes are strictly to the

short,

and adhere most

prescribed structure

course, simplicity

itself,

the great composer

is

yet

:

this

we never

is,

of

feel that

conscious of any want of 29

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC

He

up unrestrainedly to the mood of the dancers, for whom we may imagine the waltzes to be intended for many

freedom.

yields himself

—

of

them could

perfectly

well

serve

The people

practical purposes of the ball-room.

who

are fond of complaining that there

little

of what

they

music,

should

waltzes,

and the

they mean, as

" tune " in

call

turn

;

little

these " tune "

known, melody cut into

well

more nor

lengths of exactly eight bars, neither less

so

to

By

later series, op. 65.

is

is

Brahms'

attention

their

the

for

of the character of the melody they take

and they

notice,

will

ugly music, provided only

Here they

this sense.

rave

about quite

has " tunes " in

it

will find

a wealth of such

tunes, cut into lengths as definite as the latest

English royalty ballad, though a good deal less threadbare in the quality of the music. the

waltzes in his

the

skill

own

enjoy the

way, the musician wonders at

with which the vocal and instrumental

parts are interest

amateur may

cultivated

less

While

interwoven, and

and

at

the

amount of

real value the pieces have, for all

In the

their popular guise.

no such deeply poetic to the later series,

—one of the most

"

"

earlier set

envoy

Nun,

ihr

" as is

there

is

attached

Musen, genug

"

beautiful musical inspirations 30

JOHANNES BRAHMS in existence

but in spite of

;

of romantic sentiment

be found

in

and

this,,

there

playful

is

plenty

humour

to

them, and their enormous popularity

need not be wondered at. The fate of the second series, in England at least, is widely different

since

from that which

it is

more admired,

often given, than the

befalls

or at It

first.

most sequels,

all

may

events

more

not be use-

draw attention to the wording of the title, which gives the most excellent hint as to the secret of obtaining a good performance. The less to

waltzes are not described as " quartets with four-

hand piano accompaniment," but as duets with four voices ad libitum. The singers must follow, not lead, the players, to

be given

;

if

an

effective rendering

of course the latter must

is

make

allowance for the presence of the vocal parts, but they must not hesitate to adopt the thousand little

modifications of time that are suggested by

the instrumental phrases, as they might well if

do

the pianoforte were used simply as an accom-

paniment.

In both

sets of waltzes,

and

in other

works of kindred arrangement, a peculiar charm is felt,

and the actual treatment of the

has an individuality that

The German

is difficult

victories of

1

voice-parts

to analyse.

870-1 were

cele-

brated in a noble "Triumphlied," op. 55, for 31

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC baritone solo, eight-part chorus, and orchestra,

performed

first

187 1.

It

is

oftener given

own the

Bremen on Good

at

a at

strange

little

English

that

festivals,

Friday, is

not

since

our

it

national anthem, long since adapted by Germans as " Heil dir im Siegerkranz,"

appears in a

much

disguised form in

its

first

number, and the chorale, "Nun danket Alle Gott " a hymn-tune scarcely less familiar here

—

than in

its

native land

—

is

referred to in

its

Next to this in order of composition comes a very famous specimen of Brahms' skill in choral writing, the picturesque and suggestive second.

" Schicksalslied," or song of destiny (op. 54), which, in its moderate extent and real effectiveness seems to have set the pattern for those shorter choral works in which

some of

the best

of our living English composers have expressed

themselves most successfully.

In the poetic

depth of emotion, in the contrast between

its

two sections, and in the hopeful teaching of the music, as against the words,

we

fatalistic

purport of the

are here conscious, as before in the

Requiem, that the author has entered into the very soul of his subject, and that he is no mere machine for setting words to suitable music.

The opening

section

describes 32

the

state

of

JOHANNES BRAHMS Olympian calm in which the pagan deities may be supposed to pass an eternity of unruffled happiness.

The pure beauty

this part is greatly

of the music in

enhanced by the

fine orches-

and the movement gives place all too soon to a rapid and restless section in triple

tration,

which the harsh destiny of the human

time, in

race

is

As

considered.

in the

second number

of the Requiem, the choral parts sweep to and fro as

though driven before a

Holderlin's line "

Klippe geworfen"

resistless

tempest.

Wie Wasser von Klippe zu is

set

to

a most graphic

passage of staccato notes in cross rhythm, and the final words of the poem " Ins Ungewisse

hinab

"

suggest a headlong falling into non-

of the voices in their lowest registers.

away Here is

own

individu-

existence, illustrated in the gradual dying

where the composer ality, for

asserts his

the work does not end at this point

on the theme of the quiet opening, he seems to show us that there is a hope beyond the poet's ken, that the pessimistic view of life may not perhaps be the true one after all. The power of instrumental music to suggest definite non-musical ideas that power generally denied by the partisans of what is called "absolute" music, among whom in an instrumental epilogue, built

33

c

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Brahms

usually counted

is

—was

never better

illustrated.

By

time the composer had

this

upon Vienna

finally fixed

permanent home, and had

as his

even accepted new duties connected with the performance of music, having been appointed conductor of the famous concerts of the " Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde," a post which

he

he resigned this

time

years,

much

with

filled

it

success until 1875,

period

forth, a

Herbeck.

friend

his

to

now

when From

of nearly twenty

he has devoted himself exclusively to

composition,

surroundings the most con-

in

genial that can be imagined, and, as far as can

be known,

his

life

arranged almost ideally

is

work of the

for the production of artistic

kind.

He

is

no example of the prosperous

who

musician

homage of

is

contented

the world,

and

receive

to

to give

it

his less happily inspired effusions.

we

fear his

finest

the

in return

Nor need

becoming the centre of a mutual

admiration society, or turning into a narrow-

minded

pedant,

such

are

as

among German and English such as he possesses all

that

it

is

requires for

its its

not

unknown

Power own safeguard, and full development is musicians.

freedom from outward vexations, though indeed 34

JOHANNES BRAHMS Beethoven's powers are not held to have been lessened by either of the two days, his ne'er-do-weel

Brahms,

though

troubles,

stands

"spoilt," for

yet

nephew and

happily in

trials

of his latter his deafness.

danger

little

such

from

free

being

of

another reason, which

is

a

most salutary intolerance of anything like the " lionising " process ; at no time has his manner to strangers or mere acquaintances been remarkable for urbanity, but on the slightest suspicion of expressed admiration he certain

assumes a stony or rather thorny impenetra-

and many an ardent and too outspoken amateur has had reason to regret his boldness. Like Tennyson and many another son of the bility,

muses, he thing, is

is

bored to death with that kind of

and does not scruple

a story

— only

to

one of many

show

—that

this peculiarity particularly well,

There

it.

illustrates

though

it

not exhibit the master in a very amiable

may light.

At Baden-Baden, where he often passes part of the summer, he was accosted by a certain lionhunter one day as he lay under a tree in a garden;

a

little

speech,

obviously

prepared

beforehand, was delivered, in which was duly set forth the speaker's

the

enormous admiration

composer's works and his 35

for

overpowering

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC sense of honour he the

felt at

the interview

whole stock-in-trade of the

stranger,

The temptation whom we may fancy

person of

a

full

was

habit,

in fact

professional

"interviewer" was employed, just a evidently.

—

little

punish

to

to

too the

have been a

too

much

for

Brahms, who interrupted the flow of enthusiasm with the remark, " Stop,

my

be some mistake here.

I

are looking for

my

dear

sir,

there must

have no doubt you

brother, the

composer

;

I'm

gone out for a walk, but you make haste and run along that path,

sorry to say he has just if

through the wood, and up yonder probably

He

is

still

catch

hill,

you may

him up."

seen at his best in the small circle of

his intimate friends,

among whom he

enjoys the

reputation not only of being witty, full of fun, and, in the best sense, " good company," but of

possessing a kind heart and a most generous disposition.

His Spartan simplicity of

life

is

one of the many points of resemblance with Beethoven, which extend to such physical characteristics as the thickset build,

small stature,

and the proportion, or want between the body and the lionlike head, with its eyes "of penetrating regard and fire and of proportion,

nobility of expression."

Unlike the generality of 36

JOHANNES BRAHMS musicians, he tion,

a great reader, and his conversa-

is

even on matters unconnected with his

A

that of a highly cultivated intellect.

usual peculiarity

new work it is

the intense interest which a

is

own

of his

excites in him, as long as first

per-

seems to be

laid

memory

con-

in progress, or, in fact, until

formed

;

ordeal past,

this

it

aside, as far as the composer's

cerned,

and nothing

intimates, than to get

is

is

him

it is

is

harder,

even for his

to talk

about his past

For the opinion of outsiders on

compositions. his

art, is

less un-

work he has the profoundest contempt, and

completely indifferent to journalistic verdicts.

His almost

mann

is

devotion to

filial

a graceful

trait

in

his

Madame

Schu-

character.

no doubt mainly the dread of being made a lion of that has kept him away from England, where he has so many admirers and unknown friends. On two occasions he has been offered the degree of Doctor of Music by the It is

University of Cambridge, but both times has

declined loss

to

come

to

receive

it.

The

occasioned by his refusal, from an

point of view,

is

chief

artistic

that English audiences have

not heard him conduct one of his orchestral

compositions constantly

;

these,

kept

in

however, have been so the 37

programmes

of the

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Richter and other concerts, and so admirably interpreted,

There

is,

that

after

man may

the loss all,

greatly lessened.

is

no possible reason why a

not decline a proffered distinction

somewhat formidable journey to receive it, and we may conclude that Brahms knows his own interests as well as we can know them. He is rich enough in distinctions of all kinds, one of the most important being the degree of Doctor of Philosophy granted by the that involves a

University of Breslau.

Up in

which he went to

to the time at

Vienna purely orchestral

cupied a secondary place

and

work, his

is

it

career in this

sidered to

not

music

in

direction

had

reason

first

symphonies, which dates from 1875. butions

to

some

further

of his Shortly contri-

chamber-music were

instrumental

made, the numbers of which

come

that

generally con-

is

have begun with the

before this was written,

oc-

sphere of

his

without

live

in the catalogue

close to those of the choral compositions

lately

spoken

quartets, opp. 51

of.

piano

and

These,

and

strings,

the

and a

67,

60

op.

three

string

third quartet for

in

C

minor,

un-

doubtedly show certain signs of labour; they " smell

of the

lamp

"

a 33

little,

and seem

to

JOHANNES BRAHMS indicate that

in

this

direction

particular

vein was for the time exhausted

the

this is all the

;

more remarkable since the choral works dating from the same period, the " Liebeslieder " (both sets), and many of the numerous songs of the time, are among the most widely accepted and most genial of his earlier compositions. Perhaps, as far as chamber-music was concerned, it

was a case of reculer pour mieux

sauter^ since

he was within measurable distance of a work

which was received as the

first

of a

new

of masterpieces in this department, the

series

first

of

the violin sonatas.

The spoken

first

of,

symphony, which

still

remains to be

has a special interest to

amateurs, since

it

English

was the work by which the

composer was represented among others who actually took the Cambridge degree at the time when it was first offered to Brahms. A curious coincidence marks

it

in

connection with the

performance at Cambridge, and accounts for the practice into which amateurs have fallen of calling

it

the "

Cambridge Symphony."

In the

impressive introduction to the final Allegro, the

by the way, is a curiously faithful pendant to (by no means a replica of) the theme of the finale of Beethoven's Choral subject of which,

39

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Symphony, the horn has a short phrase which would arrest attention anywhere, but which, in Cambridge, struck a most familiar note for it ;

is

identical in

its first

of the

chimes

quarters

"

—

two sections with certain

known

the

as

"

Cambridge

that pretty set of four-note phrases

said to have been arranged by Crotch from a

passage in "

know

I

my Redeemer

that

liveth,"

which has gradually spread from

St.

Church

best-known

till

become the

has

it

Mary's

arrangement for marking the quarters of the

Of course

hour.

this, nor,

symphony

indeed, was the

the occasion at which

English

University;

Carlsruhe in

know

the composer did not

it

was performed

had

it

November

written for

been

at the

heard

Cam-

1876, while the

bridge celebration, at which

it

at

was conducted

by Joachim, did not take place until the following March. Four sets of songs only separate this impressive and important work in Brahms' catalogue from his second symphony in D major, °P- 73) a

Many remain or

work

in strongest contrast to the

passages difficult

in

the

to grasp,

even a third hearing

movements

C

minor

even ;

in

symphony

after a

the

second

three

this is particularly the case,

40

first.

first

and

it

JOHANNES BRAHMS would be useless to deny that the work as a whole is by no means one of the most generally In the

pleasing of the master's compositions.

new symphony

a delicious

quietude prevails

;

and almost

pastoral

the subjects are even " tak-

ing " in their simple beauty, recalling sometimes

one or other of the waltzes of Schubert or of There is a bewitching the minuets of Mozart. passage in the allegretto grazwso, which reminds one of a child pretending transformed,

little

its

be completely

and firmly believing

unrecognisable,

under

to

when

it

that

it

is

has tied a handkerchief

chin and pulled

a

grimace.

The

theme of the minuet-like opening suddenly

appears in two-four time, with

all

the airs of

being new, but really unaltered in any important particular, and the effect of the device

is

Both subjects of the lovely finale deserve to rank with the most beautiful inventions in music, and their treatment is no most charming.

less masterly

than their conception

is

felicitous.

The Haydnesque character of the movement may point back to the beautiful variations on that master's op. 56)

"Chorale Sancti Antonii" (Brahms'

which were among

works of preparation

Two

for

his his

most important first

symphony.

works of the greatest value and importance 41

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC to violinists are

occupy

an

among

the compositions which

intermediate

place

second and third symphonies 77,

the

concerto,

violin

;

between

the

these are

op.

:

written for Joachim,

and often played by him in England, and the first sonata for violin and piano in G, op. 78. The former, in the same key as the single concerto of Beethoven's for the instrument, of

all

modern

stand beside

is,

concertos, the one most worthy to it

;

the

same subjection of

— using

indivi-

word and the highest sense distinguish both, serene beauty of themes is as conspicuous in the later work as in the earlier. As showdual display to general effect

in

that

—

its

pieces, neither

is

likely to

oust Mendelssohn's

concerto and those of other popular writers in the affections of the multitude of fiddlers

who are also artists come to recognise the

;

but

the violinists

in the

sense

real oppor-

will

tunities

for

making a

deep

merely of provoking applause

impression

—that

true

— not

are

tained in Brahms' as in Beethoven's work.

con-

As

an example of the perfect friendship and unity artistic the conviction existing between composer and the great artist for whom he wrote, it may be mentioned that Joachim con-

of

tributed the cadenzas to his friend's composition, 42

JOHANNES BRAHMS passages in which no lack of continuity or ho-

mogeneity can be traced by the keenest

critic.

For Joachim, too, there can be no doubt that the last movement, with its distinctively Hungarian colouring, was especially designed,

we may be

sure that

will

it

be a very long time

before another artist arises to play

The with

lovely touches of orchestral

example of the composer's

match

and

height,

greatest

for

it

exquisite subject of the slow its

or indeed the

it,

he does. movement, effect, is an as

invention

would be

it

and

at

its

difficult

movement

to

as a whole,

melodious beauty.

The second

of the two violin compositions, the

sonata in G, has throughout a singularly winning character,

and

of his later

none of the works has gained him more admirers,

it is

life

certain that

from those who formerly stood

A wonderful

aloof.

degree of unity in expression prevails from the

beginning of the

first

vivace

ma

non troppo to the

quiet close of the sonata in which a

cadence "

is

employed with the happiest

The

beautiful adagio flows

and

is

on

its

brought in again in the

calm down the subject

of

"plagal

this

even course,

finale,

slight restlessness

movement.

as

if

to

of the main

To

subject attaches a peculiar interest, for 43

effect.

this it is

main one of

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC modern master has device which Handel

the rare instances in which a successfully adopted the

was wont

employ

to

in order

the trouble of inventing

be quite sure that

this

new

to

save himself

We may

music.

was not the motive by

which Brahms was impelled when he took the

theme of a song written some years before for the finale of his sonata. In the album of " Regensongs, op. is one called 59, lied, " in which the figure of accompaniment gives exactly the dreary effect of pattering rain,

while the plaintive vocal theme carries out the

impression of a gentle inquietude. different

It is

quite a

kind of weather from that reflected in

a celebrated prelude of Chopin's suggested by a

prolonged storm in Corsica

but

if

emotion, the song

than that in

its

expressive or

artistic.

made

;

less tragic is

not less

In Chopin's prelude you

composer the hopelessness with which a child regards something

are

it

sees

to feel with the

no end

rain will stop,

cited

by

it is

to

in

;

and

Brahms' song we know the

that the restless feeling ex-

only a passing mood.

The com-

poser was evidently taken with the subject and its

figure of

accompaniment,

in the series to

called

for the next

which " Regenlied

"Nachklang,"

carries

44

"

song

belongs,

on both, though

to

JOHANNES BRAHMS In the

a different purpose.

sonata

finale of the

both appear again, but the figure of accompani-

ment

is

be

to

more

no longer confined

fully

ing, to

songs

the

in

taken advantage

those

who knew

part, as

it

possibilities are

its

;

one

to

of,

and

the songs

the process by which their

now

surpris-

is

it

had

first,

to see

material has been

No

utilised for instrumental purposes.

work of

the master's has met with wider acceptance than this,

which displayed

hitherto

untried,

same group

we may

unless

violoncello sonata in

the

powers in a direction

his

E

—a place

include

the

minor, as belonging to it

hardly deserves, since

and the winsome charm of its minuet, the somewhat crabbed character of its canonic finale marks it with

all

the beauty of its opening movement,

as belonging to the composer's less genial days.

Immediately before and

after the

two

violin

pieces just mentioned were two sets of pianoforte

solos,

op.

76,

a

set

of eight

so-called

"Capriccios and Intermezzi," and op. 79, two Rhapsodies. It has never been Brahms' habit to seek out effective titles for his smaller works,

such as were beloved of Schumann reason, perhaps,

with the typical older master.

;

for this

they have been less popular

amateur than those of the

Still,

" without going into "fancy

45

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC some more

descriptions,

have been found

for

names might

suitable

both

A

sets of pieces.

few

of the " capriccios " have, indeed, the fantastic,

unruly wilfulness implied in the

being very

title,

and, besides

difficult to play, are certainly inter-

and in a sense beautiful, notably one in B minor involving a perfect command of the staccato. But intermezzos that are apparently intended to take no intermediary place, but to esting,

stand

as

independent

and

wrongly named, rhapsodical

seem a

pieces,

certainly

little

anything

less

than the two regularly-constructed

pieces in almost conventional " da capo " form to

which the name of rhapsody

hardly be imagined.

But,

is

applied can

titles apart,

both

sets

have manifold beauties and points of interest the intermezzo in

A

flat

the most suitably

is

written for the pianoforte of the earlier

set,

both the rhapsodies appeal to pianists as as to the lover

of music.

It

is

Brahms' merits, any more than Beethoven's, to write what

music

is

for the pianoforte alone

it

not

but

much

one of

was one of

called " grateful ;

few of his pieces

of any period "play themselves " as do those of

Mendelssohn

in

one school, those of Chopin

in another, or those of Liszt in

peculiar

and

a third.

The

distinctive qualities of the instrument

46

JOHANNES BRAHMS have not, apparently, found in him a very loving interpreter,

and only here and

there,

and then

mainly in concerted music, does the pianist find his

work congenial from the technical point of Like

view.

great originators, he has invented

all

passages which require a special technique for

and the handfuls of chords, the sudden extensions, and the rapid changes of position, in which he freely indulges, have to be themselves,

carefully studied ties

enough, in

;

there are formidable difficul-

all

conscience, in the writers I

have named, yet they undoubtedly yield a more satisfactory result

to

the student than do

the

must be understood that the quality here spoken of is one that affects none but players. It is entirely independent of musical merit, and, as has been well said, music works of Brahms.

easy to play

that

is

to.

To

It

is

not always easy to listen

put ease of vocal or instrumental effect

in a high place

among

the virtues of a composer

wrong proportion. Both the rhapsodies, particularly the one in G minor, are genuine " pianoforte music " in the sense that is so rare with Brahms, and the two pieces are most deservedly popular with the is

surely to see things in their

better class of players.

Next to them came out two 47

overtures, of course

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC for full orchestra

Ouvertiire,"

and

op. 80, "

:

Akademische

Fest-

op. 81, " Tragische Ouverture "

:

the former, written in recognition of the degree of

doctor of philosophy conferred upon the composer by the University of Breslau, was privately

performed

in

on January

that place

4,

1881

;

and both were soon afterwards played at Vienna, and very coldly received. The first is built for the most part upon the themes of German songs, such

students'

as are familiar to every

German audience many, :

like the "

with which the work closes most scarcely

though

less it is

known

well

justly

popular

Gaudeamus,"

brilliantly,

in England.

among

are

Still,

us, its success

and certainly will One of the most humorous be, far greater. passages in the work has been discounted for English audiences by the familiarity of a certain device employed in it a device which has not yet been done to death in Germany, as it has in its native country has been,

•

—

with us.

After a pause, the bassoon enters with

intensely comic effect, with the

theme of what

known as the " Fuchslied " or freshmen's song (" Was kommt dort von der Hon' ? ") the is

;

point of the joke, the quality of tone of the

instrument chosen, audiences,

as,

falls

since .

its

a

.little flat

first

48

with English

appearance in the

JOHANNES BRAHMS drawn

Sorcerer's song, the bassoon jest has been

upon

any comic opera when

for a safe laugh in

little thin. The for "programme" "Tragic" overture wants no what may be the particular form its elucidation

the wit of the dialogue has run a

;

of fate that so obviously hangs over

trombones bring about the

final

it

until the

catastrophe we

are not told, but the course of the story

is

plain

enough to those who have ears to hear, and most impressive it is. The two choral works which precede the third symphony, and which are the last compositions for choir and orchestra that the master has given us, again deal with the problem of human

The

destiny.

words,

was

first,

" Nanie," set to Schiller's

by the

suggested

death of

promising young painter, Feuerbach, friend of the composer's,

the mother of the

England

and

artist.

it

is

a

the great

dedicated to

has suffered, in

It

especially,

from a comparison with

Goetz's setting of the

same words, which occupied

the attention of amateurs just about the time

when Brahms'

setting

came

out.

The romantic

circumstances of Goetz's early death, and the

posthumous works enjoyed season in England, were enough

vogue which a

brief

account for

his

this

preference,

49

and, beside

D

for

to

this,

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC there sition,

much

is

which

inspired

to

is

be said

one of

author's

its

most happily

Brahms'

while

creations,

compo-

for the earlier

version

is

not by any means the best of his works in this form.

On

the strength of this verdict of the

musical world, a certain set of

critics

tried to

persuade themselves that the dead composer was in every

way

greater than the living,

and quite

" recently one of the chiefs of the " irresponsible

school of writers has repeated the assertion. is

It

a thankless task to play Devil's Advocate with

a posthumous fame, but

it

has

come

to

be very

generally recognised as possible that Goetz did

not die so very prematurely, and that in fact

some of

his later

works betrayed certain manner-

isms which threatened to become more noticeable as time went on.

achievement,

undoubtedly

In regard to his actual

beautiful is,

as

and high

as

much is

its

of his

work

general level,

were absurd to set it up against the whole body of Brahms' work, which, although it has it

left

opera untouched, has covered every other

branch of

and with absolute success in all. In the other choral work of this time, the " Gesang der Parzen," from Goethe's Iphigenia,

a

art,

six-part

pressive

chorus

is

antiphonal

employed, and some imeffects

5o

are

thus

made

JOHANNES BRAHMS possible

in feeling,

;

and contrast scarcely

is

from the

a curious counterpart

to the " Schicksalslied," as

concerto, in

is

it

B

The second

fine. flat,

op. 83,

is

though

it

pianoforte

not wholly free

tragic intensity of these

two works,

spite of its strikingly beautiful opening, in

in

which

announcement of the theme is given to the it abounds in formidable difficulties in the solo part, and can hardly be ranked among the most attractive of the composer's works, at the

horn

;

least to

much

any but diligent students, who

to interest

them

will find

in its construction.

A

somewhat forbidding trio for piano and strings, op. 87, and a very interesting string quintet, op. 88, complete the number of instrumental works that preceded the third symphony but some three books of songs are of the same date, and it is very curious to find, just in one of the ;

less genial periods of the master's activity,

a delightfully humorous

Standchen samkeit

"

" or the

suave melody of " Feldein-

—songs which

well as the

such

song as " Vergebliches rank with the

best,

as

most popular, of the composer's vocal

works.

As with the second paratively

the :

first

pair of symphonies, so with

nothing but vocal works of com-

small calibre Si

separate

them

in the

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC list

of works, although no less than two years

elapsed between the publication of the

third

and fourth, which appeared respectively in 1883 and 1885. The third, op. 90, in F major, is as easy to follow as the symphony in D, while its themes have even greater value and individuality. Each as it comes strikes us as a new revelation of beauty, and the well-devised contrast,

not only between the successive subjects

themselves,

but between the movements con-

on them, makes

structed

For example, the

for their appreciation.

theme of the opening movement, given out by the violins, sweeps along through a compass of nearly two octaves, with an altogether irresistible elan ; the second subject moves by small intervals and has a range of

six notes,

first

its

smoothness of phrasing

being again in contrast to the dashing, broken

rhythms of

its

companion.

The

lovely andante

proceeds from a tune of almost religious character it

to the

;

younger generation of musicians

loses nothing

which

is

by an accidental resemblance

apt to bother older hearers, for

group of notes

is

unmistakably

prayer in "

its first

like the

once

Zampa," and although, as it is hardly necessary to say, Brahms' way of treating it considerably differs from Herold's, the famous

52

JOHANNES BRAHMS similarity

remains.

anything in allegretto

scherzo,

its

difficult

is

way more

at

his

to

think of

perfect than the J>oco

which occupies the and which has all the

Schubert

of

It

very

place

of the

plaintive grace

best.

The

finale

has been not inaptly likened to a battle

determination

of

the

opening subject,

the

;

in

F

minor, and the wild outcries of the violins later on,

would

of themselves

suggest

without the presence of a most for the violoncellos,

of victory as

The

which

ever was

is

realistic

even

passage

as joyous a shout

uttered.

fourth symphony, in

far less attractive

this,

E

minor, op. 98,

to the casual hearer than

is

its

and now and then a return is made for a short time to the crabbed manner of some of the earlier works. The same contrast as that noticed in the F major symphony, between a theme of wide range and one of closer texture, predecessor,

occurs here; but neither subject has anything like the its

amount of

actual beauty possessed by

counterpart, though the dramatic character

movement, and the masterly ment to which the themes and their of

the

treat-

subsi-

and value of another kind. The andante, built on an extremely simple and balladlike melody, is diaries are subjected, give

53

it

interest

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC certainly the

the

for

flavour,

most taking of the four with

presto,

somewhat

its

movement in virtue phony may claim a place of

is

the

finale

of which the sym-

own among

its

A

landmarks of instrumental music. all

archaic

The

not of surpassing interest.

is

sections,

survey of

the typical symphonies since the form

had

its rise,

of the three

would make first

it

the

first

quite clear that each

movements

has, in the course

of years, attained to what may be called an The " sonata form " for the first ideal form.

movement

;

the "extended lied-form," or "aria

form," for the slow

movement and the ;

form," in

more

scherzo,

minuet, intermezzo,

section

may be

" da capo

or less developed guise, for the

called

or

whatever the

—have evidently

satisfied

the great masters of the symphony, and exceptions to the types are successful.

With the

neither

finale

it

is

numerous nor different

rondo form, once accepted almost

;

the

universally,

has not, in the later and greater days of the

symphony,

fulfilled

the requirements of com-

and it is interesting to see how in this more than in any other, experiments have been made. Take Beethoven's nine masterpieces, and you will find the old type of rondo occurring in only three at most in one a set of posers,

section,

;

54

JOHANNES BRAHMS variations, in others a

it,

formlessness of the finale is,

perhaps, the strongest proof of

accepted types were

of the

and the splendid of the Choral Sym-

"sonata form" replaces

phony

adaptation

free

the

insufficient,

all

that

more

so

since in the other sections of this very sym-

phony the

traditional forms are preserved, not,

without

indeed,

but

modification,

change of any essential

feature.

with

no

There was,

making innovations in this movement, since no type hitherto invented had been found perfect ; and in apply-

therefore, every excuse for

ing to for

it

a form already in existence, though

some time obsolete

in

connexion with com-

positions of large calibre, the

showed enter

his

into

English

wisdom. the

It

is

modern composer not necessary to

subtle distinction between the

"ground"

or

"ground

bass,"

the

French "chaconne," and the Italian "passait is enough to say that certain caglia " ;

common

them

and some peculiar to one or other of the two last, are employed by Brahms in this place, and that the form which had been virtually dormant ever since features

to

all,

new lease of life from the modern composer. The immediate suggestion must have come from that monumental Bach's time has received a

55

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC chaconne

of

Bach

which

alone

violin

for

Joachim has made so familiar, and of which Brahms wrote a pianoforte arrangement. Bach's wonderful succession of variations on a constantly recurring its

theme of

eight bars, changes

course suddenly in the middle, and

for

a

not very attentive

listener

it is

lose

to

easy the

connecting thread of the music, and to think that the phrase

is

absent

when

ornament or represented by its of harmonies.

In

like

it is

overlaid with

essential

sequence

manner in the symphony,

even those who keep their attention fixed on the phrase in

their

analytical

programmes, find

themselves, after a time, foiled in the effort to trace it; and, losing this, they lose interest

for the

all,

of the variations as they pass

likely to impress itself

is

not

on hearers who are busy

searching for a series of notes they cannot hear.

In truth, this

movement cannot

as yet

pletely grasped or enjoyed except

be com-

by those who

not only follow the score, but have studied

some

extent beforehand,

and

is

it

it

to

no wonder

that

many who have

this

should find the work nothing but a rather

tiresome riddle. parallel to

ago,

who

not taken the trouble to do

Their position

is

an exact

that of amateurs not so very long

voted

the

Ninth 56

Symphony an

JOHANNES BRAHMS unintelligible piece of work, off in a

composer whose

their admiration

upon

who

—

if

showing a sad

falling

works had won

earlier

indeed they did not look

as the incoherent ravings of a lunatic

it

chanced to be

also

To show how may be lost, or

deaf.

easily the thread of this finale

may be mentioned that given in Hermann Kretzsch-

rather never found,

the analysis of

it

it

den Concertsaal" contains no mention of the phrase out of which the whole movement is developed. Three new examples of chamber-music were useful "Fiihrer durch

mar's

the next product of the composer's genius, and in

these

was clear that he had perfectly

it

regained, not only his

had never in

this

lost

— but

op.

the

99,

—

that, in fact,

he

his geniality of utterance

branch of music.

valuable of the three F,

power

is

Perhaps the

least

the violoncello sonata in

beautiful

slow

movement

of

which shows a decided, though possibly not wholly successful, innovation in the matter of key-relationship, being laid out in the key of

sharp major. ing-note

"

of

F

The strange effect of the "leadthe new movement being identical

with the keynote of that which has gone before is

a

little

excuse

is

perplexing to that

the

the

theme 57

hearer,

of

the

and

its

second

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC movement seems to require a feeling of ambiguous tonality. The device, though no doubt the composer adopted logically,

it,

G

a fitting it

;

companion

A

opens, in

for piano

and

violin,

to the lovely sonata in

major, with a theme that

oddly like that of the "Preislied" Meistersinger," but

in

quieter

of a far

is

"Die

and

less

The second movement

impassioned character. is

most

all,

can hardly be held up for imitation.

Op. ioo, a second sonata is

as he does

another of those experiments of which the

composer gave us so many just at this point it combines a slow movement of very beautiful ;

expression,

both

minor,

F

in

major, with a scherzo in

appearing

alternately,

until

D the

rapid section, which has increased in vivacity

with each repetition, finishes off with what

be called a whisk of

its

tail.

The

may

mysterious

pianoforte arpeggios which are so prominent a feature of the finale reappear, but with quite a different

and

in the trio, op.

effect,

strings, in a

playful,

many

dainty

half-plaintive

little

presto of that half-

kind of which there are

examples, particularly in

The

101, for piano

Brahms'

later

movement is in same rhythm as the Hungarian song on which the composer wrote

compositions.

"seven-four"

slow

time, the

58

JOHANNES BRAHMS an early

The

of variations.

set

test

of such

from the usual rhythmic forms

departures

is

that the thing should

sound perfectly natural

when

it

instance,

little

piece

done;

is

for

F

in

the

the

major,

beautiful

second

of

Schumann's " Stucke in Volkston," never seems to depart

from perfect symmetry and grace of

movement, and one of

its

yet

rhythm of seven bars

its

is

Here, too, the

chief characteristics.

melody is perfectly preserved, though the theme has far more of what the Germans call " import " than any traditional tune known to collectors. It has often seemed as though Brahms fell in love with one particular instrument or group of instruments at one particular time, and this batch of chamber compositions was so far from easy

natural,

swing of

a popular

exhausting his interest, even temporarily, in the violin

and

violoncello, that

succeeded by a concerto with lished

orchestra,

concerto

in

takes part

is

was immediately

for the

two instruments

another revival of old

long

but

it

neglected

which

one

usage solo

;

for

the

instrument

of less ancient date than that in

which several occupy the prominent

To

estab-

entrust the solo part, as

position.

we should

call

it

now, to a number of instruments, called in old 59

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC "concertino," was, of course, to do

days the

many

away with

of

those

opportunities

for

individual display which are supposed to be,

and with performers perhaps

among

are,

and it this of itself would to a composer who

chief attractions of the concerto form

may well be imagined that commend the older variety

has nearly as strong an objection as

had

to

effect

and

Joachim,

among

for

the

effect's

most

members of Herr Robert Hausmann, the

most

first is

;

Schumann

Written

sake.

distinguished his

famous

for

artist

quartet,

work contains of every kind, though these are not

difficulties its

the

striking

the

Perhaps the

characteristic.

thing that arrests attention in the concerto

its

continual variety of tone-colour, and the

curious results obtained by the combination of the solo instruments either alone or with the

In an important passage the two

orchestra.

stringed

each

instruments,

playing

double

notes, are made to sound like a string quartet, and the cadenza of the first movement is a marvel of ingenuity. The exquisite melody

of

the

soloists,

been

and

in

as a

slow movement, is

not insisted on as

the

hands of a

consequence

it

less

makes

60

out

given it

by both

would have

original writer less

impression

JOHANNES BRAHMS upon

a

audience

general

than

deserves

it

to do.

The

some

next work published was in

sort

a combination of two of the forms in which

Brahms

had

most

caught

successfully

the

popular ear; the "Zigeunerlieder," as his op.

103

is

called, are a

number of short compositions

based on themes of distinctively Hungarian or

Gipsy character (the two are so

much

alike that

takes an expert to differentiate them), in which much of the charm and "go" of the it

Hungarian dances

is

for four voices with

found again

they are set

;

piano accompaniment, and

in the handling of the vocal parts

we

" Liebeslieder."

reminded of the

are often

The piano

accompaniment occasionally imitates the characteristic effects of the "cimbalom," but (solo)

extent than

to a far less realistic

is

done, for

example, in Mr. Korbay's clever arrangements of Hungarian songs.

Three more

sets of single

and then came the third of the sonatas for piano and violin, the beautiful work in D minor, op. 108, which at once became as songs,

popular

as

appealed by telligent

ment

of

either its

of

its

originality

predecessors.

and charm

to

It in-

amateurs, and by the masterly treatits

first

movement 61

to

lovers

of

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC structural peculiarities, for in both sections of

the

movement

a long

"pedal point" occurs,

and the extraordinary freedom of the composer's gait in what would have been merely fetters

to

men

accomplished

less

cannot

fail

and admiration. The deep expression of the slow movement, the fairylike grace and the stormy vigour of the finale, though none of them reveal any new to provoke astonishment

which

characteristic in the master, are elements

have endeared the sonata to large numbers of

A

musicians, whether players or listeners.

of three

" Fest-

entitled

capella,

written

in

set

motets for eight-part choir a

short

celebration

und Gedenkspriiche," of

three

important

national events (the battle of Leipzig, that of Sedan, 187

1

;

and the

1813;

unification of the

German Empire), were first heard at an indusexhibition at Hamburg, in September trial 1889;

all

three

are masterly in

construction

and impressive

in the highest degree.

together with a

book of three motets,

These, op.

no,

preceded a very beautiful string quintet with

an unusually prominent part op.

in.

The

set

for the first viola,

of canons,

with one that illustrates an

odd

op.

113,

ends

peculiarity of

the composer's, a certain carelessness in giving 62

JOHANNES BRAHMS to his

titles

works and in acknowledging

when they

their

upon borrowed material. This sounds a little like the Handelian method of "conveying" other people's ideas and using them in works of his own withsources

out

asking

either

indebtedness

composer,

are

;

he

built

leave

but in

the

case of the

borrowed,

has

acknowledging

or

musicians, that

palming

off the

if

he

where

borrowed, from quarters so well

living

known

has

to all

there were any intention of

themes as

his

own, conviction

must have followed on the instant. The tunes used by Brahms in his "Hungarian Dances" were familiar as household words to all who

knew

the music of the country, or indeed to

who were

those

" czardas "

only

through

conversant

Liszt's

with

Rhapsodies

;

the still,

some misunderstandings arose from no mention being made on the title-page that they were not original melodies by Brahms, and some sapient wrote to an

person

English

musical

paper

names of other composers for whom invention was claimed, and no doubt

giving the their

thinking himself as skilful a musical detective as the

first

discoverer of the various composi-

tions appropriated in " Israel in Egypt."

manner,

some

note

referring 63

to

the

In like songs

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC "Nachklang"

and

"Regenlied"

would

un-

doubtedly have given additional interest to the

and the of the canons just mentioned would have nothing if it had pleased the composer Brahms'

finale of last

lost

to call

a vocal

it

"

song

plaintive

violin sonata

first

;

of Schubert's

transcription

Der Leyermann,"

such,

for

—made necessary canonic shape — An

with very slight alteration order to bring

it

into

in

it is.

earlier instance occurs in a set of 15

some

kinderlieder,"

published

tunes,

traditional

ledgment of

lovely

"Volks-

arrangements

without acknow-

and indeed without

their source,

They were dedicated

Brahms' name.

of

to the

and Clara Schumann, and among the first-fruits of the com-

children of Robert

no doubt are

The

poser's genius.

mannchen" lovely gut'

and

dear

scarcely less

is

quintet,

op.

112,

Guten Abend,

The

six

vocal

which followed the

string

op.

49.

were in part a kind of aftermath of the

" Zigeunerlieder

"

quartets which

seem

set,

popular than the

original cradle-song, "

Nacht," from

quartets,

lullaby " Sand-

little

;

they to

include

four

more

belong to the former

beside two very beautiful compositions in

strong contrast with these, suave and flowing broadly,

and powerfully imagined. 64

JOHANNES BRAHMS has

It

been

often

noticed

come out

compositions have

Brahms'

that

and the

in pairs,

foregoing analysis of the catalogue of his works

has given

many

four

more

yet

instances of the kind

before

end

the

there are

;

reached.

is

Whether the discovery of an exceptionally

gifted

Weber's

clarinet-player inspired the composer, as

admiration for the greatest clarinettist of his

day gave

to

rise

some

of his most charming

compositions, cannot be definitely stated, but

any amateur who heard Herr Miihlfeld play the two in 1892

will

of

have

Brahms which appeared

no

an accident that led to the

and

violin

while

its

clarinet

in

difficulty

have been the case.

to

this

new works

It

is

believing

probably

trio for pianoforte,

being numbered op.

companion, the quintet

114,

for clarinet

and

appeared as op. 115; but whether this be the case or not, it cannot be denied that the

strings,

master kept the best too, to let

the

till

It

last.

was

English audiences become acquainted

with the quintet, and with the powers artist for

wise,

whose

special use

it

was

of the

written, before

introducing the other work to the patrons of the

Popular Concerts. the

quintet

perhaps the

carried trio

Of

course,

off

came

all

by

the

this

means,

honour,

65

and

much

in for rather too

e

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC abuse

which

still,

;

it

the

disappointment

of

feeling

imme-

created after the wonderful and

companion was not to be dissimulated. It is in truth one of the works in which the intellect of the composer rather than his heart seems to have been engaged the theme of the andantino grazioso which stands in diate success of

its

;

the place of a scherzo master's

usual

level

pleasantest impression

is

considerably below the

of

and

refinement,

left

by the work

the

of the

is

and characteristic second subject of the first movement. The quintet may or may not have been graceful

designed with a definite purpose of showing off

Herr Miihlfeld's extraordinary powers

were

it

succeeded beyond

anticipation,

all

the impression the work and the player

upon thing

the conservative " to

command

remember.

Pop The

"

if it

and

made

audience was a

artist's

wonderful

him to deliver movement with a

of his breath enabled

the leading theme of the

smoothness quite

first

unexpected

were most familiar with the instrument,

by those who

difficulties

and the not unnatural

resentment at the importation player

;

—which,

of

of the

feeling

a

of

foreign

by the way, involved the tem-

porary adoption of a reasonable pitch, a rare 66

JOHANNES BRAHMS thing at an English concert— gave to

whole-hearted

way

at

once

The theme

admiration.

in

question contains what has been called in the

works of Wagner an "essential turn," that

is

to

group of notes in form identical with a

say, a

turn, but being

an organic part of the theme,

Such a group of notes, common enough with Wagner, is most rare with Brahms, and it is indeed difficult to call to mind another instance of it in his works. not a mere fortuitous accretion.

Every one of the

six notes

of which this turn

was phrased with an exquisite sense of proportion which few players, except Joachim, consists

ever exhibit, and which appears to outside the ken of singers.

entirely

lie

In such a passage

as that with which the wonderful slow movement closes, and in which a long phrase of

melodious beauty

is

given

and then by the

clarinet

inevitable, according

to

out

first

all

violin,

the

seemed

it

former experience,

deeper meaning, a warmer expression,

that a

and a nobler emotion, should be put its

by

first

repetition

Joachim

by the leader

— —than at

into

least,

occupied that position

it

on

when

at its first

occurrence; but so complete was the clarinettist's

for

artistic

endowment

that nothing

the violinist to improve upon. 67

was

The

left

free-

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC dom,

which the dramatic ornamentations of the same movement (which are strongly too, with

tinged

with

cuted,

left

Hungarian colouring) no room for question

were

exe-

to

as

the

composer's wisdom in insisting on Herr Miihlfeld's

the

engagement

public

at the

London

appreciation

of the

concerts, artist

and

and the

work with which his name will be inseparably connected, in England at least, must have made the

managerial speculation well worth while,

even from a lower standpoint than the purely artistic.

The groups up the like

sodies,"

publications

latest

their

predecessors,

etc.,

make

of pianoforte solos which

the

of Brahms,

leave,

so-called

"rhap-

something to be desired in the

way of nomenclature and even arrangement. Op. 116, called collectively "Fantasien," consists

of eight pieces,

named

either intermezzo or

capriccio according as their pace

and

is

slow or

their character sedate or restless.

fast,

In key-

and other qualities, few of these are disposed in what seems to be the best

relationship,

style,

order for performance in public; indeed, this

order does covered,

them

in

not seem

since

to

have been yet

dis-

each pianist who has essayed

London has made 68

a different selection

JOHANNES BRAHMS and has played them

The

in

powerful capriccio

E

character the youthful

fire

E

music" minuet in

D

in

the

in the

and

major, with

of crossed hands

minor,

flat,

—a

;

place, are the

a whole,

in

harmonious

the romantic

its

graceful effects

real piece

of "pianoforte

strictest

same key

;

charming

sense; the

and the

fine capriccio

Brahms, occupies a prominent

most valuable of the

cannot compare with

set,

Of

on an entrancingly beautiful like the English carol, "

which, as

companion

its

series of three intermezzi, op. 117.

little

its

minor, in which a bravura passage, that

rarest thing with

first,

with

resembling

richly

piano sonatas

style of the early

intermezzo in

G

in

in

melody

beautiful

a different sequence.

these, the

subject,

a

The First No well,"

the most sure of immediate popularity motto from Herder's " Volkslieder "

is

;

its

" Schlaf sanft, mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schon,

Mich is

dauert's sehr, dich weinen sehn,"

ostensibly of Scottish

difficult

to identify

;

origin,

at all

events

though it

it

suggestion of a lullaby, and as such the piece

a

worthy pendant to the simple song

mentioned, though of weightier issues

its

is

gives the is

lately

middle section breathes

than the words 69

seem

to

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC authorise.

The second

a rather Schu-

piece,

mannesque composition

B

in

flat

minor,

is

elegant and, in the hands of a competent player, effective,

and the

with

its

airy passages of tender

a

third,

ballad-like

piece

melody

of longer

extent than any of the other intermezzi, founded

on a subject resembling that of the finale of the composer's third symphony, is remarkable for the exquisite grace with which the return to the first theme is made. Another set of "Clavierstiicke " appeared at the end of last year. Op. 118 contains

pieces

six

(four

intermezzi,

a

the

ballade, in

G

ballade,

and a romance)

minor,

as vigorous as anything the master has

is

;

given us, and the romance, with

changes and pastoral

its

mood,

intermezzo, too, sists

of three

rhythmic

its

exquisite middle section in a

a real inspiration

is is

most

more

poetical.

;

the last

Op. 119 con-

intermezzi, one in

E

minor,

of enchanting beauty in the " alternative " sec-

and another, in C, a delicious little scherzo ; " to wind up the whole set, there is a " rhapsodie of formidable difficulty and great beauty, conA structed on a theme of five-bar rhythm.

tion,

book of fifty-one Uebungen appeared almost at the same time ; although these are studies of a purely technical kind, in one and all musical 70

JOHANNES BRAHMS interest as well as practical value

A

new

of songs

set

is

is

spoken

to

be found.

and

of,

faint

rumours are heard of a " Faust" overture as shortly to be brought out. I

have

the multitude of Brahms' songs

left

be spoken of together, since they are even

to

than any of

less divisible into distinct periods

his

The dramatic note

instrumental works.

them

struck in the

first

of

"Liebestreu"

("O

versenk

again

all,

")

throughout the long

the

beautiful

recurs again series,

and

and

these,

together with the romantic atmosphere he, like

other great

song-writers of

ceeded so often

Germany, has

characteristics they exhibit.

In actual dramatic

utterance, though examples are not so

of the

more

suc-

in obtaining, are the strongest

lyrical kind, there are quite

many

as

enough

composer could deal with a strongly dramatic situation as powerfully and In the picturesque truly as with any other.

to prove that the

"

Von

duets,

ewiger Liebe," and in

other songs and which two persons are supposed to

take part, such as the

Standchen

many

"

and the

humorous

" Vergebliches

the

characters are

rest,

" individualised " as strongly

within the limits of

a single song as they could be in a whole opera. But, at the

same

time, his lyrics are the best 7<

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC production of his muse in the direction of vocal

To enumerate the

music.

he has given us

in this

songs of lasting beauty

branch would take

too long, but mention must be

made

far

of such

"Ruhe, Sussliebchen," and Wehe, Liiftchen," " O komme, holde Sommernacht " a song strangely neglected by the small number of vocalists who can do justice to the master's " Phanomen," the justly the duet music popular " Meine Liebe ist griin," the exquisitely " Minnelied," and melodious deeply felt "Sapphische Ode," and "Wie Melodien." These works as

perfect

many another

of the " Magelonelieder," "

—

date from widely different portions of Brahms' life,

but

all

have the mark of the same genius.

Such splendid outbursts of manly vigour as "O Lady Judith " and the intensely powerful " Verrath " are, however, found only later

books of

his

songs.

penetrated most deeply into the

composer's

lyrics

ferent

if

list

favourites

;

spirit

the

of the

may be, were asked to name

would make,

they

among

Those who have it

a

dif-

their

but these are works which must win

acceptance from every cultivated musician.

what may

In

be called musical landscape-painting,

there are a

number

of instances to prove

him

to

be a most accomplished master of a branch of 72

JOHANNES BRAHMS art that

he has not

way

deliberate

in

specially cultivated in the

which some other composers

have set themselves to achieve fame. " Mainacht is

a perfect specimen of

this,

and

all

the

that the portrayal of a night in early

more

so

summer

with nightingales' song and lovers' vows

is

one

of the commonplaces of the hack song-writer. " Verzagen " gives us the very sound of the sea,

with waves restlessly drawing back from a stony

beach and

reflecting the

mental tension of some

modern Ariadne on the shore and in " Feldeinsamkeit," a picture of a summer day with ;

clouds

little

heaven,

is

drifting

given

medium were

as

lazily

through the blue

faithfully

as

though the

colour, instead of sound.

A

more Auf

suggestive or picturesque barcarolle than "

dem

See

"

can hardly be imagined, although the

recognised figure of accompaniment for such

Some

most purely lyrical of the composer's vocal works are to be found among the unaccompanied choral composipieces

tions,

is

unused.

such as the

six "

of the

Lieder und Romanzen,"

The op. 93«, or the five-part songs, op. 104. " Stand das Madchen," second of the former set, a

quaint

and most

characteristic

little

song,

appears in op. 95 as a solo with accompaniment, here as a part-song with a soprano solo obbligato. 73

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC The

tender " Fahr wohl, o Voglein

beautiful effect of diminue?ido, perfect

and

is

little

!

"

with

its

an absolutely

is

piece of writing in this popular form

as easily intelligible as the

most hackneyed

of Mendelssohn's part-songs for open-air performance.

The

deeply

felt

the

earlier.

later set contains things

and more The two

more

far

beautifully expressed than first,

both called " Nacht-

among the master's most individual and the second, with its antiphonal

wache," are creations effects,

;

the answering horn-notes of

imitating

— " Ruhn the watchmen

Sie

?•

— Sie

ruhn

"

—

is

a

wonderful instance of vivid suggestion of orchestral

human

colouring by the

voice alone.

these five are most beautiful, and

all

All

are in the

same sombre mood.

Among in the tions,

the small group of works not included

numbered catalogue of Brahms' composithe best known are the Hungarian dances,

originally published as a pianoforte duet, in

two

books, subsequently arranged by the composer for orchestra

piano, and

not very

and by Joachim

finally

many

The charming

for

violin

and

completed by the addition,

years since, of two

more books.

"15 Volkskinderlieder," Schumann children, has been

set of

dedicated to the

already referred to;

there remain to be 74

men-

JOHANNES BRAHMS tioned a chorale prelude and fugue for the organ on the theme of " O Traurigkeit, o Herze-

A

same instrument, a setting of the song " Mondnacht (not improbably excluded from the numbered list out of reverence for Schumann's well-known setting of the same words), and a group of arrangements for the piano some of which exhibit him in an almost mischievous mood. leid

"

!

The

a fugue in

beautiful

minor

flat

F minor

the

for

study from the second

book of Chopin's immortal

twenty-four,

formed into an exercise of

really

trans-

is

hideous

diffi-

culty by the change of the right-hand part from single

notes

to

sixths

from Weber's sonatas

;

the "

in

C

moto perpetuo

major

is,

manner, turned upside down, the part

in

Bach

made is

;

and the famous

transcribed for

violin

the

left

like

for the

two hands being interchanged, and other tions

"

altera-

chaconne of

hand

alone.

and the two arrangements of the same master's presto from the sonata in G minor

This,

for violin alone,

have a

far

higher value than

the transcriptions just mentioned, and the conof Gluck's well-known gavotte in from " Paride ed Elena " (a version made for

cert-version

A

the use of

Mme. Schumann)

treats the

piece with complete reverence. 75

charming

One most

inter-

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC esting composition has remained in manuscript for

many

years

:

sonata for violin

movement contributed to a and piano, composed as a gift

the

of welcome to Joachim by Schumann, Albert Dietrich,

and Brahms, on the occasion of the

illustrious violinist's visit to Diisseldorf in

1853.

would be most interesting to see the work in which two of the greatest German masters collaborated, and it is to be hoped that the fortunate artist in whose honour it was written will some day introduce it to English audiences. Two sonatas for violin and piano by C. P. E. It

Bach, recently re-issued, are said to have been furnished by

Brahms with

amplifications of the

figured bass of the original

;

the self-restraint

with which this has been done, and the entire simplicity of the filling-up, are artist's

pieces

hand, and the study of these beautiful

may be recommended, who would find them a

violinists

—

and valuable addition those

marks of the true

who undertake

not

to their repertory

to

only to

very effective

—but

to

make accompaniments

to the old masterpieces of chamber-music,

and

who

own

are too often tempted to

show

off their

ingenuity at the composer's expense.

Another

work of the same kind is the accompaniment an edition of Handel's vocal duets. 76

to

JOHANNES BRAHMS The

reprint of Couperin's " Suites de Pieces,"

Brahms and Dr. Chrysander, contains nothing but the original text and the composer's edited by

;

editorial

work on the committees formed

for the

complete works of Bach, Mozart, and Chopin, brought out by the firm of Breitkopf und Hartel, is, of course, only critical. In other ways than these, and apart from his musical compositions, Brahms has not been without influence on the art of his time, since we owe to him the "discovery" of Dvorak, whose early compositions, represented only by the album of vocal duets, " Moravske dvojpavy," struck him as possessing real originality and power, and as giving brilliant promise for the future. If we consider the subsequent works of the Bohemian composer, we shall be apt to wonder at the exceptionally favourable opinion formed of his powers by a composer whose chief issues of the

characteristic

is

the masterly manipulation of

the established forms of music. lack of to

skill in

But Dvorak's

dealing with these, his inability

subject his material to interesting develop-

ment, and the constructive weakness exhibited

more ambitious works, had not then declared themselves, and his freshness of invention and unconventional way of expressing in

his

77

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC himself no doubt appealed strongly to Brahms, whose hatred of anything like " capellmeister" is as great as

musik

The German

Wagner's.

master has not always been so tolerant of the

work even of are

many

his best contemporaries,

which

on good

stories, told

chilling silence

he

authority, of the

or the crushing remarks with

has received the compositions of

and these not by any means

certain composers,

among

the least distinguished

One

and there

living musicians.

played through to Brahms the

of these

score of a work since accepted with favour by

the best

German

criticism

on

his

it ?

on a new

On

"

received, for all

remark,

you use

beautiful music-paper

you get

and the

critics,

music,

"What

Pray, where

!

do

being pressed for an opinion

setting of Schiller's "

Lay of the

Bell,"

he observed to the composer, "Yes, I have Glocke of Schiller's one always thought this '

poems

of the greatest

continue

hold

to

'

ever written, and I shall

reminded of Beethoven's remark his opera " Eleonora." I shall set

seems

it

to

time

of Raff, concerning said,

"What

to

will

whom

a fine libretto

!

It

confirm his estimate it

is

on being informed 78

is

Paer on

music one of these days."

likely that

Brahms

One

opinion."

that

reported that that a

monu-

JOHANNES BRAHMS ment was

be erected to that composer, " A

to

monument

to Raff

Dear me

?

be quick about

better

lest

it,

forgotten before you have got

No harm

one sees more that

is

done

to

Well, you had

!

it

he should be

ready."

clearly than

Brahms the

modern composers by the

fashion of commissioning works for festivals or

other occasions

of the kind.

He

never

has

consented to hurry his work or to force his inspiration in

order to have a particular com-

For

position brought out at a particular time.

a

man

in his position,

and

in a country

the opportunities of producing

where

new works

are

more numerous than they are with us, it may be easy to make and keep a strict rule far

against

such commissions

accepting

;

but in

England one fears that such a plan, if generally adopted by composers, would end in their sinking to the level of song-writers and purveyFor it is notorious ors of pianoforte pieces. that almost the only encouragement at present offered for the composition of large works of any kind comes from the committees of the autumnal festivals. That Brahms is perfectly right,

however,

arrangement musicians.

in

will, I

The

his

think,

disapproval

be

felt

by

all

of

the

earnest

caustic reply he sent to the 79

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Leeds committee a work for the length in "

in

1887,

festival,

when asked

to write

has been printed at

The History

full

of the Leeds Festival

by Alderman Spark and Mr. Joseph Bennett, but I may be forgiven for referring to it again. He says: " Should you deem one of my old works worthy the honour of being performed on this occasion, it would be a great pleasure to me. But if this is, as it appears, not the case, how may I hope that I shall succeed this time ? If, however, the charm of novelty be an absolute necessity, then pardon me if. I confess that I fail properly to appreciate, or have no sympathy with,

such a distinction." a few of his

If but

have

contemporaries

excited his admiration, he yields to none in his

who have passed among these and

devotion to the giants of music away.

Bach

a story

is

is

told

that master.

his favourite

which

;

illustrates his feeling

Brahms took some

at a certain restaurant in

for

friends to dine

Vienna, where the host,

when asked to produce his best wine, remarked " Here is a wine that surpasses all others as much as the music of Brahms does that of :

other composers."

"take

it

" Well, then," said Brahms,

away, and bring us a

For Haydn, too, he has a

bottle

specially

80

of Bach!"

warm

affection,

^

\*

M P

Cj

^

»»

*

8 .&

r

> 5?

«

V. 85

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC or of perfect beauty of expression in the simple song.

the fashion to sneer at acquired tastes,

It is

though these were

as

less

deeply seated than

natural or congenital preferences

formed est,

will

it

gene-

remain the longest and the strong-

late

and

if

the great ally

j

be found, however, that those which are

rally

we must admit that many admirers of German master have been only gradu-

awakened

work, there

is

to the sense of the beauty of his

no reason why we should suspect

that their feeling for sincerity,

it

is

wanting in depth,

Anything that

permanence.

or

original in the highest sense,

or in

its

modes of

proached by

all

whether

expression,

but

is

in itself

must be ap-

exceptionally far-sighted

That amateur as

persons, with a certain degree of humility.

ordinary

does not strike the

it

beautiful at the

first

moment

is

not a sufficient

reason for him to declare himself on the side of the professed opponents of the artist

produced

it.

dence

is

to

else.

A

at its

a

;

tion

In music, a larger share of

diffi-

be desired than almost anywhere

picture stays

on the

poem can be

meaning

who has

is

grasped

passes with the

wall, to

be looked

read over and over ;

till

but a musical composi-

moment 86

of performance,

JOHANNES BRAHMS and a man who should be able to take in all the salient points of a symphony at a first hearing and without the full score before him This would hold is scarcely to be imagined. good of a composition in a style already familiar for instance, if Sir George Grove can unearth the " Gastein " symphony of Schubert, :

existence of which he

in the

only believer, it

it

will

be

difficult

is

probably the

enough

with the ear alone, although

to follow

we may have

modes of expression at our fingers' how much more difficult is it, then, to expect that we can at once grasp a new work by the most original thinker among living comSchubert's

ends

;

and form a trustworthy opinion upon it Perhaps the most a single hearing

posers, after

!

essential thing of all for a rapid realisation of

Brahms' ways of working,

rhythm

— such a

is

a keen sense of

sense as will allow the balance

of accentuation to be (perhaps unconsciously)

perceived throughout

all

the mutations in which

may indulge. In one important German musician is a good deal

the composer respect the

more exists

fortunate than

no

"

Brahms

for one, since there

nition of the

the English poet

Society," nor is,

happily,

is

:

there

there need

no want of recog-

composer on the part of those who 87

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC make up our

concert programmes.

English

audiences hear his most recent compositions, as a matter of course, almost as soon as they are published,

and

if

the admiration of large

and

rich

there really exists a clique for

Brahms

enough

it

to

is

a clique that

make

it

worth while

for entrepreneurs of concerts to place his

in the front

works

rank of attraction.

The word

entrepreneur suggests

the single

made

musical form in which Brahms has not

any experiment to

the

world

while music

is

;

in every

other he has given

compositions

lasts,

which

will

last

but in opera he has not only

done nothing, but the history of his life contains no such attempts to begin upon one as were made, for example, by Mendelssohn. So much of vigorous dramatic imagination, such buoyant

humour, such romantic " atmosphere," such

feeling for

what

command of " local

is

called

colour,"

appear scattered up and down his vocal compositions, that

it is

difficult to believe that the stage

would not appeal very strongly to him, or that he would not welcome the opportunity of dealing with a story more extensive than any of those which have suggested

We may

his

more dramatic

presume the usual

difficulty of finding

a good libretto to exist in his case, as 88

ballads.

it

did with

JOHANNES BRAHMS so

many of the great composers

there are, or

seem

the

abstention

master's

which

presents

but beyond this

;

to be, reasons

from a form

more

far

which

justify

of

temptation

art

to

a

German than to an English composer, since in Germany native dramatic music is a good deal less churlishly treated

than

by managers and audiences

the case with us.

is

In the present state

of the stage, even in the reformed conditions

begun

at Bayreuth,

ficiality

hardly

is

operatic

work;

seem

theatre

a certain element of superseparable

from

the paint and

successful

tinsel

of

the

to require a corresponding garish-

and the highest musical creations can hardly fail to seem slightly profaned by the associations of the stage. Wagner was

ness

in

the

music,

many things besides a composer that he could make his own conditions and create new surroundings, and a new dramatic method in so

which

it is

difficult to see

any banality whatever

but to attain the complete fulfilment of his ideal

took him the whole of a

Brahms, we may be quite likely

to

expressing

adopt

the

himself in

fairly

long

life,

and

would not be Wagnerian methods of music. For one thing, sure,

—meaning by the word constructive beauty of the highest kind — has always been dear him,

form

to

89

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC and while amplifying and modifying the moulds handed down by the classical masters he has never attempted to recast them de novo, as Liszt

And

did with very imperfect success.

Brahms understands

it,

form, as

could hardly be trans-

ferred to the theatre without results that

be unconvincing, the

Besides,

management

not

if

ordinary

actually

exigencies

would

ridiculous.

of theatrical

are so foreign to his nature that

accommodate himself to them, or to set them at naught, is almost foredoomed to failure. Not even on his deathbed can we imagine Brahms being intimidated by a charming prima donna, as Goetz was,

any attempt

either to

into cutting out a great concerted piece in order

room

and it is scarcely easier to conceive of a composer not accused of insusceptibility adopting the Handelian method and holding the singer out of the window until she became compliant.

to leave

The reported

for a

saying

following :

"

Had

clap-trap waltz

I

of his

;

is

currently

already written one opera, I

would assuredly have written a second but I cannot make up my mind to write the first. j

I

regard opera-writing (for myself) in

same view as I do matrimony." Whatever the future may have 90

much

the

in store in the

JOHANNES BRAHMS way of new compositions by Brahms, we justified

by experience

are

in expecting that they

no way inferior either in conception or in workmanship to those which he has given us already, and in no respect unworthy of will

be

in

the great position he holds in the estimation of the most thoughtful musicians

and other

of his

own

countries.

CATALOGUE OF PUBLISHED COMPOSITIONS BY BRAHMS. op.

Sonata,

pf., in

C.

2.

Sonata,

pf., in

F

3.

6 Songs.

i.

4.

Scherzo,

5.

Sonata,

6.

6 Songs.

7.

6 Songs.

8.

Trio, pf.

sharp minor.

E flat minor. F minor.

pf., in

pf., in

&

strings,

in

B

(afterwards issued in a

revised form) 9.

10.

Variations,

pf.,

on a theme by Schumann.

4 Balladen, pf.

11.

Serenade, orch., in D.

12.

Ave Maria, female choir and

13.

Begrabnissgesang, choir and wind. 91

orch.

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Op. 14. 8

Songs.

&

D

15.

Concerto,

16.

Serenade, small orch., in A.

17. 3

Songs

pf.

orch., in

(trios) for

minor.

female choir with 2 horns and

harp.

B

18. Sextet, strings, in 19. 5

flat.

Songs.

20. 3 Duets,

soprano

&

alto.

21. Variations, pf., 2 sets. 22. 7 Marienlieder, choir.

23. Variations, pf., 4 hands, 24.

Variations and fugue,

25. Quartet, pf. 26. Quartet, pf.

27.

Psalm

& &

strings^in

G

minor.

strings, in A.

female choir and organ.

xxiii.,

28. 4 Duets, alto 29. 2

on a theme by Schumann. on a theme by Handel.

pf.,

and baritone.

Motets, 5-part choir.

30. Geistliches Lied, 4-part choir

31. 3

and organ.

Vocal quartets.

32. 9 Songs. 33. 15

Romances, from Tieck's

34. Quintet, pf. 346/s.

&

Sonata for

strings, in

2 pfs.

F

"

Magelone."

minor.

arranged from the quintet.

35. Studies, pf. (variations

on a theme by Paganini).

G. female choir. Geistliche Chore, 3 37. in E minor. Sonata, violoncello, pf. & 38. 36. Sextet, strings, in

39.

Walzer,

pf.

40. Trio, pf., violin, 41. 5 Songs, 4-part

and horn, in male choir.

42. 3 Songs, 6-part choir.

92

E

flat.

JOHANNES BRAHMS Op. 43. 4 Songs.

& Romanzen,

44.

12 Lieder

45.

Ein deutsches Requiem,

female choir. choir,

soli,

and orch.

46. 4 Songs.

47. 5 Songs. 48. 7 Songs. 49. 5 Songs. 50. Rinaldo, tenor solo, 51. 2 String quartets, in

male choir, and orch. C minor and A minor.

52. Liebeslieder-Walzer,

ad 53.

pf.

(4

hands), with 4 voices

lib.

male choir, and orch. and orch. Triumphlied, 8-part choir and orch. Variations, orch., on a theme by Haydn. Rhapsodie, alto

solo,

54. Schicksalslied, choir 55. 56.

57. 8 Songs.

58. 8 Songs. 59. 8 Songs.

60. Quartet, pf.

and

strings, in

C

minor.

61. 4 Duets, soprano and alto.

62. 7

Songs

for choir.

9 Songs. 64. 3 Vocal quartets. 63.

65.

Neue Liebeslieder-Walzer, voices ad

lib.

66. 5 duets, soprano,

&

67. String quartet, in

B

68.

Symphony,

in

C

alto. flat.

minor.

9 Songs. 70. 4 Songs. 71. 5 Songs.

69.

93

pf.

4-hands,

with

4

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC op.

Songs.

72. 5

73.

Symphony,

D.

in

74. 2 Motets, choir. 75. 4

Vocal duets.

&

76. 8 Clavierstucke (Capricci

Intermezzi).

77. Concerto, vln. and orch., in D. 78. Sonata, pf. & vln., in G. 79. 2

Rhapsodies,

pf.

80.

Akademische Festouverture.

81.

Tragische Ouvertiire.

82.

Nanie

(Schiller), choir

83. Concerto, pf. 84. 5

Songs

(for

85. 6 Songs.

and

and orch.

orch., in

B

flat.

one or two voices).

.

86. 6 Songs.

&

87. Trio, pf.

strings, in C.

88. String quintet, in F. 89.

Gesang der Parzen, 6-part choir and orch.

90.

Symphony

in E.

91. 2 Songs, alto with viola obbligato.

92. 4

Vocal Quartets.

93A. 6 Songs for choir. 93B. Tafellied, 6.pt. choir. 94. 5 Songs.

95. 7 Songs. 96. 4 Songs.

97. 6 Songs. 98.

Symphony

99. Sonata, ioo. Sonata,

pf.

101. Trio, pf.

pf.

&

in

E

minor.

& violoncello, & vln., in A. strings, in

C 94

in F.

minor.

JOHANNES BRAHMS Op.

&

102. Concerto, vln.

vcello.

with orch., in C.

103. Zigeunerlieder, 7 vocal quartets. 104. 5 Songs, choir. 105. 5 Songs.

106. 5 Songs. 107. 5 Songs. 108. Sonata, pf.

&

vln., in

D

minor.

&

Gedenkspriiche, 3 motets, 8-part choir, no. 3 Motets, choir, in. String quintet, in G. iog. Fest-

Vocal quartets. Canons, female choir.

112. 6 113.

& vcello., in A minor. & strings, in B minor. (Capricci & Intermezzi),

114. Trio, pf., clar. 115. Quintet, clar. 116. 8 Fantasien

pf.

117. 3 Intermezzi, pf. 118. 6 Clavierstucke, pf. 119. 4 Clavierstucke, pf.

Works without opus-numbers Abendregen.

:

(Blatter fur Hausmusik.)

Chorale Prelude for organ,

on "

O

Herzeleid."

Deutsche Volkslieder. 14 Songs. Fugue, organ, in A flat minor. Gavotte, by Gluck, arranged for pf. Song; Mondnacht. 5 Studies, pf.

Ungarische Tanze, 51 Uebungen, pf.

pf.

4 hands, 4 books.

95

Traurigkeit,

o

222T

MAX BRUCH It

is

not easy to estimate the exact distance

which separates him

whom

German composers from

the greatest of living

the master

whom

placing nearest to

the wisest critics call

most of these would agree

him

in order of artistic merit;

nor

is

the

two could be assessed,

it

likely that if the relative greatness of

having would measure I think,

it

in the

or

all

majority of those whose opinion

would,

is

even the best worth

same way. They

agree in one thing

:

that a very

great interval should be placed between

Bruch and raries.

to place

Max

German contempopart not hesitate own I should my Bruch midway between Brahms and the rest of his

For

the other composers of their country,

make both difficult

in

intervals

for English

power Bruch's music

wide.

It

is

and

to

especially

people to realise what a is

in

popular, in the best sense, 97

Germany, and how it is,

since the

G

com-

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC some time

England and was received with a coolness which we most rarely exhibit to musicians of other nations. Very little of his music has entered into what may be called the permanent repertory of English concerts, and the works that have attained to poser spent

in

the dignity of standard compositions with us do

not belong to the class in which Bruch's widest

That neither the composer nor his work has found real acceptance in the English musical world must be admitted by fame has been won.

all

who

are acquainted with his compositions

as a whole.

It is certainly

not the fault of the

compositions, since these, or the best of them at

all

events,

easily

are

intelligible

distinguished by great beauty,

and

by

the

and rare

quality of distinction.

In dubbing him "echt niederrheinisch," a

German

wit

went no further than the

truth.

Both the music and the man belong to the Lower Rhine country by every circumstance of origin and congenital disposition. The broadly flowing melodies of his invention suggest the

course of such a river as that of his native country,

and the absence of any very great

heights in his music might be held to support

the

analogy.

Born

at

98

Cologne,

January

6,

MAX BRUCH 1838,

he

the

is

clergyman

of

grandson of a once-famous

the

Evangelical

Cologne, Dr. Christian Bruch a high

official

position in the

;

Church

at

his father held

same town, and

mother had sung with success, under her maiden name of Almenrader, at many of the Lower Rhine festivals. She was her son's first music teacher, and taught him to such excellent his

purpose that by the time he was fourteen a

symphony of

his

was

considered worthy

of

being performed by the Cologne Philharmonic Society.

This symphony was only one of some

seventy compositions in

all

branches of music

produced by the young composer since attempts at the age of nine.

his first

In the year

made

memorable to him by the performance of his symphony, he won the exhibition (Stipendium), worth 400 gulden annually for four years, of the "Mozart Stiftung" at Frankfort, one of the The award led to his judges being Spohr. being placed under the tuition of Ferdinand Hiller, with

whom

he remained

the single exception of a short in

1858,

Moscheles,

He made

until 1861, with visit to

Leipzig

came in contact with Hauptmann, David, and others.

where he

a longer tour after the death of his

father in 1861,

and ultimately 99

settled

down

at

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC Mannheim, where he lived from 1862 to 1864. Both the journeys mentioned were undertaken (the second partly for the sake of health, for

showing themselves) at

signs of overwork were

the suggestion of Hiller, whose almost parental care was richly rewarded by his pupil's success

both as a composer and a conductor.

In the

latter

capacity he appeared fairly regularly at

many

of the Rhineland centres of music.

It is

not

many composers whose first numbered work

or acknowledged

who

first

is

in

operatic form, or

have attracted public attention by a

dramatic work.

It

is

possibly

due

to

the

enormous number of Bruch's early attempts in different forms that he acquired the ease and assured command of structure which are the most remarkable in

one

features of his op.

act, " Scherz, List

to the libretto

1,

an opera

und Rache,"

which Goethe intended,

written

it is

said,

The opera by which his name first became known resembled this in one particular, that its "book" was at von

Dittersdorf.

for

Ditters

first

intended for another composer.

sohn's libretto

difficulties

procuring

in

are familiar to

and when three acts

at last

all

Mendels-

an

who know

operatic his

life,

he got from Geibel a poem

in

on the Lorelei legend, he did not 100

MAX BRUCH live

to

more than a very few numbers.

finish

This book the poet steadily refused to give to

any other composer Bruch,

who read

it

;

but, notwithstanding this,

when

it

was

first

published

had the resolution to undertake its composition and one of the main objects of his journey in that year was to break

separately in 1861,

;

down,

if

he might, the

who was then

living at

restrictions of Geibel,

and the opera,

his object,

He

Munich.

attained

by

carefully prepared

Vincenz Lachner, the conductor of the opera

Mannheim, was produced

at

on June 14, The success it achieved was not con1863. firmed when it was given on some of the other principal stages of Germany, and, only three years after

formance

at

its

first

there

appearance,

Mainz was noticed

papers under the heading later

years

the

composer

in

its

per-

one of the

"Accidents." entirely

In his

re-cast

work, and Oscar Walther, of the Leipzig operahouse,

made

compressing

a its

new arrangement of

the libretto,

four acts into three,

and making

other important changes.

how thorough were

As an

instance

the alterations made,

be mentioned that the passage which

known

of

it

may

is

well-

as the finale of Mendelssohn's fragment

appears, according to the 101

first

version of Bruch's

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC in the

opera,

version

new

it

is

guise the

in 1887,

altered

second

act,

while in the newer

delayed until the

In

last act.

work was brought out

its

at Leipzig

and made a succes d'estime ; even in its form the story was too weak and

make a lasting success that amended versions of

invertebrate an affair to likely

it is

;

not often

serious operas excite

much

was no exception to the

enthusiasm, and this

There

rule.

is

a danger

in choosing for stage-presentment a story that

is

too familiar, and, seeing that the legend of this

opera has been used usque ad nausea?n in every sort

of

art,

both

in

Germany and

there was the less chance of successful, unless a far

had been provided Geibel put together.

its

elsewhere,

proving really

more dramatic

libretto

poem which The music contains many

for

it

than the

beautiful numbers, notably the large ensembles,

the fine chorus which begins the second act,

formerly the third, and the picturesque chorus of Rhine spirits with the dramatic soprano solo,

which formerly was the whole second

now

act,

appears as the finale of the opera.

obvious

One

composer was the result which a predecessor had

difficulty to the

of taking a libretto

begun

and

to set

—namely, that

of avoiding resem-

blances which in this case would have 102

been

MAX BRUCH particularly easy to identify, since Mendelssohn's

fragment

is

Bruch's

credit

resemblances

had

intuition

that

known.

well

sufficiently

he

did

He

completely.

enough

to perceive,

the temporary success of his stage was for

It

is

to

avoid

such

must

have

in

spite

opera, that

of

the

not the best sphere for his talent,

he made no further essay in dramatic com-

some time to come, until he had, indeed, "found his feet" in a form of music which he had already cultivated with success. While the fifteen numbered compositions precedposition for

ing the " Loreley " in his

duet and solos, a

trio,

list

contain pianoforte

and two

string quartets,

beside vocal works for solo or chorus, the group of works which separate his opera from his next

composition of great importance are exclusively vocal.

He

attained, whether

by

this or other

means, to the complete ease in writing for the voice which characterises

He

much

of his best work.

seems to have contemplated some large

" Christmas oratorio " or the like, for his ops. 20

and 21 deal respectively with the Flight into Egypt and the Visit of the three Kings. This immediately succeeded by his op. 23, the famous " Frithjof Scenen," for male chorus,

last is

soli,

and orchestra

:

for,

103

by an oversight, the

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC number 22 was left out, and has never been The words by Esaias Tegner, the filled up.

—

well-known Swedish poet free,

open-air manner,

that

the

scenes

— exactly

and

attained

upon

success immediately

it

was

a

The

wonderful

little

and

real

their first

under the composer's direction

Bruch's

suit

lasting

appearance

at Aix-la-Chapelle.

may

recognition the work at once obtained

be best

illustrated,

not by quoting a

German performances

list

given within the

of the

first

few

production, but by mentioning the

years after

its

fact that

reached Paris in the following year,

it

and was no been

Berlioz,

it,

of his

which points its

made

both of

admirers

successful there than

native land.

in its

conducted

less

at

The composer, who Rossini and

friends with

whom

were among the warm

composition,

circumstance

a

once to the obvious character of

melody, and to the originality of

tion.

had

it

concep-

its

Already, at the age of twenty-six, Bruch

had acquired an extraordinary power and in the manipulation of large vocal

facility

masses

;

his

choral writing, while entirely free from pedantry or stiffness of any kind, was even

now

the work

of a completely accomplished musician, solid

and earnest as well as spontaneous, tuneful and Although he has since written worthy effective. 104

MAX BRUCH companion pieces to the " Frithjof Scenen he has not yet produced one that throws this early work into the shade, nor is he likely to do

The

so.

chosen from the " Frithjof

six scenes

saga" of Tegner are treated with a genuine dramatic feeling which in the " Loreley

;

third of these,

in

Ingeborg,

of

loss

fourth,

"

is

scarcely ever revealed

the masterly treatment of the

which Frithjof avenges the is

most

" Frithjof s Farewell,"

remarkable; is

the

admirably laid

and the pathetic processional " music of the unwilling bride, and her " lament

out for

in

the

The

effect,

fifth

scene, are exceedingly expressive.

one time familiar in English concert-rooms, but the work as a whole, though last

was

at

given with success at a Crystal Palace concert,

June

8,

1878, has fallen into quite undeserved

neglect. 25,

Two

and a

other choral works, opp. 24 and

third,

" Frithjof auf seines Vaters

Grabhiigel," a concert scena for baritone, female choir,

and

regarded as

which

no doubt to be a kind of appendix to the scenes,

orchestra,

is

were the next compositions in order of publication

;

but meanwhile changes had taken place in

Bruch's outward circumstances.

In the autumn

of 1865 he went to Coblenzas conductor of the concert-institution there, and, after a year 105

and a

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC half of

work

in this capacity,

he was appointed

court-capellmeister to the Prince

burg-Sondershausen.

Schwarz-

of

Just as Brahms' tenure of

a similar post at the Court of Lippe-Detmold

gave him experience in choral-writing, so these

appointments brought Bruch into relations of a

he would otherwise have en-

closer kind than

joyed with an admirable orchestra, the outcome of which intimacy

concerto in

E

G

may be

seen in the

first

violin

minor and the two symphonies

and F minor respectively. The choral works mentioned above were also written at Sondershausen. The first, " Schon Ellen " (first in

flat

performed

at Leipzig in 1869), is set to a

by Geibel, who transferred

poem

more romantic surroundings of the Scotland of romance the apocryphal episode of the siege of Lucknow, according to which a girl brought hope to the exhausted defenders of the city by declaring

that

she heard the pipes

Campbells

no

very

to the

coming."

are

romantic

associations

"The

playing

This

tune

for

has

English

no wonder that no performance has yet been given here of a work which makes so large a use of a melody not among For other audiences the best of Scottish tunes. it is, no doubt, impressive enough, and its dis-

hearers,

and

it

is

to6

MAX BRUCH happy employment of

tinctly

from the tune referred

to,

local colour, apart

extremely good.

is

Considering that the composer had

some time while

at

national music of

Mannheim

all sorts,

devoted

to the study of

and having regard

to

the fact that he arranged a set of twelve Scottish

unknown and

songs that were practically beautiful,

it is

very

only natural that he should have

poem by

been attracted to

this

" Loreley " he

set but a

had

the

man whose

A

few years ago.

number is the solo, " Fahrt wohl denn, Weib und Kind .daheim," for baritone,

very beautiful

which, with the soprano,

employed.

is

The chorus

the only single voice is

"mixed"

in

this

work, the male choir alone being employed in the other cantata, "Salamis," a fine getic

song of

victory,

and

ener-

belonging to a class of

subjects especially dear to the composer, who, like the

young man

Story in the World,

in '

is

Mr. Kipling's "Finest never so

much

in his

element as in Greek or Scandinavian stories of heroism

and

adventure,

more

by

especially

sea.

The

violin concerto already

mentioned, in

G

minor, op. 26, though written at Coblenz, was

not published until after these two cantatas had appeared.

It

is

dedicated to Joachim, 107

and

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC genius in every movement.

and earnest and Grave

from beginning to end, yet

rising into passionate

bears

upon

it

the impress of his character

outbursts of almost

work

tragic intensity, this

acquired at once a place of

its

own among violin

concertos. Its melodies have a character deeper,

and more genuinely expressive than any former work of its composer's, and its solo part is written with consummate knowledge of violin nobler,

If

effect.

some

it

hardly deserves to be reckoned, as

critics

have

greatest concertos

among

done, the

for

instrument,

those of Beethoven and Mendelssohn, at all events, as say,

it is

the kind

first

first

five

it

beside

comes,

—that

is

to

only equalled by two more works of

— the "

exquisite

The

one of the

three

the

concerto

Hungarian

"

of Brahms,

and the

concerto of Joachim.

two movements are so rich

in lovely

thoughts charmingly expressed, that the finale

makes, perhaps,

would

;

and

it

less

effect

seems,

than

indeed,

it

as

otherwise if

in

the

romance the composer's vein of inspiration was For none of the large for the time exhausted. group of works, numbered 28 to 40, come

up

to the

standard of his best compositions,

although they include church-music

"Rorate

Cceli,"

—a

motet,

and portions of a mass 108

—the

MAX BRUCH two symphonies already mentioned, and several

among them a beauti" Dithyrambe." " Das ful setting of Schiller's more

short choral pieces,

Lied

vom Deutschen

Kaiser

"

was

his tribute to

the Imperial triumph after the Franco-German war,

and

it

was shortly afterwards followed by

a four-act opera,

"Hermione," based on "The

Winter's Tale," by a librettist

This was produced

much

named Hoppfer. 1872, but, from

in Berlin in

same cause as the former theatrical failure, met with no very remarkable degree of success. It contains some well-written instruthe

mental numbers, which might be very

effective if

arranged as a suite for orchestra.

In the previous year Bruch had given up his

Court appointment in order to devote himself

more

exclusively to composition,

and the work

that succeeds the opera in the catalogue

is

that

by which Bruch's name is, perhaps, best known over. Again he reached his all the world highest point in setting to music isolated scenes from a story that appealed imagination,

"Odyssey"

strongly

and there can be no doubt lends

to

his

that the

itself particularly well to

this

sort of treatment, since its episodes are fairly short

and not too

A

closely connected with each other.

close study

of this

masterpiece of Bruch's 109

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC genius will shed some light on his failure as an operatic composer.

Separate as the ten scenes

are from each other, several of them, indeed the greater part, consist of various musical "

move-

ments," and in the transitions from one such

movement

to another

the composer

is

a

we cannot but

little

were, uncomfortable until

new

If this

section.

without action, in a

feel that

constrained and, as

he lands us in the the

is

it

case

how much more

in

a work

noticeable

is it

composition intended for the stage, where

is indispensable that the various solos and ensemble pieces should be divided, either by spoken dialogue such as has now gone out of it

fashion except in the lighter forms of opera, or

by music more or

less

partaking of the char-

For the "endless melody" of Wagner would hardly be adopted by a writer so little in sympathy with the modern tendencies The of music as Bruch has proved himself. Odysseus " contains numbers of such transi-

acter of recitative

!

tional passages, although they are

extent as

much

makes the each other

reduced in

as possible, a proceeding

which

by them approach too closely for good effect.

sections divided far

There are not many

librettos,

sacred or secular,

better suited to the requirements of the

no

composer

MAX BRUCH whom

they are intended than this series of scenes arranged from the " Odyssey " by Herr P. for

W.

Each

Graff.

thoroughly representative and

is

good contrast with each other, and none of the most prominent features of the story are either omitted or dwelt upon at too

picturesque

;

all

are in

The

great length.

first,

" Ulysses in the Island

some charming

of Calypso," contains

three-part

choruses for female voices, and, after a short scene

between Ulysses and Hermes, who announces

him Zeus' permission that he home safely, a phrase, most happily to

is

shall

return

" invented,"

heard, which afterwards recurs as a musical

equivalent

prosperous voyage, and the

of the

scene closes very effectively with a baritone solo,

The

to the infernal regions occupies the

visit

next division of the work

;

no musical picture

of the darker aspects of the classical

attempted, and

Hades

is

the various episodes of Teiresias,

the mother of Ulysses, and the

like,

are treated

with a grace that a more politic composer would hardly have cared to impart to them, even

if

he

could, for fear of discounting the effect of what

was to

follow.

in the next its

effect

beauty

The composer

number,

from

is far

its

for

it

justifies

loses but very little of

position, since

in excess of

hi

himself

its

melodious

anything we have yet

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC heard.

The

sailors as they

richly

harmonised

prepare to

song of the

resist the sirens'

sweet

sounds, throw these into stronger relief

when

they are heard, and the scene

throughout of

is

That it would have been more effective still if we had been allowed to taste some of the horror which should at least appear magical beauty.

in the previous scene,

the fourth scene

can hardly be denied.

we have a vigorous

In

description

of a storm, culminating in a beautiful chorus of

sea-nymphs with LeucOthea

number which

suitably ends the

" secular oratorio," as

"act

"

it

is

their

at

first

called.

head, a

part of this

The second

begins with an expressive solo for Pene-

lope (mezzo-soprano), which comes as a pleasant relief after the ensembles scenes, although

in itself

it

is

of the former

not one of the

most remarkable parts of the work. The pretty chorus, with solos, which follows it gives a most charming picture of Nausicaa with her maidens,

and

their reception of Ulysses,

and the scene

is

an appropriate introduction to the magnificent scene of the Banquet with the Phaeacians, which is

rightly regarded as the climax of the work.

Starting with a broadly treated song of welcome,

which no one but a

scientific

musician would

suspect of being in/ugafo form, so freely does the 112

MAX BRUCH theme seem the scene

passage

is

of

to

be handled, the

of

splendidly maintained, and the fine eight-part

harmony in which the upon to sing the tale of

Rhapsodes are called Troy leads most brilliantly song, a vigorous measure

into their unisonous in

We

triple time.

have hardly time to take breath

we

festal feeling

after this before

are plunged into another massive ensemble

number, led

off

by Ulysses, whose

tears

at

hearing of the deeds in which he has taken part

He

sings of the joys

of home, and the rest of the

company "join

lead to his identification.

in "

;

exquisite as the

passage undoubtedly

musical setting of the is,

it

would have been

wiser to dwell on the episode of the identification

—a

longer, for

not unimportant one, surely if

the

—a

little

only to allow the hearers to prepare

suave strains in which the domestic

blisses are so

melodiously sung.

It is

work, however, cavilling at what, after

thankless all,

is

a

scene of very great beauty and power, which very few

musicians

prove or

rival.

of any nation

And

could im-

the actual setting of the

in which Ulysses makes himself known, " Ich bin's, bin Odysseus selbst," is perfect in

words its

simplicity

and

directness.

section of massive design 113

and

Yet

another

beautiful work-

H

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC manship,

describing

resumption

the

voyage, has to come, before the scene

The

the

of is

ended.

very beautiful song of Penelope weaving

her endless web,

Odysseus,"

among

formed of

perfectly

wonder

is

with

that

refrain

its

O

kehre,

and ; no

the most expressive author's creations

its

has become a standard song

it

among German

contraltos,

for

motive loses nothing by

its

from the

place

rest,

u

while in

its

poetical

its

performance apart it is

a

apt

little

escape attention, and to serve merely as a

to

sort

of

sections.

the

between

entr'acte

The

final

two

divisions,

more

salient

occupied with

and the feast at Ithaca, more on the elaborate chorus

return of Ulysses

rely for their effect

of rejoicing, " Lasst Opfer flammen," than on

anything else

\

which precedes

the themes of the

duet

short

have appeared in important

it

and the climax of the scene with the Phaeacians is resumed for the

positions in the overture,

The

close of the whole.

another set of characters

repetition of this

—

supposed to take part in both a

little

have far

j

by

for Ulysses alone is

— may take

away

of what verisimilitude the scenes might

but

such

it is

a very difficult thing to say

things

though, of course,

are it is

admissible in

how

cantatas,

easy enough to see that 114

MAX BRUCH anything of the kind would be wholly out of place

on

Bremen

the in

1873

received with

ficial.

The

is

production at

its

enthusiasm, for

its effect

was

work

beautiful

this

much

kind that makes that effect

On

stage.

it

of a

is

immediately, though

by no means

transient or super-

success achieved by

it

wherever

it

has been given has been very remarkable, considering

how completely

free

it

is

from the ad

captandum element.

As Bruch's

first

violin concerto

was published

almost immediately after a group of his most successful choral works, so again

it

happened,

whether by accident or design, that the beautiful

work

just noticed

was directly followed by

another violin composition for which violinists are apt to claim an equally high place with the

concerto.

In

its

necessarily smaller scale, the

"

Romance," op. 42, for violin and orchestra, is in no way inferior to the former work the perfect realisation of the best charactersame of violin music, the istics same broadly melodious themes treated with the same elegance and real mastery, appear in the later as in the earlier creation, and the two stand ;

together

among

the highest achievements of the

composer's genius.

The romance was 115

written

MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC for the late

Robert Heckmann, the founder and

leader of the famous string quartet called after

him, but in style and character there

is

nothing

no such difference as appears, for example, between the first and second concertos, the latter of which to distinguish

it

from the concerto

;

reflects the individuality of Sarasate (for it

whom

was written) as closely as the former does that

more of a bravura piece, more sentimental, more obviously written with a view to effect, than its predecessor, and in spite of its many beauties must be considered as in every way on a lower level than the other. It was written at the time when Bruch had taken up his residence at Bonn in order to This

of Joachim.

is

far

enjoy complete leisure for composition

be that the

coquettish quality which

inspiration

may

composer's

suit just

the

time.

choruses,

call

it.

"

The

so-

dates from

Dedicated to Mr. Henschel,

contains a very fine baritone part " Ich

we

because he had so carefully

" oratorio " of " Arminius

same

may

have declined to favour the

laid out his life in order to court

called

It

habe

sie

geseh'n

;

it

the six-part

;

"

and

that

which accompanies the death of Siegmund, are impressive

whole

is

and

excellently

worked,

and

concise and certainly effective in 116

the

many

f£&