Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/602

 intricacy, his prodigious contrapuntal technique, his avoidance of dramatic forms and even of the dramatic point of view, his disdain of sensuous beauties of effect for their own sake—all these characteristics allied him with those called conservatives. But in his evident intellectuality and technical learning there worked a varied and profound imagination, creative gifts extremely individual and original, sympathies that were far from narrow, and a power of self-expression full of dignity and commanding force. In the midst of the prevalent tendencies of the day he stood in the unique position of one who retained vital kinship with such dissimilar earlier masters as Bach, Beethoven and Schumann, while fully alive to the new sources of artistic material (such as the Hungarian) and to the new emotional drift of the 19th century. In some respects his style showed an organic blending of old and new elements which have been counted incompatible. For all these reasons his work has singular interest and value.

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (d. 1897) was born in 1833 at Hamburg, the son of a player in the theatre-orchestra. Under Eduard Marxsen of Altona (d. 1887) he developed first as a pianist, but with sound training, also, in the technique of composition. In 1848-9 he was heard in concerts, and in 1853, when on a tour with Remenyi, he encountered Joachim, through whom he was introduced to Liszt and Schumann. The latter's heralding of him in the Neue Zeitschrift as the awaited musical Messiah created a sensation, opening the way for his first publications, but also provoking animated discussion. In 1854-8 he was court-conductor at Detmold, with much leisure for composition. In 1859 his first piano-concerto (at Leipsic) occasioned criticism, actually because so rich in content and so bare of display. After short sojourns at Hamburg and Winterthur (with Kirchner), in 1862 he settled in Vienna. From 1860 his style seemed to undergo a change, intricacy and learning being now less obtrusive. His only official posts were as conductor of the Singakademie in 1863-4 and of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1871-4. In 1864-9 and again in 1874-8 he was absent from Vienna for various purposes, including concert-giving. He took pains to retain connection with Mme. Schumann, who was a sympathetic friend and interpreter. For the