Johannes Brahms: His Life and Work Analytical Essay by Nicky

This paper offers a historical overview of the life and work of Johannes Brahms, whose music has been described as difficult to categorize. The paper explains that Brahms' music exists on the cusp of classicism and modernity, leaning toward Romanticism and a throwback to classicism. Some believe, the paper continues, that Brahms combines Bach's austere adherence to form with Beethoven's half-controlled emotionalism. The paper describes Brahms as the last great Romantic composer in an era marked by an increasing shift to less emotional and atonal musical sounds and forms. The paper concludes that although Brahms' may be difficult to love, personally and musically, the fact that his acceptance may vary with conductor's intentions does not reduce his important contributions in musical variation, and his fusion of the Classical and Romantic genres of music.