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diff --git a/40643-0.txt b/40643-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..233eed1 --- /dev/null +++ b/40643-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11482 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40643 *** + +[Illustration: _Brahms at the age of 20._ + +LONDON. EDWARD ARNOLD: 1905] + + + + + THE LIFE + OF + JOHANNES BRAHMS + + BY + FLORENCE MAY + + IN TWO VOLUMES + VOL. I. + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ + + LONDON + EDWARD ARNOLD + 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, BOND STREET, W. + 1905 + + (_All rights reserved_) + + + + + TO + THE MANY KIND FRIENDS + WHOSE SYMPATHY + HAS HELPED ME DURING THE WRITING OF THESE VOLUMES, + THEY ARE GRATEFULLY DEDICATED + + + + + PREFACE + + +The biographical materials from which I have written the following Life +of Brahms have, excepting in the few instances indicated in footnotes, +been gathered by me, at first hand, chiefly in the course of several +Continental journeys, the first of which was undertaken in the summer of +1902. Dates of concerts throughout the volumes have been authenticated +by reference to original programmes or contemporary journals. + +My aim in giving some account of Brahms' compositions has not been a +technical one. So far as I have exceeded purely biographical limits my +object has been to assist the general music-lover in his enjoyment of +the noble achievements of a beautiful life. + +I feel it impossible to ignore numerous requests made to me to include +in my book some particulars of my own acquaintance with Brahms--begun +when I was a young student of the pianoforte. I have not wished, +however, to interrupt the main narrative of the Life by the introduction +of slight personal details, and therefore place together in an +introductory chapter some of my recollections and impressions, published +a few years ago in the _Musical Magazine_. These were verified by +reference to letters to my mother in which I recorded events as they +occurred. Written before the commencement of the Biography, they are in +no way essential to its completeness, which will not suffer should they +remain unread. + + * * * * * + +I am indebted for valuable assistance and sympathy to: + + H.R.H. Alexander Frederick, Landgraf of Hesse. + Herr Carl Bade. + Fräulein Berninger. + Mrs. Jellings Blow (b. Finke). + Fräulein Theodore Blume. + Frau Professor Böie. + Herr Professor Dr. Heinrich Bulthaupt. + Herr Professor Julius Buths. + The late Gerard F. Cobb, Esq. + Frederic R. Comec, Esq. + Herr Hugo Conrat. + Fräulein Ilse Conrat. + Fräulein Johanna Cossel. + Frau Elise Denninghoff-Giesemann. + Herr Geheimrath Dr. Hermann Deiters. + Herr Hofcapellmeister Albert Dietrich. + Herr k. k. Hofclavierfabrikant Friedrich Ehrbar. + Herr Geheimrath Dr. Engelmann. + Herr Professor Julius Epstein. + Fräulein Anna Ettlinger. + Frau Dr. Maria Fellinger. + Herr Professor Dr. Josef Gänsbacher. + Otto Goldschmidt, Esq., Hon. R.A.M., Member of Swedish A.M., etc. + Dr. Josef Ritter Griez von Ronse. + Herr Carl Graf. + Fräulein Marie Grimm. + Frau Grüber. + Herr Professor Robert Hausmann. + Fräulein Heyden. + Herr Professor Walter Hübbe. + Herr Dr. Gustav Jansen. + Frau Dr. Marie Janssen. + Herr Professor Dr. Joseph Joachim. + Frau Dr. Louise Langhans-Japha. + Mrs. Johann Kruse. + Herr Carl Lüstner. + J. A. Fuller Maitland, Esq., F.S.A. + Herr Dr. Eusebius Mandyczewski, Archivar to the Gesellschaft + der Musikfreunde. + Carl Freiherr von Meysenbug. + Hermann Freiherr von Meysenbug. + Herr Richard Mühlfeld, Hofkammermusiker. + Herr Professor Dr. Ernst Naumann. + Herr Professor Dr. Carl Neumann. + Herr Christian Otterer. + Fräulein Henriette Reinthaler. + Herr Capellmeister Dr. Rottenberg. + Herr Kammermusiker Julius Schmidt. + Herr Fritz Schnack. + Herr Professor Dr. Bernhard Scholz. + Herr Heinrich Schröder. + Fräulein Marie Schumann. + Frau Simons (b. Kyllmann). + Herr Professor Josef Sittard. + Herr Dr. Julius Spengel. + Mrs. Edward Speyer. + Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Mus. Doc. + Mrs. Edward Stone. + Frau Celestine Truxa. + Herr Superintendent Vogelsang. + Herr Dr. Josef Victor Widmann. + +And others who prefer that their names should not be expressly mentioned. + + F. M. + + SOUTH KENSINGTON, + _September, 1905_. + + + + + CONTENTS OF VOL. I. + + + PAGE + + PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS 1 + + + CHAPTER I + 1760-1845 + + The Brahms family--Johann Jakob Brahms; his youth and marriage--Birth + and childhood of Johannes--The Alster Pavilion--Otto + F. W. Cossel--Johannes gives a private subscription concert 45 + + + CHAPTER II + 1845-1848 + + Edward Marxsen--Johannes' first instruction in theory--Herr Adolph + Giesemann--Winsen-an-der-Luhe--Lischen--Choral Society of + school-teachers--'A.B.C.' Part-song by Johannes--The Amtsvogt + Blume--First public appearance--First visit to the opera 63 + + + CHAPTER III + 1848-1853 + + Johannes' first public concert--Years of struggle--Hamburg + Lokals--Louise Japha--Edward Reményi--Sonata in F sharp + minor--First concert-tour as Reményi's accompanist--Concerts in + Winsen, Celle, Lüneburg, and Hildesheim--Musical parties in + 1853--Leipzig and Weimar--Robert Schumann--Joseph Joachim 83 + + + CHAPTER IV + 1853 + + Brahms and Reményi visit Joachim in Hanover--Concert at Court--Visit + to Liszt--Joachim and Brahms in Göttingen--Wasielewsky, + Reinecke, and Hiller--First meeting with Schumann--Albert + Dietrich 106 + + + CHAPTER V + 1853 + + Schumann's article 'New Paths'--Johannes in Hanover--Sonatas + in C major and F minor--Visit to Leipzig--First publications--Julius + Otto Grimm--Return to Hamburg viâ Hanover--Lost + Violin Sonata--Songs--Marxsen's influence as teacher 126 + + + CHAPTER VI + 1854-1855 + + Brahms at Hanover--Hans von Bülow--Robert and Clara Schumann + in Hanover--Schumann's illness--Brahms in Düsseldorf--Variations + on Schumann's theme in F sharp minor--B major Trio; + first public performance in New York--First attempt at symphony 153 + + + CHAPTER VII + 1855-1856 + + Lower Rhine Festival--Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt--Edward + Hanslick--Brahms as a concert-player--Retirement and study--Frau + Schumann in Vienna and London--Julius Stockhausen--Schumann's + death 179 + + + CHAPTER VIII + 1856-1858 + + Brahms and Joachim in Düsseldorf--Grimm in Göttingen--Brahms' + visit to Detmold--Carl von Meysenbug--Court Concertmeister + Bargheer--Joachim and Liszt--Brahms returns to Detmold--Summer + at Göttingen--Pianoforte Concerto in D minor and + Orchestral Serenade in D major tried privately in Hanover 204 + + + CHAPTER IX + 1859 + + First public performances of the Pianoforte Concerto in Hanover, + Leipzig, and Hamburg--Brahms, Joachim, and Stockhausen + appear together in Hamburg--First public performance of the + Serenade in D major--Ladies' Choir--Fräulein Friedchen + Wagner--Compositions for women's chorus 225 + + + CHAPTER X + 1859-1861 + + Third season at Detmold--'Ave Maria' and 'Begräbnissgesang'; performed + in Hamburg and Göttingen--Second Serenade first publicly performed in + Hamburg--Lower Rhine Festival--Summer at Bonn--Music at Herr + Kyllmann's--Life in Hamburg--Variations on an original theme first + performed in Leipzig by Frau Schumann--'Marienlieder'--First public + performance of the Sextet in B flat by the Joachim Quartet in + Hanover 243 + + + CHAPTER XI + 1861-1862 + + Concert season in Hamburg--Frau Denninghoff-Giesemann--Brahms + in Hamm--Herr Völckers and his daughters--Dietrich's visit to + Brahms--Music at the Halliers' and Wagners'--First public performance + of the G minor Quartet--Brahms in Oldenburg--Second + Serenade performed in New York--First and second Pianoforte + Quartets--'Magelone Romances'--First public performances of + the Handel Variations and Fugue in Hamburg and Leipzig by + Frau Schumann--Brahms' departure for Vienna 262 + + + APPENDIX No. I + + MUSICAL FORM--ABSOLUTE MUSIC--PROGRAMME MUSIC--BERLIOZ + AND WAGNER 282 + + + APPENDIX No. II + + THE MAGELONE ROMANCES--PIERRE DE PROVENCE 290 + + + APPENDIX No. III + + RULES OF THE HAMBURG LADIES' CHOIR 304 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + BRAHMS AT THE AGE OF TWENTY _Frontispiece_ + + No. 60, SPECKSTRASSE, HAMBURG _To face page_ 52 + + BRAHMS AND JOACHIM, 1855 " 182 + + BRAHMS AND STOCKHAUSEN, 1868 " 262 + + + + + THE LIFE OF JOHANNES BRAHMS + + + + + PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS + + + BADEN-BADEN. + +It was to the kindness of Frau Schumann that I owed my introduction to +Brahms, which took place the very day of my arrival on my first visit to +Germany. I had had lessons from the great pianist during her visit to +London early in the year 1871, and on her departure from England she +allowed my father to arrange that I should follow her, as soon as I +could possibly get ready, to her home in Lichtenthal, a suburb of +Baden-Baden, in order to continue my studies under her guidance. + +I can vividly recall the bright morning in the beginning of May on which +I arrived at Baden-Baden, rather home-sick and dreadfully tired, for +owing to a railway breakdown _en route_ my journey had occupied fourteen +hours longer than it ought to have done, and my father's arrangements +for my comfort had been completely upset. It was too early to go at once +to Frau Schumann's house, and I remember to have dreamily watched, +whilst waiting at the station, a passing procession of young girl +communicants in their white wreaths and veils, as I tried to realize +that I was, for the first time in my life, far away from home and from +England. When the morning was sufficiently advanced, I took an open +Droschke, and driving under the great trees of the Lichtenthaler Allée +to the door of Frau Schumann's house, I obtained the address of the +lodgings that had been taken for me in the village. Without alighting, I +proceeded at once to my rooms, where I was almost immediately joined by +Frau Schumann herself, who came round, as soon as she had finished +breakfast, to bid me welcome. + +My delight at seeing the great artist again, combined with her +irresistible charm and kindness, at once made me feel less strange in my +new surroundings, and I joyfully accepted the invitation she gave me at +the close of a few minutes' visit, to go to her house the same afternoon +at four o'clock and take coffee with her in her family circle. + +On presenting myself at the appointed hour, I was at once shown into a +pleasant balcony at the back of the house, overlooking garden and river. +In it was seated Frau Schumann with her daughters, and with a gentleman +whom she presently introduced to me as Herr Brahms. The name awakened in +my mind no special feeling of interest, nor did I look at its owner with +any particular curiosity. Brahms' name was at that time almost unknown +in England, and I had heard of him only through his arrangement of two +books of Hungarian dances for four hands on the pianoforte. As, however, +from that day onwards I was accustomed, during a period of months, to +meet him almost daily, it may be convenient to say at once a few words +about his appearance and manner as they seemed to me after I had had +time to become familiar with them. + +Brahms, then, when I first knew him, was in the very prime of life, +being thirty-eight years of age. Below middle height, his figure was +somewhat square and solidly built, though without any of the tendency to +corpulency which developed itself at a later period. He was of the +blonde type of German, with fair, straight hair, which he wore rather +long and brushed back from the temples. His face was clean-shaven. His +most striking physical characteristic was the grand head with its +magnificent intellectual forehead, but the blue eyes were also +remarkable from their expression of intense mental concentration. This +was accentuated by a constant habit he had of thrusting the rather +thick under-lip over the upper, and keeping it compressed there, +reminding one of the mouth in some of the portraits of Beethoven. His +nose was finely formed. Feet and hands were small, the fingers without +'cushions.' + +'I have none,' he said one day, when I was speaking to him about +pianists' hands; and he spread out his fingers, at my request, to show +me the tips. 'Frau Schumann has them, and Rubinstein also; Rubinstein's +are immense.' + +His dress, though plain, was always perfectly neat in those days. He +usually wore a short, loose, black alpaca coat, chosen, no doubt, with +regard to his ideas of comfort. He was near-sighted, and made frequent +use of a double eyeglass that he wore hanging on a thin black cord round +his neck. When walking out, it was his custom to go bare-headed, and to +carry his soft felt hat in his hand, swinging the arm energetically to +and fro. The disengaged hand he often held behind him. + +In Brahms' demeanour there was a mixture of sociability and reserve +which gave me the impression of his being a kindly-natured man, but one +whom it would be difficult really to know. Though always pleasant and +friendly, yet there was a something about him--perhaps it may have been +his extraordinary dislike to speaking about himself--which suggested +that his life had not been free from disappointment, and that he had +reckoned with the latter and taken his course. His manner was absolutely +simple and unaffected. To his own compositions he alluded only on the +very rarest occasions, nor could he be induced to play them before even +a small party. His great satisfaction and pleasure were evidently found +in the society of Frau Schumann, for whom he displayed the most devoted +admiration, an admiration that seemed to combine the affection and +reverence of an elder son with the sympathetic camaraderie of a +colleague in art. He had established himself for the spring and summer +months at Lichtenthal, in order to be near her, and was always a welcome +guest at her house, coming and going as he liked. I met him there +continually at the hour of afternoon coffee, as on the day of my +arrival; and very often, when the coffee-cups were done with, it was my +good fortune to listen to the two great artists playing duets; Brahms, +the favoured, being always allowed to retain the beloved cigar or +cigarette between his lips during the performance, and taking his turn +in playing the treble part. + +It was Frau Schumann's kind habit to invite me to her mid-day dinner on +Sundays, and frequently to supper during the week. Brahms was rarely +absent, and was sometimes accompanied by one or two of his friends. The +talk on these occasions was more or less general, but naturally my chief +interest was in listening to Frau Schumann and Brahms, who used to +discuss all sorts of topics with great animation. Brahms' interest in +politics was keen, and although he had been settled in Vienna for some +years, and had become much attached to that city and to his friends and +surroundings there, yet it was evident that he remained an ardent German +patriot. + +He was a great walker, and had a passionate love of nature. It was his +habit during the spring and summer to rise at four or five o'clock, and, +after making himself a cup of coffee, to go into the woods to enjoy the +delicious freshness of early morning and to listen to the singing of the +birds. In adverse weather he could still find something to admire and +enjoy. + +'I never feel it dull,' he said one day, in answer to some remark about +the depressing effect of the long-continued rain, 'my view is so fine. +Even when it rains, I have only another kind of beauty.' + +He was considerate for others, even in trifles. I remember that one +evening, before we had quitted the supper-table, someone produced a copy +of 'Kladderadatsch,' and, pointing out to Brahms a set of sarcastic +verses dedicated to John Bull, begged him to read them aloud for the +entertainment of the assembled party. Brahms, after glancing down the +column, playfully declined to do as he was asked, indicating, with a +wave of the hand, his English _vis-à-vis_ as his reason for objecting; +and it was not until I had laughingly and repeatedly expressed my +earnest wish to hear whatever might be in store for me as Mr. Bull's +representative, that he at length, and still reluctantly, complied with +the request. + +Frau Schumann often spoke to me of his extraordinary genius and +acquirements both as composer and executant, as well as of his general +intellectual qualities, and especially of his knowledge and love of +books. She wished me to hear him play, but said it was no easy matter to +do so, as he was extremely dependent on his mood, and not only disliked +to be pressed to perform, but was unable to do justice either to himself +or his composer when not in the right humour. The first time, indeed, +that I heard him, at a small afternoon gathering at Frau Schumann's +house, I was utterly disappointed. After a good deal of pressing, he +crossed over to the piano and gave the first movement of the G major +Fantasia-Sonata and the first movement of the A minor Sonata, Op. 42, +both of Schubert, but his playing was ineffective. It appeared to me to +be forced and self-conscious, and he himself seemed to remain, as it +were, outside the music. I missed the living throb and impulse of +feeling by which I had been accustomed to be carried away when listening +to Frau Schumann, and he left one of his audience, at all events, cold +and unmoved. When I told this to Frau Schumann afterwards, she answered +that I had not yet really heard him; that he had not wished to play, but +had yielded to over-persuasion, and that I must wait for a better +opportunity of judging before forming an opinion. + +The opportunity came the very next evening, when the same friends were +assembled and Brahms played again. The next day I wrote home as follows: + + '... Then Brahms played. It was an entirely different thing from + the day before. Two pieces were by some composer whose name I can't + remember, and then he played a wild piece by Scarlatti as I never + heard anyone play before. He really did give it as though he were + inspired; it was so mad and wild and so beautiful. Afterwards he + did a little thing of Gluck's. I hope I shall hear him often if he + plays as he did last night. The Scarlatti was like nothing I ever + heard before, and I never thought the piano capable of it.' + +Such were the general impressions I formed of Brahms during the first +seven or eight weeks of my stay at Lichtenthal. To say the truth, I +thought but little about him at the time, my whole attention being +absorbed in my studies and in the charm of my new experiences of life. +To me he seemed a very unaffected, kind-hearted, rather shy man, who +appeared quietly happy and content when under the influence of Frau +Schumann's society. As yet I had had scant opportunity of testing my own +capacity for appreciating his musical genius, and next to none of +individual personal intercourse with him. Frequently, when my landlady's +servant came to attend me to my lodgings after an evening spent at Frau +Schumann's house, and Brahms and I took our leave at the same moment, he +would say, 'I am coming, too,' and, our ways lying partly in the same +direction, would walk the short distance by my side; but these occasions +did not add much to my knowledge of him. He would make a few casual +remarks, often playful, always kindly, on any topics of the hour, but +did not touch on musical subjects. One evening, however, I asked him if +he intended to visit England. 'I think not,' he immediately replied, as +though his mind were definitely made up on this point. I ventured to +pursue the subject, telling him he ought to come, in order to make his +compositions known. 'It is for that they are printed,' he said rather +decidedly, and with these words he certainly gave me some real insight +into his character. The composer of a long series of works which +included such masterpieces as the second serenade, the two string +sextets, the first and second pianoforte quartets, the inspired German +Requiem, and a host of others already before the world (but of which I +then knew nothing), could, of course, do no otherwise than allow his +compositions to rest quietly on their merits; and doubtless the intense +pride which is equally inherent with intense modesty in the higher order +of genius had its share in causing Brahms' reticence about all things +concerning himself. + +From his determination not to visit England I do not believe he ever +seriously wavered. Only on one occasion--a few years before his +death--did I ever hear him speak doubtfully on the subject, and I then +felt sure that he was only playing with the idea of coming. Of when or +why he formed his resolution I cannot speak with absolute certainty; it +had become fixed before I made his acquaintance. His want of familiarity +with our language may have had something to do with it; he could read +English a little, but I never heard him attempt to speak it. He had a +horror of being lionized and of involving himself in an entanglement of +engagements; perhaps, also, he was possessed with an exaggerated notion +of the inflexibility of English social laws, especially as to the +wearing of dress-clothes and the restrictions with regard to smoking. +Before and behind all such superficial considerations, however, I +suspect that early in his career the idea had taken root in him, right +or wrong as it may have been, that to visit England would not further +his artistic development. Brahms had certainly formed the clearest +conception not only of his purpose in life, but of the means by which he +felt he could best pursue and achieve it, and from first to last he +inflexibly adhered to the conclusions he had come to on these points. If +his aim was to give the most complete possible expression in his musical +creations to the very best that was in him, his method, while it +satisfied an inner craving of his being, was yet, as I believe, +deliberately adopted; and it was to lay himself open to every kind of +influence which could healthily foster the ideal side of his nature, and +more or less completely to eschew all others. It would be ridiculous, at +the present time, to touch upon the completeness of his technical +musical equipment, to dilate on his easy grasp of all the resources of +counterpoint, on his mastery of form, of harmonic and rhythmic +combinations, and the like. These things are matter of course. But +Brahms knew that not alone his intellect, but his mind and spirit and +fancy, must be constantly nurtured if they were to bring forth the +highest of which they were capable, and he so arranged his life that +they should be fed ever and always by poetry and literature and art, by +solitary musing, by participation in so much of life as seemed to him to +be real and true, and, above all and in the highest degree, by the +companionship of Nature. + +'How can I most quickly improve?' I asked him one day later on. 'You +must walk constantly in the forest,' he answered; and he meant what he +said to be taken literally. It was his own favourite prescription that +he advised for my application. For such a man, with a name practically +unknown in England, life in London, and especially during a concert +season, would have been not only uncongenial, but impossible. It would +only have been a hindrance to him for the time being. It was not his +business to push his works before either conductors or the public, and, +after early successes and failures in this direction, he had almost +entirely given up planning for the future of his compositions, and had +yielded himself wholly to his destiny, which was to create. + +In adopting this attitude, there was nothing whatever of outward posing. +He simply did faithfully what he found lying before him to do, and did +not look beyond. + +Life at Lichtenthal passed quickly onwards, and the time approached when +Frau Schumann would pay her annual visit to Switzerland. At the close of +one of my lessons she said to me: + +'I have been thinking that perhaps you might like to have some lessons +from Herr Brahms whilst I am away. It would be a very great advantage +for you in every way, and he would be able to help you immensely with +your technique. He has made a special study of it, and can do anything +he likes with his fingers on the piano. He does not usually give +lessons, but if you like I will ask him, and I think he would do it as a +favour to me.' + +I must here explain that my visit to Germany had been undertaken with +the special object of correcting certain deficiencies in my mechanism +which Frau Schumann had pointed out, she having advised me to study for +a year with this aim particularly in view. + +It need hardly be said that I now eagerly accepted her proffered +kindness, and it was decided that she should sound Herr Brahms on the +question of his willingness to give me lessons. If he should show +himself favourable to the project, the arrangement was to be considered +as decided, subject only to the approval of my father, who was on the +point of starting from London to join me at Lichtenthal. The next +morning Frau Schumann informed me that Brahms had consented to the plan, +and a few days later, on my receiving my father's ready assent to my +request, all preliminaries were settled, and it was arranged that I +should have two lessons every week from Brahms. + +'You must ask him to play to you,' Frau Schumann said; 'and if he will +do it, it will give you a real opportunity to hear him. And now, now you +will begin to know Brahms.' + + + BRAHMS AS TEACHER OF THE PIANOFORTE. + +Brahms united in himself each and every quality that might be supposed +to exist in an absolutely ideal teacher of the pianoforte, without +having a single modifying drawback. I do not wish to rhapsodize; he +would have been the first to object to this. Such lessons could only +have come from such a man. I have never to this day got over the wonder +of his giving them, or the wonder and the joy of its having fallen to my +lot to receive them. + +He was strict and absolute; he was gentle and patient and encouraging; +he was not only clear, he was light itself; he knew exhaustively, and +could teach, and did teach, by the shortest possible methods, every +detail of technical study; he was unwearied in his efforts to make his +pupil grasp the full musical meaning of whatever work might be in hand; +he was even punctual. + +I cannot hope in what I may say to convey more than a faint impression +of what his lessons were to me. From the very first hour of coming under +his immediate musical influence I felt that it was a power which would +continue to act upon and develop within me to the end of life. Perhaps, +however, I may succeed in helping lovers of his music to add to their +conception of his character and his gifts, by writing of him as he was +in a capacity in which, so far as I know, he has not hitherto been +described. Such personal details as I may introduce will be given with +the object of illustrating that side of Brahms' character which I once +knew so well; of exhibiting him as the all-capable, single-hearted, +encouraging, inspired and inspiring teacher and friend. + +Remembering what Frau Schumann had said of his ability to assist me with +my technique, I told him, before beginning my first lesson, of my +mechanical difficulties, and asked him to help me. He answered, 'Yes, +that must come first,' and, after hearing me play through a study from +Clementi's 'Gradus ad Parnassum,' he immediately set to work to loosen +and equalize my fingers. Beginning that very day, he gradually put me +through an entire course of technical training, showing me how I should +best work, for the attainment of my end, at scales, arpeggii, trills, +double notes, and octaves. + +He not only showed me how to practise: he made me, at first, practise to +him during a good part of my lessons, whilst he sat watching my fingers; +telling me what was wrong in my way of moving them, indicating, by a +movement of his own hand, a better position for mine, absorbing himself +entirely, for the time being, in the object of helping me. + +He did not believe in the utility for me of the daily practice of the +ordinary five-finger exercises, preferring to form exercises from any +piece or study upon which I might be engaged. He had a great habit of +turning a difficult passage round and making me practise it, not as +written, but with other accents and in various figures, with the result +that when I again tried it as it stood the difficulties had always +considerably diminished, and often entirely disappeared. 'How must I +practise this?' I would ask him, with confidence, which was never +disappointed, that some short-cut would be found for me by which my way +would be effectually smoothed. + +His method of loosening the wrist was, I should say, original. I have, +at all events, never seen it or heard of it excepting from him, but it +loosened my wrist in a fortnight, and with comparatively little labour +on my part. + +How he laughed one day, when I triumphantly showed him that one of my +knuckles, which were then rather stiff and prominent, had quite gone in, +and said to him: 'You have done that!' + +It may seem incredible, but it is none the less true, that after a very +few weeks of work with him the appearance of my hands had completely +changed. My father says, writing to my mother: + + 'Her hand has an entirely different conformation from what it used + to have; it has lost all its angular appearance, and it really is + the case, as she says, that her knuckles are disappearing. I have + given up all idea of inducing her to go anywhere with me; she will + allow nothing to interfere with her practising. She is enthusiastic + in her admiration of Brahms, and says his patience is wonderful. He + keeps her strictly to finger-work.' + +He was never irritable, never indifferent, but always helped, +stimulated, and encouraged. One day, when I lamented to him the +deficiencies of my former mechanical training and my present resultant +finger difficulty, 'It will come all right,' he said; 'it does not come +in a week nor in four weeks.' + +Perceiving at once the extraordinary value of my technical studies with +him, I was desirous of not being hampered by feeling obliged, at first, +to get up many pieces to play through. That, he said, was quite right; I +must practise a great deal in little bits for a time. Here is an extract +from one of my letters. I copy it exactly as it stands, without altering +the careless wording of a girl's letter hastily penned for home perusal +in an interval between practice times: + + 'My lessons with Brahms are too delightful; not only the lessons + themselves, but he makes me feel I must practise all day and all + night. I have begun to eat a great deal for the mere purpose of + being able to practise! He is so patient, and takes such pains, and + I ask all sorts of questions, and the lessons are too delightful. I + can't understand his giving lessons, and yet he is never angry at + any sort of foolishness, only says, "Ah! that is so difficult." As + for an hour's lesson, that is nothing. He systematically arranges + for an hour and a half. I absolutely revel in my lessons. He makes + the saraband sound on the piano just as on a violin. Then he never + expects too much, and does not give much to learn, but is always + satisfied with little if one is really trying.' + +He was extremely particular about my fingering, making me rely on all my +fingers as equally as possible. One day whilst watching my hands as I +played him a study from the 'Gradus,' he objected to some of my +fingering, and asked me to change it. I immediately did so, but said, +knowing there was no danger of his being offended by the remark, that I +had used the one marked by Clementi. Brahms, not having had his eyes on +the book at the moment, had not perceived this to be the case. He at +once said I must, of course, not change it, and would not allow me to +adopt his own, as I begged him, saying: 'No, no; he knew.' + +I had with me at Lichtenthal my own copies of Bach, which I had brought +from England, but the edition was unfingered, and Brahms desired me to +get copies with Czerny's fingering, and always to use it. The other +indications in the edition I was not to adopt. + +A good part of each lesson was generally devoted to Bach, to the +'Well-tempered Clavier,' or the English Suites; and as my mechanism +improved Brahms gradually increased the amount and scope of my work, and +gave more and more time to the spirit of the music I studied. His +phrasing, as he taught it me, was, it need hardly be said, of the +broadest, whilst he was rigorous in exacting attention to the smallest +details. These he sometimes treated as a delicate embroidery that +filled up and decorated the broad outline of the phrase, with the large +sweep of which nothing was ever allowed to interfere. Light and shade, +also, were so managed as to help to bring out its continuity. Be it, +however, most emphatically declared that he never theorized on these +points; he merely tried his utmost to make me understand and play my +pieces as he himself understood and felt them. + +He would make me repeat over and over again, ten or twelve times if +necessary, part of a movement of Bach, till he had satisfied himself +that I was beginning to realize his wish for particular effects of tone +or phrasing or feeling. When I could not immediately do what he wanted, +he would merely say, 'But it is so difficult,' or 'It will come,' tell +me to do it again till he found that his effect was on its way into +being, and then leave me to complete it. On the two or three days that +intervened between my lessons, I would, after practising at the +pianoforte, sometimes take my music into the forest to try to think +myself more completely into his mind, and if, when he next came, I had +partially succeeded, he took delight in showing his satisfaction. His +face would light up all over, and he would be unstinting in his praise. +'Very good, quite right; Frau Schumann would be very surprised to hear +you play like that,' or, 'That will make a great effect with Frau +Schumann.' + +In spite of his extraordinary conscientiousness about detail, Brahms was +entirely free from pedantry and from the tendency to worry or fidget his +pupil. His great pleasure was to commend, and if I played anything to +him for the first time, in the way he liked, nothing would induce him to +suggest, with one word, any change at all. 'That is quite right; there +is nothing to say about it,' he would say; and though I have felt +disappointed not to get any remark from him, and have entreated him to +make some suggestions, he would remain firm. 'No, it must be like that; +we will go on,' and there was an end of the matter. + +One morning my father, coming into the room at the close of my lesson, +asked Brahms: 'Has she been a good girl to-day?' 'Sehr fein,'[1] +answered he, and suddenly turning to me added imperatively: 'Tell your +father that.' I was equal to the occasion, however, and promptly +translated: 'Herr Brahms says he is not very satisfied to-day, papa.' My +father's face fell a little. Brahms looked straight before him, +displeased and impassive. 'I have told him,' said I. 'No, you have not +told him.' 'But you don't know that; you don't understand English.' 'I +understand enough to know that'--stonily. 'Herr Brahms says I have done +pretty well,' I reassured my father; then to Brahms: 'Now I have.' 'Yes, +now,' he admitted, with relenting countenance. + +Another day, in the middle of my lesson, the door of my sitting-room +opened, and my landlady begged to speak to me. 'No, Frau Falk,' I said; +'I am engaged and can see no one: you must please go away.' 'One moment, +gnädiges Fräulein,' she said, and persisted, to my displeasure, in +coming in. I then perceived she had with her a pretty little girl of +about five years old, who held some beautiful yellow roses in her hand. +Frau Falk led the child straight up to the piano and made her little +speech. The small maiden was the daughter of the gentleman living in the +neighbouring villa, and, being with her father in his beautiful +rose-garden, had begged him to let her carry some of his roses to the +Fräulein to whose playing they had been listening. The little one, +seeing I was not alone, became suddenly shy as she handed me the lovely +flowers, and, turning away her face, looked downwards with very red +cheeks as she stood quietly at Brahms' knee. But this was not the kind +of interruption to displease him. 'Na,' he said, coaxing her, 'you must +look at the Fräulein, and let her thank you. Look at her; she wants to +thank you.' Between us we reassured the little one, who held up her face +to me to be kissed, and sedately allowed Frau Falk to lead her away. + +Soon after beginning my work with Brahms, I asked him at the end of my +lesson if he would play to me, telling him I did so by Frau Schumann's +desire. There was an instant's hesitation; then he sat down to the +piano. Just as he was about to begin, he turned his head round, and said +almost shyly: 'You must learn by the faults also.' That was the +beginning. From that day it became his regular habit to play to me for +about half an hour at the close of the hour's lesson, which he never +shortened. Oftenest he chose Bach for his performance. He would play by +heart one or two of the preludes and fugues from the 'Well-tempered +Clavier,' then take up the music and continue from book as the humour +took him. When he reached the end of a composition, I would say little +or nothing beyond 'Some more,' for fear of stopping him, and he would +turn over the leaves to find another favourite. I do not remember his +ever making a remark to me either between-whiles or after he had +finished playing, beyond, perhaps, telling me to get him another book. +Once, and once only, he resisted. I had made my usual request at the end +of the lesson, when he quaintly and unexpectedly replied: 'Not every +time; it is silly. Frau Schumann would say it is silly to play every +time'. 'It is so disappointing,' I wished to say, but was uncertain of +the right German word. He, as was his wont on similar occasions, made me +show it him in the dictionary. There was some little argument between +us, and he returned to the piano and took his place there. It was of no +use, however. He could not play that day, and almost seemed to take +pleasure in doing as badly as possible. Every time he was conspicuously +faulty he turned round to me with a sardonic smile, as though he would +say: 'There! you have got what you wanted; how do you like it?' 'Very +unkind,' I murmured, and he soon rose. 'I will _not_ play next time,' he +angrily declared as he took leave. 'I will _never_ ask you again,' I +rejoined. A shrug of the shoulders was his only answer, and, with the +usual 'good-day,' he left the room. + +After two days came my next lesson. It passed off delightfully, as +usual, and at the close Brahms departed, without a word about his +playing being said on either side; but I was left with a feeling of +something having been very much wanting. In the middle of the following +lesson, giving way to a sudden impulse which I could not have explained, +but which, perhaps, arose from the fear of renewed disappointment, I +abruptly ceased playing in the middle of my piece, saying, 'I cannot +play any more to-day.' Brahms glanced at me with rather an inquiring +expression, and asked, 'Why?' 'I don't know; I cannot,' I replied. There +was an instant of dead silence, during which I did not look round. Then +Brahms spoke. 'I will play to you,' he said quietly, 'in order that you +may have something.' We immediately changed places, and he never refused +me again. + +My father, writing to my mother, says: + + 'Brahms is recognised in Germany as the greatest musician living. + It is said to be most difficult to get him to play; however, after + every lesson he plays piece after piece. He is a delightful man--so + simple, so kind and quiet. He lives in a beautiful situation + amongst the hills, and cares only for seclusion, and time to devote + himself to composition. He was pleased the other day by F.'s asking + him about a passage in Goethe that she could not comprehend, and + went into it in a way which delighted her. With all his genius he + is thoroughly practical. Punctual to a minute in his lessons, and + of extreme delicacy.' + +It was my happiness to hear, amongst other things, his readings of many +of the forty-eight preludes and fugues, and his playing of them, and +especially of the preludes, impressed me with such force and vividness +that I can hear it in memory still. His interpretation of Bach was +always unconventional and quite unfettered by traditional theory, and he +certainly did not share the opinion, which has had many distinguished +adherents, that Bach's music should be performed in a simply flowing +style. In the movements of the suites he liked variety of tone and +touch, as well as a certain elasticity of _tempo_. His playing of many +of the preludes and some of the fugues was a revelation of exquisite +poems, and he performed them, not only with graduated shading, but with +marked contrasts of tone effect. Each note of Bach's passages and +figures contributed, in the hands of Brahms, to form melody which was +instinct with feeling of some kind or other. It might be deep pathos, or +light-hearted playfulness and jollity; impulsive energy, or soft and +tender grace; but sentiment (as distinct from sentimentality) was always +there; monotony never. 'Quite tender and quite soft,' was his frequent +admonition to me, whilst in another place he would require the utmost +impetuosity. + +He loved Bach's suspensions. 'It is here that it must sound,' he would +say, pointing to the tied note, and insisting, whilst not allowing me to +force the preparation, that the latter should be so struck as to give +the fullest possible effect to the dissonance. 'How am I to make this +sound?' I asked him of a few bars of subject lying for the third, +fourth, and fifth fingers of the left hand, which he wished brought out +clearly, but in a very soft tone. 'You must think particularly of the +fingers with which you play it, and by-and-by it will come out,' he +answered. + +The same kind of remarks may be applied to his conception of Mozart. He +taught me that the music of this great master should not be performed +with mere grace and lightness, but that these effects should be +contrasted with the expression of sustained feeling and with the use of +the deep legato touch. Part of one of my lessons was devoted to the +Sonata in F major-- + +[Music: etc.] + +Brahms let me play nearly a page of the first movement without making +any remark. Then he stopped me. 'But you are playing without +expression,' said he, and imitated me, playing the same portion, in the +same style, on the upper part of the piano, touching the keys neatly, +lightly, and unmeaningly. By the time he left off we were both smiling +at the absurd performance. + +'Now,' he said, 'with expression,' and he repeated the first few bars of +the subject, giving to each note its place as an essential portion of a +fine melody. We spent a long time over the movement that day, and it was +not until the next lesson, after I had had two, or perhaps three, days +to think myself into his conception, that I was able to play it broadly +enough to satisfy him. At the close of the first of these two Mozart +lessons I said to him: 'All that you have told me to-day is quite new to +me.' 'It is all there,' he replied, pointing to the book. + +Brahms, in fact, recognised no such thing as what is sometimes called +'neat playing' of the compositions either of Bach, Scarlatti, or Mozart. +Neatness and equality of finger were imperatively demanded by him, and +in their utmost nicety and perfection, but as a preparation, not as an +end. Varying and sensitive expression was to him as the breath of life, +necessary to the true interpretation of any work of genius, and he did +not hesitate to avail himself of such resources of the modern pianoforte +as he felt helped to impart it; no matter in what particular century his +composer may have lived, or what may have been the peculiar excellencies +and limitations of the instruments of his day. + +Whatever the music I might be studying, however, he would never allow +any kind of 'expression made easy.' He particularly disliked chords to +be spread unless marked so by the composer for the sake of a special +effect. 'No arpége,' he used invariably to say if I unconsciously gave +way to the habit, or yielded to the temptation of softening a chord by +its means. He made very much of the well-known effect of two notes +slurred together, whether in a loud or soft tone, and I know from his +insistence to me on this point that the mark has a special significance +in his music. + +Aware of his reluctance to perform his compositions, I let some weeks +pass before I asked him to play me something of his own. When I at +length ventured to do so, he objected: 'Not mine; something by another +composer.' But I had resolved to carry my point. 'No, no,' I insisted; +'a composition played by the composer himself is what I wish to hear,' +and my importunity gained the day. He gave me a splendid performance of +a splendid theme with variations, which, as I found out some months +afterwards, was from the now familiar string Sextet in B flat. It was +the first time I had heard anything of Brahms' composition with the +exception of one or two songs, and it raised in me a tumult of delight. +Probably I said to him little beyond thanks, but the power of the music +and the performance must have worked itself in me to some manifest +effect, for on my taking my seat directly after the lesson at the _table +d'hôte_ of the Hôtel Bär, the village inn where my father and I used to +dine, a lady of our acquaintance exclaimed: 'What is the matter with you +to-day that you look so excited?' I remember answering her: 'Brahms has +just played me something quite magnificent--something of his own--and it +keeps going in my head.' + +Since then I have heard the movement times innumerable in England and on +the Continent, performed by various combinations of artists, but I never +listen to it without being carried back in thought to the gardener's +house on the slope of the Cäcilienberg where, in my blue-papered, +carpetless little room, Brahms sat at the piano and played it to me. The +scent of flowers was borne in through the open lattice-windows, of which +the green outside sun shutters were closed on one side of the room to +keep out the blazing August sun, and open on another to views of the +beautiful scenery. + +The merits of our respective views had been the subject of some friendly +argument soon after my arrival at Lichtenthal. Brahms had declared that +no prospect from any windows in the village could possibly be as fine as +his, whilst I was equally sure that mine must be quite unrivalled. Two +of my windows looked right across the valley of the Oos as far as the +plain of Strassburg, and showed, in fine weather, the distant peaks of +the Vosges glimmering in the sunlight. Two others commanded a prospect +of the pine-covered ranges of Black Forest hills. The first time Brahms +came to my rooms, in order to give me a lesson, the variety and +loveliness of my view drew from him an exclamation of delight. 'But +yours is really grander and sterner, is it not?' I magnanimously asked. +'This is more suitable for a girl,' he prettily replied. + +On the next occasion after the day when he had performed his own work, I +reminded Brahms that he had promised he would allow my father, who was +anxious to hear him play to better advantage than from the room +overhead, to share with me this great pleasure some time. 'But he is not +here,' he said, and taking this as a token of assent, I quickly called +my father, who was writing letters above, to come down. When we were all +three seated, I told Brahms I wished to have the piece he had played to +me two or three days before, but he said he would not play anything of +his own--'something else.' 'No,' I said, 'something of yours, and the +same; my father wishes to hear the same.' 'Ah, I forget what it was; I +have composed a great many things. I will play something else.' 'But no, +no, no!' I urged. 'I know what it was. I must have the same. Play the +first two or three chords.' 'Well, then, I think it was this,' said he, +giving way; and he repeated the movement from beginning to end, carrying +us both completely away. + +Brahms' playing at this period of his life was, indeed, stimulating to +an extraordinary degree, and so _apart_ as to be quite unforgettable. It +was not the playing of a virtuoso, though he had a large amount of +virtuosity (to put it moderately) at his command. He never aimed at mere +effect, but seemed to plunge into the innermost meaning of whatever +music he happened to be interpreting, exhibiting all its details and +expressing its very depths. Not being in regular practice, he would +sometimes strike wrong notes--and there was already a hardness, arising +from the same cause, in his playing of chords; but he was fully aware of +his failings, and warned me not to imitate them. + +He was acutely, though silently, sensitive to the susceptibility or +non-susceptibility of his audience. As I have already mentioned, but few +words passed between him and myself during the momentary intervals +between his playing of one piece and another, but he would now and then +suddenly turn his head round towards where I sat and give me a swift, +searching glance, as though to satisfy himself that I understood and +followed him. Once only he refused to go on. It was soon after his +performance before my father. I had begged for another of his +compositions, and he had begun to play one. I was sitting rather behind +him, listening intently and trying to follow, but I knew I did not +understand. Very soon he turned to give his usual scrutinizing look, and +immediately ceased playing, saying: 'No, really I can't play that.' I +did not attempt to make him think I had entered into the meaning of the +music, but only entreated him to begin it again and give me one more +chance, as it was difficult to follow. Nothing would induce him, +however, to play another note of it, and he went on to something by +another composer, much to my disappointment and mortification. + +Brahms disliked to hear anything said which could possibly be +interpreted as depreciation of either of the great masters. Once, when +two or three people were present, a remark was made on the growing +indifference of the younger musicians to Mendelssohn, and particularly +on the neglect with which his once popular 'Songs without Words' had for +some time been treated. 'If it is the case, it is a great pity,' +observed Brahms, 'for they are quite full of beauty.' + +He especially loved Schubert, and I have heard him declare that the +longest works of this composer, with all their repetitions, were never +too long for him. + +He greatly admired my copy, which was of the original edition and in +good preservation, of Clementi's 'Gradus,' and asked me to lend it him +for a day or two to compare with his own. I did not at that time attach +much value to original editions; and, fancying he merely wished to +prevent me from overworking, against which he often cautioned me, I said +I could not spare it. 'You won't lend it me!' he exclaimed, very much +astonished indeed. I answered that if he did take it away it would make +no difference, as I could practise as well without it. Finding, +however, that he really wished to examine the copy, I said it was too +hot for him to carry so large a book in the middle of the day, and that +I would send it in the evening. 'I am not so weak!' he replied, but +consented to the proposal. He sent it back after a few days, strongly +scented with the odour of his tobacco, which it retained through many a +long year, and which rather enhanced its value to me. + +Rather curiously, he liked the scent of eau-de-Cologne. My father +brought me a case from Cöln, and if, on my lesson day, I had an open +bottle near at hand, and offered some to Brahms, he would place his +hands together, palm upwards, for me to pour into, and, dipping his +head, would rub the scent over his forehead, protesting as he did so, +'But it really does not become a man.' Seeing that he liked it, I used +it sometimes to wash the keys of the piano when he was coming, but I do +not think he ever found me out. + +He delighted in the music of Strauss' band, which was engaged to play +daily at Baden-Baden through some weeks of the season. It was then +conducted by the great Johann Strauss, Brahms' particular friend, and he +used to walk over every evening to hear it. 'Are you so engrossed?' said +a voice behind me one evening as I was standing in the Lichtenthal +village street with a friend, looking at the performances of a dancing +bear. On turning round I found Brahms, hat in hand, smiling with +amusement at our preoccupation, himself on his way, as usual at that +hour, to listen to the delicious music of the Vienna waltz-king. + +Brahms disliked mere compliment, but he had a warm appreciation of the +genuine expression of friendly feeling towards himself, and did not try +to hide the pleasure it gave him. His countenance would change, and he +would answer in a simple, modest way that was almost touching. One day +when I told him how I valued his teaching, and felt it was something for +my whole life, 'You ought to tell Frau Schumann,' replied the composer +of the German Requiem, as though he were asking me to give a good report +of him. On my assuring him that I had already done so by letter, he +added hastily: 'But not too much; never praise too highly; always keep +within bounds.' + +Shortly before Frau Schumann's return I said to him that I hoped he +would not lose all interest in my music at the termination of my lessons +with him, and that I should like, if it were possible, to make some +additional arrangement by which it might be maintained. He did not give +me any definite reply at the moment one way or the other, but on my +saying the same thing to him another day he replied: 'It is very nice +and very kind of you, but I don't think it can be done. You must, +however, play to me very often. Everything you learn with Frau Schumann +you must play to me.' + +About this time, however, my father, who was about to start on his +homeward journey, persuaded me to go away with him for a week's holiday +before his departure for England, and on my return to Lichtenthal Frau +Schumann arranged that I should continue my studies under Brahms for the +remainder of my stay, saying I had become more his pupil than hers. +There were, indeed, but few more lessons to look forward to. Autumn had +set in, and everyone was thinking of departure. Brahms had to go +sometimes to Carlsruhe, where he was occupied with rehearsals, but he +punctually kept his remaining appointments with me. His concluding +lessons were as magnificent as the earlier ones, and when I went back to +England my ground was clear. I do not mean to assert that my hand was +already completely developed from a pianist's point of view, or my +technique as yet fully in my possession. These things were physically +impossible; but Brahms had shown me the path which led straight to my +goal, and had himself brought me a considerable distance on the way. A +cast of one of my hands taken on my return to England, when compared +with one that had been done shortly before I left, could not have been +recognised as being from the same person. + +Those were, indeed, golden days, when Brahms sat by my side and taught +me; memorable to me no less for their revelation of an exquisite nature +than for the musical advantages they brought. I have often been told +that there was another side to his character, and that he could, even at +that time, be bitter and rough and satirical. I dare say he was not +faultless, but I do not think that he can at any period of his life have +been bitter in the sense of being soured. He no doubt had a strong +feeling about the indifference and downright antagonism against which +his works long had to struggle; but if it had ever been a feeling even +of disappointment, I am sure this had mellowed, before I knew him, into +a firm though silent belief in the future of his compositions, and had +only served to intensify, if possible, his determination to put into +them of his very best. + +Rough he may have been sometimes, and in later years I had occasional +opportunity of perceiving that he was not always gentle, though he was +never otherwise with me. His roughness was, in certain instances, no +doubt caused by his resolution in protecting his time from +celebrity-hunters, and even from friends. It may have been partly +traceable, also, to the circumstances of his youth, when he must often +have been placed amid surroundings where rough-and-ready frankness of +speech was more cultivated than conventional polish of manner. It is, +however, certain that during the latter part of his life he sometimes +availed himself of the privilege of the _enfant gâté_ to yield to the +caprice of the moment, and that he now and again said things which could +not but wound the feelings of others. This was to be regretted, and it +hardly excused him that his pungent words came from the lips only, and +not from the heart. I am, however, quite certain that many of his +acerbities were assumed to cover his naturally acute sensibility of +temperament, of which he stood a little in dread, and which he liked to +conceal even from himself. He was a firm believer, for himself and for +others, in the salutary process of bracing both mental and physical +energies. + +A year or two before Brahms' death I revisited Lichtenthal, staying a +night at the Hôtel Bär, where I used to dine in the old days. I looked +up old acquaintances, and amongst them the former mistress of the dear +old inn, whom I found retired and living in a charming villa close by, +her brother being still the proprietor of the hotel. She, of course, had +known Brahms well, and during the hour or two that I spent with her we +talked chiefly about him. She repeated the verdict given by everyone +really acquainted with him: 'So simple and natural, so kind and +cheerful, able to take pleasure in trifles. He was such a simple-hearted +man.' A tease, certainly, but his teasing was never unkind, never more +than mere raillery. He would often bring a friend to dine at the Bär in +the old days, and she always had the cloth laid for him in a private +room or in the back part of the garden, so that he should not be worried +by the visitors. 'He never minded what he did. He would sometimes drop +in, if he were passing, to say good-morning to us, and if we were very +busy he would make a joke of sitting down and amusing himself by helping +us cut up the vegetables for dinner. Only he could not bear to go into +formal society, or to have to wear his dress-clothes. I have not seen +him now for several years. The last time was in September, 1889, when he +paid a flying visit to the Bär. He was very angry to find that three +pine-trees had been cut down near the house where he used to lodge, +thinking the poetry of the view had been impaired, and he said he would +never stay in the place again. What a warm heart he had! He liked to +know all the country people of the neighbourhood, and took a pride in +feeling that every man, woman, and child whom he met in his early +morning walks interchanged greetings with him. I begged for his +autograph the last time he was here. You will like to see what he +wrote;' and my old friend sent for the album in which the master had +written: + + 'Johannes Brahms. ('J. B. + eines schönen Tages one fine day + im schönen Baden in beautiful Baden + im lieben Bären.' at the dear Bear.') + + + BERLIN. + +Years were destined to elapse before my next meeting with Brahms. After +my return to England I worked unremittingly on the lines he had +indicated, and found that by the observation and practice of his +principles I was guided straight onwards in the path of progress. His +teaching had been of such a kind that its development did not cease with +the actual lessons. As the weeks and months went by I found myself +growing continually into a clearer perception of the aims and results it +had had in view. It caused me no surprise to find, on becoming +acquainted with his pianoforte compositions, that I must postpone for a +time the delightful task of getting them up. Brahms himself had prepared +me for this. He had always been extremely careful, when selecting music +for me to work at, to choose what would develop my technical power +without straining my hands, and when I had wished to study something of +his had answered that his compositions were unfit for me for the +present, as they required too much physical strength and grasp. He +fancied, indeed, at that time that nearly all of them were beyond a +woman's strength. When I asked why it was that he composed only such +enormously difficult things for the pianoforte, he said they came to him +naturally, and he could not compose otherwise ('Ich kann nicht anders'). + +In the winter of 1881-82 I found myself in Berlin. It is difficult to +describe the feelings with which I one day read the announcement that +von Bülow, in the course of a _tournée_ with the Meiningen Orchestra, of +which he was conductor, would shortly visit the city to give a three +days' series of concerts in the hall of the Singakademie; that Brahms' +compositions would figure conspicuously in the programmes; that Brahms +himself would be present, and that he would probably take part in one or +more of the performances. The life at Lichtenthal had come to seem to me +a sort of far-away fairy-tale impossible of any sort of renewal, and I +could hardly realize that I should soon see Brahms again. Finding, +however, from subsequent announcements, that the concerts were really to +take place, I lost no time in securing a subscription ticket for the +series. + +Feeling sure that every moment of Brahms' short stay in Berlin would be +occupied, I decided that my only chance of getting a word or two with +him would be to gain admission to one of the rehearsals, and to watch +for a favourable moment in which to make myself known to him. As ill +luck would have it, I was claimed on the first day by engagements that +could not be postponed. I was, however, the less inconsolable since +Brahms was to take an active part only in the second and third concerts. +Their respective programmes included a new pianoforte concerto still in +MS. (No. 2 in B flat), to be played by the composer, with von Bülow as +conductor; and the first pianoforte concerto, with Bülow as pianist and +Brahms at the conductor's desk. + +Betaking myself to the Singakademie in good time for the rehearsal on +the second morning of the series, I explained, to the friendly custodian +at the entrance-door, my claims to admission. He allowed me to enter the +hall and to take my place amongst the small audience of persons +privileged to attend. + +The members of the orchestra were already assembled, and after some +moments of waiting von Bülow came in with several gentlemen. Lusty +applause broke forth from platform and stalls, and a small stir of +greetings took place. But where was Brahms? I could perceive him nowhere +at first, and it was only as the rehearsal proceeded, and he took his +place on the platform, that I felt certain he was really present. I had +prepared myself to find him looking changed and older, but not beyond +recognition. It is, however, no exaggeration to say that as I gazed at +him, knowing him to be Brahms, I was utterly unable to recognise the man +I had known ten years previously. There, indeed, was the great head with +the hair brushed back as of old, though less tidily than in former days; +but his figure had become much heavier, and both mouth and chin were +hidden by a thick moustache and shaggy, grizzled beard that had +completely transformed his appearance. When I first knew him at the time +of his early middle age, one might fancy that his countenance and +expression had retained more than a trace of his youthful period of +_Sturm und Drang_, but this had now quite vanished. I felt, with a +shock, that my foreboding that I should never see my old friend again +had been realized, though in a way different from that anticipated by +me. + +Brahms received an ovation when he had finished his performance of the +new concerto, and as he was retiring from the platform Bülow, unable to +restrain his excitement, darted forward and gave him a kiss. It seemed +to take him rather aback, but he submitted passively. + +At length the rehearsal came to an end, and Brahms was immediately +surrounded by friends eager to offer their congratulations and to +receive a word of greeting from him. 'Now or never,' I thought, and, +taking my courage in my hand, I managed to get near, though a little +behind him. 'I, also, should like to say a word of thanks to you, Herr +Brahms,' I said. Brahms turned his head. 'Are you here in Berlin, then?' +he rejoined instantly, answering as he might have done if we had met the +previous week. Someone else pressed forward to claim his attention as I +was replying, and I fell behind again. I did not like to wait for a +second opportunity, feeling there was no chance of his being free, so I +straightway departed and went back to my lodgings. + +Thinking things over on my road, I came to the conclusion that Brahms +had not recognised me, but that when my words caught his ear he had +uttered the first casual reply that rose to his lips, and which might be +appropriate to any acquaintance whom he did not at the moment remember. +However exceptional his memory for faces might be, it appeared to me +incredible that, after the lapse of so many years, he should have known +me without the hesitation of a second at a moment when his attention +was preoccupied by the concert business of the day and by the claims of +his Berlin friends. + +It was in this frame of mind that I took my seat in the evening to hear +the concert. Having got over the first excitement of seeing Brahms +again, and knowing what I had to expect in regard to his personal +appearance, I was able to listen to the music in a more composed mood +than had been possible to me in the morning. My pleasure in the +performance of the concerto was, of course, in some measure impaired by +the circumstance that the long, intricate work was quite new. I think, +however, that I should have enjoyed it more if Brahms had conducted and +Bülow performed the solo. I did not think Brahms' playing what it had +been. His touch in forte passages had become hard, and though he might, +perhaps, be said to have mastered the difficulties of his part, he had +not sufficiently surmounted them to execute them with ease. It could +not, in fact, have been otherwise. No composer having attained to the +height of Brahms' greatness could have kept his technical command of the +pianoforte unimpaired; life is too short for this. I knew, however, that +I had listened to a magnificent work of immense proportions, and longed +for opportunity to hear it again that I might assimilate it. + +There was a scene of tumultuous enthusiasm at the close of the work. The +public applauded wildly, and shouted itself hoarse; the band joined in +with its fanfare of trumpet and drum; Brahms and von Bülow were recalled +again and again, separately and together; and in the moment of the great +composer's triumph I saw the earlier Brahms once more standing before +me, for, whilst his eyes shone and his face beamed with pleasure, I +recognised in his bearing and expression the old familiar look of almost +diffident, shy modesty which had been one of his characteristics in +former days. + +I did not, of course, seek for a further opportunity of speaking to +Brahms on the evening of which I am writing, but I laid my plans for the +next morning, and at the proper hour again made my way to the +Singakademie and successfully begged for admission to the rehearsal. + +During the first part Brahms sat as one of the audience in the front row +of stalls, and in a convenient break between the pieces I sent my +English visiting-card to him, having written on it a few lines recalling +myself to his remembrance. He read it and looked round. 'I know that +already,' he said coldly, but rising and coming towards me. 'I saw you +yesterday.' 'But you did not know who I was?' I returned, still +sceptical. 'Yes, I knew.' 'It seemed to me quite impossible you could +have recognised me!' I ejaculated. 'Oh yes, yes--_oh_ yes!' said Brahms +in quite a different tone, and for a couple of seconds I forgot to look +up or say anything. + +'Are you taking notes?' he asked by way of recalling me to myself, +touching my pencil. But the rehearsal had to proceed, and Brahms +presently took his place on the platform with Bülow for the performance +of the Concerto in D minor. When the rehearsal was over, I did not leave +the hall so quickly as on the previous day, but waited in the hope of +getting another word with Brahms, and was rewarded by having a good +many. + +In the evening, as he faced the audience before the commencement of the +concerto, catching sight of me in the third row of stalls, he was at the +pains to bestow upon me a kind bow and smile of recognition. He glanced +slightly at me again once or twice during the evening, and I knew, +though his appearance still seemed a little strange to me, that Brahms +was in the world after all. + +The execution of the D minor Concerto was one of those rare performances +that remain in the memory as unforgettable events. Brahms, when +conducting, indulged in no antics, and was sparing of his gestures, +often keeping his left hand in his pocket, or letting it hang quietly at +his side; but he cast the spell of his genius over orchestra and pianist +alike. The performance was remarkable for its power and grandeur, but +not chiefly so, for these qualities were to be expected. It was made +supremely memorable by the subtle imagination that touched and modified +even the rather hard intellectuality of von Bülow's usual style. Good +performances of Brahms' orchestral works may not seldom be heard, and +great ones occasionally; but the particular quality of his poetic fancy, +by which, when conducting an orchestra, he made the music sound from +time to time as though it were floating in some rarefied atmosphere, +vibrating now with fairy-like beauty and grace, now with ethereal +mystery, was, I should say, peculiar to himself, and is hardly to be +reproduced or imitated. + +As soon as Brahms had finished his share in the evening's programme I +quitted the hall, for I was thoroughly exhausted by the excitement of +the past two days, and felt I could bear nothing more. Early the next +morning he left Berlin to fulfil engagements in another town. + + + VIENNA. + +During the next four years much of my time was passed in Berlin. I +delighted in the concerts and general musical atmosphere of the German +capital, and did not allow my plans to be disturbed by a vague +invitation to visit Vienna which Brahms had given me in the course of +our short interview in the hall of the Singakademie. I felt that however +kind and friendly his recollection of me might have remained, yet I +could not hope to derive direct musical benefit from one absorbed in the +intense thought and brooding to which the life of a really great +composer must be largely devoted. + +It was not until December, 1888, that I paid my first visit to Vienna. I +arrived there towards the end of the month, armed with letters of +introduction which met with a kind response and obtained for me +immediate admission into those English and Austrian circles to members +of which they were addressed. I waited for a week before letting Brahms +know of my arrival, as I wished not only to be settled before calling on +him, but also to be in such a position in regard to my acquaintance as +would make it impossible for him to suspect that I could want anything +whatever of him beyond the delight and honour of seeing him again, and +of recalling myself to his remembrance. + +Meanwhile I gathered, from all I heard, that his dislike of anything +approaching to general society had steadily grown upon him. Some, even, +of his old friends spoke of the increasing rarity of his visits. A lady +at whose house he had been intimate for many years told me it had once +been his custom to announce himself for the evening from time to time at +a few hours' notice, with the proviso that he should find her and her +husband alone in their family circle, or at most with one or two chosen +friends. On these occasions he had been used to play to them one after +another of his newest compositions. This habit, however, he had almost +entirely given up. + +I heard but one opinion, both from friends and outsiders, as to his +essentially high character and sterling qualities of nature; but his +manners were described with unanimity, by those not within his immediate +circle, as difficult, sarcastic, and arrogant. I was, indeed, so +repeatedly assured that I should do no good by trying to see him that I +almost began to fear I should find he had become rude and impossible, if +not hopelessly inaccessible. To all that was said to me on the subject I +answered merely that I had once known him well, and had never found him +otherwise than kind and simple, but that I had prepared myself to find +him changed and rough in his behaviour to me. + +At length, on a dark afternoon of one of the closing days of the year, I +made my way to the Wieden, the quarter of Vienna inhabited by Brahms, +and, turning in at the doorway of No. 4, Carlsgasse, I ascended the worn +stone staircase as far as the third _étage_. Here I pulled the shining +brass handle of the old-fashioned door-bell, and the feeling of doubt +which had possessed me changed to one of positive alarm as I listened to +the prolonged peal I had awakened. I thought it must sound to Brahms +like the announcement of a most daring and determined intruder, and that +it would inevitably prove the death-knell of any chance of my +admission. + +The door was soon opened by a friendly maid-servant, who told me, +indeed, that the Herr Doctor was not at home, but satisfied me that I +was not being put off with a mere phrase by adding that she thought he +would probably be back by six o'clock, and that she advised me to return +about that hour if I particularly wished to see him, as he was to start +on a journey early the next morning. I thanked the girl, said I would +follow her suggestion, and, without leaving my name, returned to my +rooms to wait for the evening. + +The second visit was again unsuccessful, but on trying a third time, at +seven o'clock, I found that Brahms had returned. 'Please to walk in,' +said the landlady, who this time opened the door. But this unexpected +facility of access to the master was even more embarrassing than would +have been the conflict of argument I had anticipated. 'Please take my +card,' said I, 'to the Herr Doctor, and ask if he will see me.' 'Oh, it +is not necessary,' she said; but took it in, returning immediately and +asking me to enter. As I advanced, the formidable and overbearing Brahms +hastened to meet me. 'Why did you not leave your address? I should have +come to find you out,' he said, giving me his hand. And returning with +me to the sitting-room, he bade me take a seat on the sofa, whilst he +placed himself on a chair opposite. + +He did not try to hide that he was pleased to see his old pupil. He +evidently wished me to understand that our acquaintanceship was to be +taken up from the exact point at which it had been last left, and +reminded me, when I alluded to his lessons at Baden-Baden, that he had +seen me since those early days. 'Oh, for a moment at the rehearsals at +Berlin,' I answered. 'But since then,' he insisted. 'Only at the +concert,' said I, rather surprised. 'Yes, at the concert,' he agreed, +'and you sat downstairs, I remember.' + +I told him I had lately been getting up the same B flat Concerto which +he had played at the time, and had performed it in London before a +private audience. He was interested in hearing the particulars of the +occasion, and when I said, laughingly, that the fatigue entailed by the +practice of its enormous difficulties had given me all sorts of aches +and pains, and made it necessary for me to go into the country for +change of air after the performance was over, he replied in the same +vein: 'But that is very dangerous; one must not compose such things. It +is too dangerous!' + +He informed me rather slyly, 'I am the most unamiable of all the +musicians here,' as though he would like to know if I had heard of his +reputation for cross-grained perversity, and was frankly gratified when +I answered: 'That I will never believe, Herr Brahms--never!' He was to +be absent at the longest for ten days only, and when I took leave of him +it was with the pleasant consciousness that he would be glad to find me +still in Vienna on his return. + +In appearance, Brahms had again greatly altered since our meeting in +Berlin. Though not fifty-six, he looked an old man. His hair was nearly +white, and he had grown very stout. I had a good opportunity of +observing him, myself unnoticed, soon after his return from his journey. +The first public performance in Vienna was given of his newly-published +Gipsy Songs, at the concert of a resident singer, one of his friends. +Brahms had not been announced to take part in the performance, but when +the evening came, he walked quietly on to the platform as the singers +were arranging themselves in their places and took his seat at the +pianoforte as accompanist. Of course his appearance was the signal for +an outburst of enthusiastic welcome from the crowded audience, some +hopes, but no certainty, having been entertained that he would show +himself. + +As I sat in my corner and watched, I was aware that not only his general +aspect, but his expression also, had undergone another and a curious +change during the last years. He now wore the happy, sunshiny look of +one who had realized his purpose, and was content with his share in +life; of one to whom the complete measure of success had come, and not +too late to be valued. If in Baden-Baden he had made upon me the +impression of a man awaiting full recognition, who had already waited +long for it; if in Berlin, the impression of one who, having attained a +glorious pinnacle of fame whilst still in the plenitude of his powers, +was untiringly pressing onward towards higher summits of fulfilment--I +had the feeling, when I looked at him in Vienna, that the second phase, +too, was more or less belonging to the past, and that he had entered +upon a period of reward, and perhaps of less strenuous exertion. + +One of the very few opportunities I ever had of seeing Brahms avail +himself of a great man's license to follow his whims regardless of +convention, and, perhaps, of due respect to others, was afforded me at a +meeting of the Vienna Tonkünstlerverein, the musicians' club, of which +he was honorary president. It was one of the special social evenings of +the society, when the members supped together. Brahms was late in +coming, and when he arrived supper was proceeding. He allowed himself to +be conducted to the place, at the top of a long table, which had been +reserved for him as president, but did not sit down. Leisurely scanning +the assembled company, he picked out the position he preferred, which +happened to be at the side near the bottom. A slight space was certainly +there, but not enough for a seat. 'There,' he said, pointing to it, and +he sauntered down the room, apparently quite unconcerned at the +disturbance and inconvenience which he caused, a bench having to be +moved and several people being obliged to shift their places to make +room for him. When once in occupation of the seat he fancied, he +contributed his share to the cordiality of the evening, and was in no +hurry to leave. + +Another occasion was very similar. He was again dissatisfied with a +place that had been assigned him at a supper-party. This time it was at +a private house, and, as he could not have declined the seat without +making himself unbearably rude, he submitted, with a kind of +half-protest, to occupy it. During the greater part of the +entertainment, however, he was not only in a wayward mood, but in a +thoroughly bad temper, which he could not control. There was, when all +is said, certainly no ill-natured intention in what he did on either +occasion, but at the worst a mere childish petulance and +over-excitability under slight disappointment. + +I discovered, though Brahms had no fixed hour, that the right time to +call upon him was about eleven o'clock. Always an early riser, he had +then completed his morning's work, and if at home, as was generally the +case, was ready to receive a visitor. He was sometimes to be found +seated at the piano with an open volume (often Bach) on the music-stand, +which was placed on the closed top lid of the instrument, playing +softly, or silently studying the work in front of him. I have never felt +that I was disturbing him when I called. It is true that I only went +occasionally, and when provided with a legitimate excuse. Still, I do +not altogether understand how he acquired such a reputation for +incivility. He was, in his own way, of a sociable disposition. + +One day when I was with him, some terrible pianoforte strumming was +going on in the flat above him. I commented on the strange constitution +of people who could deliberately plant themselves in his immediate +neighbourhood--for he had occupied the same rooms for years--and then +worry him with such noise. He said there was sometimes bad singing and +violin-playing, both of which he found even harder to bear than the +piano, but added: 'They have their rights, and I know how to help +myself;' and he held out his hands in keyboard position, to indicate +that when too much disturbed to do anything else, he shut out the sounds +and employed his time by playing. + +Brahms generally went out at about a quarter to twelve at latest, and +would arrive before one o'clock at his favourite restaurant, Zum Rothen +Igel. After his early dinner he walked, finding his way to a café in +another part of the town, where he would read the papers over a cup of +black coffee. After this was his best time for paying visits, and about +six o'clock he often returned to his rooms to write letters or do other +work. Later on he would go out again to fulfil his evening engagements. +Sometimes it happened that he did not go home, after leaving in the +morning, until after supper. These details I learnt incidentally in the +course of my stay in Vienna. + +Brahms made a great point of being polite to ladies on the question of +smoking, and was very particular in asking permission before lighting +his cigar. Of course, if I found him alone, he never smoked. One day, +however, when I had been with him only a very few minutes, the door-bell +rang, and two gentlemen appeared, one a friend of Brahms', the other a +youth whom he had brought to introduce to the master. Brahms wished me +to remain, and I therefore kept my seat. Very soon he produced his box +of cigars, according to Continental custom, and handed it to his +visitors, saying, however: 'But I do it unwillingly, as a lady is +present.' The elder of the two gentlemen put his cigar into his +breast-pocket, the younger lighted his and vigorously puffed away alone, +from sheer confusion, I think, at finding himself in the presence of the +master. Brahms returned to his seat without taking one. 'But won't you +smoke, Herr Brahms?' I said, after a few seconds. 'If you allow it,' he +answered, making as much as possible of the few words, and taking a +cigar. + +Though Brahms was not, during the latter part of his life, a frequenter +of concert-rooms, he nearly always attended the concerts of the +Philharmonic Society and of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, +sitting, usually, in the 'artists' box' in the gallery. In the intervals +between the pieces he would lean forward, both arms on the front, with +his opera-glasses to his eyes, spying out his acquaintances in different +parts of the hall. + +When I called to say good-bye to him at the close of my first visit to +Vienna, I happened to mention that I had made a small collection of +works written for the keyed instruments of the seventeenth and +eighteenth centuries, and had picked up one or two rather valuable first +editions. He was greatly interested, and saying, 'We have done the same +thing,' took down from the bookcase one or two of his own old +music-books to show me. I especially remember an original edition of +Scarlatti's Sonatas, in first-rate preservation, but without the +title-page, of which he was particularly fond and proud. He asked if I +would bring one or two of mine to show him on my next visit, and I told +him that I happened to have one with me--an original Rameau--and that if +he had not got a copy I would send it him at once. + +'No,' he answered; 'it is too late now--you are going away +to-morrow--but next year when you come again.' 'But I mean,' I rejoined, +'that I will give it you.' Brahms did not immediately answer, and I +added: 'Would you rather not? If so, I will not do it.' 'No, I would +_not_ "rather not," but you must not immediately give your things away,' +he replied. 'Then I will do it,' I declared, delighted that I possessed +something he would like to have, and to accept from me. Later in the day +I sent him the book, with a few lines telling him how much pleasure it +would give me if I might leave it with him as a remembrance. Early the +next morning I left Vienna. I was not to arrive in London for another +week, having engagements _en route_, and this Brahms knew. On the +evening of my return home, as soon as my mother's first greetings were +over, she said: 'There is a letter for you from Brahms; it arrived this +morning.' 'From Brahms! How do you know?' I answered. 'From his having +written his name on the outside,' she returned, handing me the precious +missive. + +On the outside of the envelope, above the adhesive, he had written 'J. +Brahms, Vienna, Austria,' and, opening the envelope, I read as follows: + + 'VERY ESTEEMED AND DEAR FRÄULEIN, + + 'It was too late the other evening for me to be able to do as I + wished, and come and express my thanks to you in person. + + 'Let me, therefore, send them very heartily after you, for your so + kind and valuable gift. + + 'It was indeed much too kind of you to part with the pretty + treasure in order to give me pleasure, and it shall still be at + your disposal next year! + + 'In the hope of seeing you here again next year, and of being able + to repeat my hearty thanks, + + 'Yours very sincerely, + 'J. BRAHMS.'[2] + +On my first visit to Brahms in the following winter, he led the way to +his bookcase and showed me the Rameau, saying: 'I shall die in ten +years, and you will get it back again.' I told him that should I outlive +him I should prefer not to have it back, but to let it go with his +collection, and thus the matter remained. + +The success of my first visit to Vienna induced me to pay several +subsequent ones, the last of which took place rather more than a year +before Brahms' death. A minute account of each would be wearisome, and I +will only allude, therefore, to the opportunity that I had, in the +course of two separate winters, of hearing the concerts of the Joachim +Quartet in Vienna, and of seeing Brahms as one of the audience. On one +of these enchanting evenings the Clarinet Quintet was given, with +Mühlfeld as clarinettist. Brahms had his seat downstairs, at the end of +the room reserved for resident and other musicians, and separated from +the general audience by the performers' platform. My place was only two +or three away from his, and so situated that I could see him all the +time the work was being played. His face wore an unconscious smile, and +his expression was one of absorbed felicity from beginning to end of the +performance. When the last movement was finished, he was not to be +persuaded to come forward and take his part in acknowledging the +deafening clamour of applause, but, as it were, disclaimed all right in +it himself by vigorously applauding the executants. At the last moment, +however, as the noise was beginning to subside, up he got, and stepping +on to the platform, in his loose, short, shabby morning-coat, made his +bow to the audience. Another item in the programme was the Clarinet +Trio, played by himself, Mühlfeld, and Hausmann. Joachim, sitting on the +right-hand side of the piano, turned over for him. I changed my seat +during the performance of this work, taking the place that Brahms had +vacated, which was close to the piano and gave me a full view of the +keyboard. In spite of my several experiences of the master's tenacious +memory for small things, I confess that I felt a thrill of surprise at +the end of the first movement, and again at the end of the second, when +he turned his head suddenly round and glanced straight at me in the very +same quick, searching way to which I had been accustomed in the old +Lichtenthal days, as though to satisfy himself as to whether or not I +had understood. + + + ISCHL. + +I spent several weeks at Ischl during the summers of 1894 and 1895, and +was much interested in observing the life of my old friend in +surroundings that were new to me. His habits, during these closing years +of his life, were in all essential respects the same as when I had first +known him in Baden-Baden. Rising soon after four o'clock, his days were +passed in the same simple, natural routine of walking, studying, and +composing, in the enjoyment of the society of his friends and of the +cordial relations which he maintained with the people of the country, +between whom and himself a perfect understanding existed. + +His love of children has often been recorded. I have seen him sitting +reading on the bench of the little garden of his lodgings, apparently +quite undisturbed by his landlady's boys, who romped round and about +him, jumping on and off the bench, playing hide-and-seek behind his +back, and the like. Now and then he would interrupt his studies to +caress a couple of kittens that were taking part in the frolics. + +'I know this man,' said a droll, tiny boy of about five or six, in a +funny red suit, who, taking a stroll along the promenade one afternoon +with some companions, came upon Brahms sitting under the trees before +Walter's coffee-house, the centre of a large group of musicians and +friends. The great composer was quite ready to acknowledge the +acquaintanceship, and called his small friend to his table to receive a +spoonful of half-melted sugar from his coffee-cup. + +'My Katie knows Brahms,' said a village dressmaker to me, alluding to +her pretty little fair-haired daughter of eight. 'We have met him out +walking very early in the morning, but Katie was frightened the other +day and cried because he ran round her and pretended he wanted her piece +of bread.' + +'The Herr Doctor has already seen him,' a young peasant mother observed +to me as she showed me her three-months-old son, 'and says he is a +strapping boy.' + +One morning when I called on Brahms to say good-bye, I found him in the +midst of preparations for his own departure. An open portmanteau, in +process of being packed, was in the sitting-room, and there was a litter +of small things about. Brahms invited me to take a seat on the sofa. A +book which he had been reading lay open, face downwards. I ventured, +with an apologetic glance at him, to take it up and look at it. This he +did not at all mind. He had been amusing himself with an essay on +Bismarck. After we had chatted a little while, as I rose to say +farewell, my eye was caught by a table on which were a number of cheap +German playthings--small boxes of puzzles, toy knives and forks, etc., +evidently destined for parting or returning gifts to quite poor +children. + +'What is this?' I involuntarily exclaimed, taking up, before I knew +what I was doing, a toy fork of most ungainly make, broad, squat, and +almost without handle. An inquisitiveness, however, which seemed to hint +at the soft side of Brahms' nature could not be allowed. 'What does that +matter to you?' he cried. Then, instantly, as though afraid he had been +rough, he added: 'It is for small things--fruit, fish, or the like.' +Only I, having seen the clumsy toy, can quite appreciate the comicality +of the answer, which of course simply meant: 'No allusion, if you +please.' Brahms, however, had saved appearances, and without being hard +on me, had drawn a thin veil over his kind intentions to his little +friends. I held the fork another instant, and then replaced it on the +table, saying with gravity: 'I thought it was a plaything, Herr Brahms.' + +A young lady, an inhabitant of Ischl, who taught singing, and gave an +annual concert there, and who, during the season, presided over a +milliner's business on the Promenade, was a great ally of Brahms', and +never omitted to stand outside the door of her atelier as the hour +approached for him to pass to his café, in order to get a greeting from +him. The little ceremony was duly honoured by the great composer, who +was always ready with, at the least, his genial 'Good-day.' + +Fräulein L. talked of him to me in just the same way as all others did +who were content to be natural and unostentatious in their manner +towards him. He was so good-natured and bright, she remarked, and though +he loved to tease, his teasing was so kindly. He made a point of calling +on her formally once every season. Taking advantage of this ceremony, +she one day placed before him a cabinet photograph of himself, and asked +if he could do her the honour of writing his name underneath. + +'Yes, I can do that,' he answered in his cheerful tone, 'I learned that +at school. But why do you keep this ugly old face? Why not have a +handsome, curly-haired one? Ah, what have we here?'--catching sight of a +little saucer containing cigar-ash. '_You smoke!_' + +Fräulein L. laughingly assured him that neither she nor her assistant +had been guilty of the cigar. 'So much the worse!' he retorted. 'Who was +it? Is he dark or fair?' + +By such genial intercourse and harmless banter, Brahms endeared himself +to all the towns-people with whom he came in contact, and his preference +for Ischl was a source of pride and gratification to them. His +sociability had in it no suggestion of patronage; it was that of a +friend with friends, and was valued accordingly. + +A few words spoken to me by his landlady at Ischl are not without their +value, coming, as they do, from one who had the opportunity of knowing +him in small things. The occasion was as follows. My lodging was +opposite to Brahms' on the other side of the valley, but on a much +higher mountain slope. I could see his house from my balcony and +windows, but was too far away to have the least apprehension that he +could be disturbed by hearing anything of my piano. Someone suggesting +to me, however, that, with the wind in a certain direction, the sound +might possibly reach his windows, I went across one afternoon, when I +knew he would be out, to interview his landlady on the subject. She +assured me nothing had ever been heard, and added: 'You can play quite +without fear, gnädiges Fräulein; nothing is heard here--the water makes +too much noise. And even if a tone were to be heard now and then--it +could not be more--the master is not so particular: it would not disturb +him. He is not capricious: no one can say that of him.' + +That Brahms had his little prejudices and limitations, however, cannot +be denied, and these grew more pronounced as he advanced in years and +became less pliable. The mere circumstance of his having inflexibly +adhered to the particular method of life adopted by him as a young man, +by which he shut himself away as much as possible from whatever was at +all distasteful to him in ordinary social intercourse, contributed, as +time went on, to increase his sensitiveness and make him impatient of +contradiction. He became rather too prone to suspect people to whom he +did not take a fancy, of conceit and affectation; and, without knowing +it, he acquired a habit, which sometimes made conversation with him +difficult, of dissenting forcibly from trifling remarks made more with +the object of saying something than for the sake of asserting a +principle. He had his own particular code of polite manners, and was +rigorous in expecting others to adhere to it, yet he was apt, in his +latter years, to be intolerant of those whose ideas of what was due to +the amenities of life were more extended than his own, or somewhat +differed from them. + +What, however, were his prepossessions, his little sarcasms, and +occasional roughnesses, but as the tiniest flecks on the sun? We may +well be thankful, we musicians and music-lovers of this generation, to +have passed some part of our lives with Brahms in our midst--Brahms the +composer and Brahms the man. As his music may be searched through and +through in vain for a single bar that is not noble and pure, so also in +his mind dwelt no thought which was otherwise than good and true. We may +even be glad that he was not perfect, but human, the dear, great, +tenderhearted master, whose lofty message, vibrating with the pulsations +of the nature he so loved, was of such rare beauty and consolation. + +The few lines with which I conclude these slight personal reminiscences +were the last I ever received from Brahms. They were written on his card +and sent, enclosed in an envelope, when I was at Ischl. I had been +expecting him to come to see me, and he had not appeared. + + 'ESTEEMED FRÄULEIN, + + 'Prevented by many things, I venture to ask if it is not possible + for you to call on + + 'Your most sincerely + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS.'[3] + +[1] An expression of commendation peculiarly German. + +[2] 'SEHR GEEHRTES UND LIEBES FRÄULEIN, + + 'Es war neulich zu spät am Abend geworden als dass ich, wie + ich wünschte, Sie selbst noch hätte aufsuchen u. Ihnen meinen Dank + aussprechen können. + + 'So lassen Sie mich denn nachträglich diesen sehr herzlichen sagen + für Ihr so freundliches u. werthvolles Geschenk. + + 'Es war in der That gar zu liebenswürdig von Ihnen sich mir zu + gefallen von dem hübschen Schatze zu trennen u. es soll Ihnen + im nächsten Jahre auch noch zur Verfügung stehen! + + 'In der Hoffnung Sie aber im nächsten Jahre wieder hier zu sehen u. + Ihnen meinen herzlichen Dank wiederholen zu können, + + 'Ihr sehr ergebener, + 'J. BRAHMS.' + +[3] 'GEEHRTES FRÄULEIN, + + 'Mannichfach abgehalten, erlaube ich mir die Anfrage ob es + Ihnen nicht möglich ist vorzusprechen bei + + 'Ihrem ergebensten + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS.' + + + + + CHAPTER I + 1760-1845 + + The Brahms family--Johann Jakob Brahms: his youth and + marriage--Birth and childhood of Johannes--The Alster + Pavilion--Otto F. W. Cossel--Johannes' private subscription + concert. + + +Johannes Brahms came of a race belonging to Lower Saxony. This is +sufficiently indicated by the family name, which appears in extant +church records variously as Brahms, Brams, and Brahmst. The word Bram +belongs to the old Platt-Deutsch, the near kin to the Anglo-Saxon and +English languages. It is still the common name in the Baltic districts +of Germany, the Hanoverian provinces, and, with a modified vowel, in +England, for the straight-growing _Planta genista_, the yellow-flowering +broom, and is preserved in its original form in the English word +'bramble.' + +The letter _s_ at the end of a name has the same meaning in German as in +English, and just as 'Brooks' is a contraction of the words 'son of +Brook,' so 'Brahms' signifies, literally, 'son of Bram,' or 'Broom.' + +Peter Brahms, the great-grandfather of the composer, and the first of +his family of whom there is authentic record, was a child of the people. +He trekked across the mouth of the Elbe from Hanover into Holstein, and +settled down to ply his trade of joiner at Brunsbüttel, a hamlet or +small township situated in the fertile fen-country which lies along the +shore of the Baltic between the mouths of the Elbe and the Eider. This +district is remembered as the land of the Ditmarsh Peasants, who were +distinguished, some centuries ago, by their fierce and obstinate +struggles for the maintenance of their independence, but who finally +settled down about the year 1560 under the dominion of the Princes of +Holstein. They are said to have been pre-eminent amongst neighbouring +peoples, not only in courage, but in a simple untaught genius for the +arts of poetry and music. They loved to turn their various adventures +into verse, which they afterwards sang to the most expressive and +appropriate melodies of their own invention, and their war-songs and +ballads, though now forgotten, were long a cherished possession of their +children's children. The little country has in recent times proved not +unworthy of its former reputation. Niebuhr the traveller, and his son, +the celebrated historian, both belonged to Meldorf. Claus Groth, the +Low-German poet, was a native of Heide, where his grandfather and father +were millers living on their own land in patriarchal fashion. Groth has +drawn, notably in his volume 'Quickborn,' pathetically naïve pictures of +his beloved Ditmarsh; of its homely scenery, its changing cloud-effects, +its sudden bursts of storm, its simple, hard-working, honourable peasant +life; and it is a striking circumstance that he should have been in a +position to describe, as old family friends and neighbours, living +amongst the memories of his childhood, the great-grandfather, +grandfather, father, and uncle of Johannes Brahms.[4] + +Old Peter the trekker was respected as a thoroughly well-mannered, +orderly citizen. He was short and robust, and lived to a ripe old age. +He passed the closing years of his life at Heide, where he spent most of +his time sitting on a bench in front of his house, smoking a long pipe, +and was wont to startle the dreamy Claus Groth, as he passed by every +morning on his way to school, with a loud, jocular greeting. + +Johann his son, who was tall and handsome, with straight, yellow hair +and fair complexion, combined the callings of innkeeper and retail +dealer first at Wöhrden and afterwards at Heide. He married Christiana +Asmus, a daughter of the country, and who knows what strain of latent +poetic instinct, inherited from some old minstrel and patriot ancestor, +may have been transmitted, through her veins, into the sturdy Brahms +family? There is some presumption in favour of such a conjecture. + +Two sons were born of her marriage with Johann, each of whom had a +marked individuality. Peter Hinrich, the eldest, married at the age of +twenty, and settled down as his father's assistant and future successor. +Groth has described his adventure in the fields one memorable Sunday +afternoon. Accompanied by his little son, he carried a huge kite, taller +than himself, with a correspondingly long, thick string, which he +successfully started. A strong north-west wind carried it along, and, to +the delight of a crowd of small spectators, he tied to it a little cart +of his own manufacture, in which he placed his boy. The cart began to +move, drawn by the kite, slowly at first, then more quickly. Faster and +higher flew the monster, quicker and quicker rolled the wheels, the +child in the carriage, the father by its side. Then a scream, a crash! +The terrified Claus knew no more till next day, when he heard that the +little carriage had been dragged over a wall and upset, that the child +had fallen out unhurt, and the kite been found on a high post a mile or +two distant. + +This Peter Hinrich added to the vocations of his father that of +pawnbroker, and gradually acquired a large business as a dealer in +antiquities. In the end, however, his delight in his possessions gained +decided predominance over his business instincts. Becoming partially +crippled in old age, he would sit in a large arm-chair for which there +was barely space, surrounded by his beloved pots and pitchers, weapons +and armour, and point out desired objects to would-be purchasers with a +long stick. Often, however, he could not persuade himself to part with +his curiosities, and would send his customers away empty-handed, +satisfied with the mere pleasure of showing the treasures with which he +packed his house quite full. His children and grandchildren remained and +spread in the Ditmarsh, where some of them prosper to this day. + +Johann Jakob, the second son of Johann and Christiana, destined to +become the father of our composer, was his brother's junior by fourteen +years, and was born on June 1, 1806. From his early boyhood he seems to +have had no doubt as to his choice of a vocation. He could by no means +be persuaded to settle down to the routine of school-work, to be +followed in due course by the humdrum existence of a small country +innkeeper or tradesman, such as had sufficed for his father and +grandfather, and was contentedly accepted by his elder brother. He was +upright, good-natured, and possessed of a certain vein of drollery, +which made him throughout life a favourite with his associates; he was +born, also, with a quietly stubborn will. He had an overmastering love +of music--music of the kind he was accustomed to hear at neighbours' +weddings, at harvest merry-makings, in the dancing-rooms of village +inns. A musician he was resolved to be, and a musician, in spite of the +determined opposition of parents and family, he became. + +There existed, not far from his home, a representative of the old 'Stadt +Pfeifereien,' establishments descended directly from the musicians' +guilds of the Middle Ages, whose traditions lingered on in the rural +districts of Germany for some time after the original institutions had +become extinct. The 'Stadt Pfeiferei' was recognised as the official +musical establishment of its neighbourhood, and was presided over by the +town-musician, who retained certain ancient privileges. He held a +monopoly for providing the music for all open-air festivities in the +villages, hamlets, and small townships within his district, and formed +his band or bands from apprenticed pupils, who paid a trifling sum of +money, often helped with their manual labour in the work of his house +and the cultivation of his garden or farm, and, in return, lived with +him as part of his family and received musical instruction from himself +and his assistants. At the termination of their apprenticeship he +provided his scholars with indentures of character and efficiency, +according to desert, and dismissed them to follow their fortunes. +Country lads with ambition, who desired to see something of the world, +or to attain a better position than that of a peasant or journeyman, +would persuade their parents to place them in one of these +establishments. They were expected to acquire a practical knowledge of +several instruments, so as to be able to take part upon either as +occasion might demand, and the bands thus formed were available for all +local functions. Johann Jakob would readily have applied himself to +learn, from the nearest town-musician, all that that official was able +to teach him, but his father could not be brought to consent to his +exchanging the solid prospects of a settled life in the Ditmarsh for the +visionary future of an itinerant performer. The boy's inclination was, +however, unconquerable, and he settled the matter in his own fashion. He +ran away from home several times and made his own bargain with his +musical hero. Twice he was recalled and forgiven, and after the third +escapade was allowed to have his own way, and bound over to serve his +time in the usual manner. 'I cannot give such proofs of my devotion to +music,' wrote his son Johannes to Claus Groth many years afterwards. +Five years of apprenticeship were spent, the last three at the more +distant town of Weslingbüren, in the study of the violin, viola, 'cello, +flute, and horn, and, in the beginning of the year 1826, the quondam +musical apprentice obtained his indentures, which testified to his +faithfulness, desire to learn, industry, and obedience,[5] and quitted +the old home country to try his luck at Hamburg. + +It is not easy to imagine the feelings of this youth of nineteen or +twenty on his arrival, fresh from the simple life of the Ditmarsh +peasants, in the great commercial fortress-city, still the old Hamburg +of the day, with its harbour and shipping and busy river scenes; its +walls and city gates, locked at sunset; its water-ways and bridges; its +churches and exchange; its tall, gabled houses; its dim, tortuous +alleys. Refined ease and sordid revelry were well represented there; the +one might be contemplated on the pleasant, shady Jungfernstieg, the +fashionable promenade where rich merchants and fine ladies and gay +officers sat and sipped punch or coffee, wine or lemonade, served to +them by the nimble waiters of the Alster Pavilion, the high-class +refreshment-house on the lake hard by; the other, in the so-called +Hamburger Berg, the sailors' quarter, abounding in booths and shows, +small public-houses, and noisy dancing-saloons, in which scenes of +low-life gaiety were regularly enacted. Johann Jakob Brahms was destined +to appear, in the course of his career as a musician, in both +localities. He made his début in the latter. + +Thrown entirely on his own resources, with a mere pittance in his pocket +for immediate needs, he had to pick up a bare existence, as best he +could, in the courtyards and dancing-saloons of the Hamburg Wapping. He +seems to have preserved his easy imperturbability of temper throughout +his early struggles, and to have kept his eyes open for any chance +opportunity that might occur. Helped by his natural gift for making +himself a favourite, he managed, by-and-by, to get appointed as one of +the hornists of the Bürger-Militair, the body of citizen-soldiers, or +town-guard, in which, with a few exceptions, every burgher or inhabitant +between the ages of twenty and forty-five was bound to serve. Each +battalion of the force had its own band, and each band its own uniform, +the musicians of the Jäger corps, to which Johann Jakob was attached, +wearing a green coat with white embroidered collar, headgear decorated +with a white pompon, and a short weapon called a Hirschfänger. This was +a distinct rise in the fortunes of the wanderer. He won for himself a +recognised place in the world, obscure though it might be, when he +acquired the right to wear a uniform of the city of Hamburg, and in due +time he enrolled himself as one of its burghers. The document of his +citizenship has been preserved, and will be mentioned again near the +close of our narrative.[6] It cannot be said that his further +advancement was rapid. His partiality for the music he knew of is +suggestive rather of a struggling instinct than an actual talent. His +professional acquirements were slender, and of general education he had +none; but he was not without shrewdness, was upright and diligent, and +he made gradual progress. He and his colleagues used to form themselves +into small brass bands, and to play wherever they saw opportunity, +sometimes getting trifling engagements in dancing-rooms, sometimes +dependent on the goodwill of a chance audience in a beer-garden or small +house of entertainment. He did not earn much, but was no longer entirely +dependent on the very meanest exercise of his industry, and may be said +to have obtained a footing on the lowest rung of fortune's ladder. + +On June 9, 1830, a few days after completing his twenty-fourth year, +Jakob committed himself to the second great adventure of his life. He +married, choosing for his wife Johanna Henrika Christiana Nissen, who +was forty-one years of age and in very humble circumstances. She was +small and plain, and limped badly; was sickly in health, and somewhat +complaining; of a very affectionate if rather oversensitive disposition, +and had a sweet expression in her light-blue eyes that testified to the +goodness of her heart. She was an exquisite needlewoman, possessed many +good housewifely virtues which she exercised as far as her very limited +opportunities allowed, and is said to have been endowed with great +refinement of feeling and superior natural parts. One of her husband's +colleagues has described her as having faded, later on, into a 'little +withered mother who busied herself unobtrusively with her own affairs, +and was not known outside her dwelling.' + +The strangely-matched couple began their life together on the smallest +possible scale, and in February of the following year a daughter was +born to them, who was christened Elisabeth Wilhelmine Louise. The young +father's material resources seem to have remained much as they were, but +before this time his dogged perseverance had added yet another +instrument to the list of those he had already practised. He contrived +to learn the double-bass, and as his friends increased, and he became +more known, he began to get occasional engagements as double-bass +substitute in the orchestras of small theatres. Meanwhile he did not +neglect his other instruments, but performed on either as occasion +presented itself. + +On May 7, 1833, the angel of life again visited the poor little home, +and Johanna Henrika Christiana presented her husband with a son, who was +baptized on the 26th of the same month at St. Michael's Church, Hamburg. +The child, being emphatically the 'son of Johann,' was called by the +single name Johannes, after his father, mother, and paternal +grandfather, and the grandfather was one of the sponsors. + +The house in which Johannes Brahms was born still stands as it was +seventy years ago, and is now known as 60, Speckstrasse. The street +itself, which has since been changed and widened, was then Speck-lane, +and formed part of the Gänge-Viertel, the 'Lane-quarter' of the old +Hamburg. Want of space within the city walls had led to the construction +of rows of houses along a number of lanes adjacent to one another, which +had once been public thoroughfares through gardens. A neighbourhood of +very dark and narrow streets was thus formed, for the houses were tall +and gabled, and arranged to hold several families. They were generally +built of brick, loam, and wood, and were thrown up with the object of +packing as many human beings as possible into a given area. The +Lane-quarter exists no longer, but many of the old houses remain, and +some are well kept and picturesque to the eye of the passer-by. Not so +60, Speckstrasse. This house does not form part of the main street, but +stands as it did in 1833, in a small dismal court behind, which is +entered through a close passage, and was formerly called +Schlüter's-court. It would be impossible for the most imaginative +person, on arriving at this spot, to indulge in any of the picturesque +fancies supposed to be appropriate to a poet's birthplace; the house and +its surroundings testify only to the commonplace reality of a bare and +repulsive poverty. A steep wooden staircase in the centre, closed in at +night by gates, leads right and left, directly from the court, to the +various stories of the building. Each of its habitations is planned +exactly as every other, excepting that those near the top are contracted +by the sloping roof. Jakob and Johanna lived in the first-floor dwelling +to the left on facing the house. On entering it, it is difficult to +repress a shiver of bewilderment and dismay. The staircase door opens on +to a diminutive space, half kitchen, half lobby, where some cooking may +be done and a child's bed made up, and which has a second door leading +to the living-room. This communicates with the sleeping-closet, which +has its own window, but is so tiny it can scarcely be called a room. +There is nothing else, neither corner nor cupboard. Where Jakob kept his +instruments and how he managed to practise are mysteries which the +ordinary mind cannot satisfactorily penetrate, but it is probable that +his easy-going temperament helped him over these and other difficulties, +and that he was fairly content with his lot. If Johanna took life a +little more hardly, it is certain that husband and wife resembled each +other in their affection for the children, and that the strong tie of +love which bound the renowned composer of after-years to father and +mother alike, had its earliest beginning in the fondness and pride which +attended his cradle in the obscure abode in Schlüter's-court. + +[Illustration: NO. 60 SPECKSTRASSE, HAMBURG.] + +The family moved several times during the infancy of Johannes, and their +various homes are partly to be traced in back numbers of the Hamburg +address-book, which may be consulted in the library of the Johanneum. +These early changes, however, have but little interest for the reader, +and it will suffice to record that when the hero of our narrative was +four or five years old, and the proud senior by two years of a little +brother Friederich, known as Fritz, they moved into quarters less +confined than those they had yet occupied, at 38, Ulricus-strasse. Here +the anxious wife and mother was able to add a trifle to Jakob's scanty +earnings, by engaging on her own account in a tiny business for the sale +of needles, cottons, tapes, etc., which had been carried on for many +years previously at No. 91 of the same street by the 'sisters Nissen,' +and by taking as boarder an acquaintance of her husband's, who, though +not a musician, remained a life-long family friend. The intimacy +descended to the next generation, and his son, Herr Carl Bade, has many +a droll anecdote to relate of Jakob, whom he remembers with affectionate +regard. + +From such particulars as can be gathered, it is evident that the +childhood of 'Hannes' gave early promise of the striking characteristics +of his maturity, and that some of the most powerful sentiments of his +after-life are to be traced to influences acting on him from his birth. +Indications of his possession of the musical faculty were apparent at a +very tender age. He received his first actual instruction from his +father, but his sensitive organization, aided by the music of one sort +and another that he was constantly hearing, seems almost to have +anticipated this earliest teaching. In his clinging affection for his +parents the child was father to the man, and one of his constant +petitions was to be allowed to 'help.' It is easy to imagine the little +tasks he learned to perform for the mother whom he worshipped, and the +feeling of pride with which he watched his tall father on the +exercise-days of the Jäger corps may have had something to do with his +partiality for his beloved lead soldiers, the favourite toys which he +kept locked in his writing-table long after he was grown up. He was +sent, when quite a young child, to a little private school on the +Dammthorwall, close to his parents' house, where the teaching was +probably neither better nor worse than that of the very small English +day-schools of the period. Until he was nearly eight his musical +education was carried on at home, and did not include the study of the +piano. It seems to have been taken for granted that he would, in due +course, follow his father's calling, which was gradually ripening into +that of a reliable performer in the humbler orchestras of the city. It +is hardly surprising that Jakob, who knew nothing about genius, and was +not troubled by notions about art for its own sake, should have looked +forward contentedly to the career of an orchestral player for his boy. +He himself, after more than twelve laborious years, was only struggling +into a position of acceptance by musicians of this class. That Johannes +should begin life by taking his place amongst them as a fiddler or +'cellist, who might work his way to some distinction, must necessarily +have appeared to him a sufficiently ambitious object, the attainment of +which would enable his son to support himself and help the family. The +orchestral players of the Hamburg of that time carried on their work +under peculiar circumstances. They were bound together in a kind of +musical trade-union, the Hamburger Musikverein, founded in 1831, which +protected them from competition, no member being allowed to play in any +band that included an outsider. They met constantly at their 'Börse,' or +club, through which most of their engagements were made. It was open +every morning for a couple of hours for the transaction of business, and +there was a Lokal in the same building available for a chat over a glass +of beer and a smoke. The establishment was, for some time, presided over +by the father of Carl Rosa (originally Rose), who lived on the premises, +and Johann Jakob Brahms was one of the original members of the society. +His copy of the rules is still in existence, and bears, underneath his +signature the date May 1, 1831. The system of working by deputy was +extensively practised in the arrangements of the union. If a member +engaged for a certain performance happened to get a more lucrative offer +for the same day and hour, he would give notice to the 'Börse' to +furnish a substitute for the first appointment. The substitute might +repeat the process in his turn, and it sometimes happened that a single +engagement passed through several hands in succession before the date of +its fulfilment. Under these conditions music was very much a mere +business, but, on the other hand, orchestral players were expected to be +fairly good all-round musicians, capable of performing passably on +several instruments, and able to fill a gap at short notice. Many of +these men, who made the musical atmosphere with which Johannes Brahms +was familiar in his childhood, lived in the Lane-quarter, partly +because it was cheap, partly in order to be near their 'Börse,' which +was situated in the Kohlhöfen. They were, as a rule, shrewd, +hard-working, honourable members of their profession, happy in their +calling and in their mutual friendly intercourse, and striving to bring +up their children to improved circumstances. Those among them who were +not able to obtain better employment were glad to acquire experience, +and to earn something, by playing in dancing-saloons and Lokals of +various degrees of repute, hoping for a rise of fortune in days to come. + +Proofs of continual advancement in Jakob's career are to be found in +the fact that, from about the year 1837 onwards, his services were +requisitioned from time to time as substitute in the small band which +played from six till eleven, every evening throughout the year, in a +room of the Alster Pavilion, and especially in the circumstance that +he by-and-by became one of its regular members, succeeding to the +duties of double-bass player. The orchestra was composed of two +violins, viola, two flutes, and double-bass, and performed 'evening +entertainment-music,' consisting of overtures, airs, operatic +selections, and pot-pourris. The public, which was a good one, was +served with light refreshments outside, or crowded into the house to +listen, according to inclination and the season, and the musicians were +paid by contributions collected during intervals between the pieces. +Count Woronzow from St. Petersburg, who was present with his son in the +audience one fine summer evening, was so delighted with the music, and +so gratified at hearing the Russian national air played _con amore_ in +his honour, that he not only put a gold piece on the plate, but wanted +to carry off the six performers to Russia, guaranteeing that they would +make their fortunes there, and would not take a refusal till they had +had a week or two to consider the matter. + +There lived at this time at No. 7, Steindamm a young pianist of Hamburg, +Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel, who was well known to the set of men +belonging to the musicians' union, and in great and just repute with +them as a teacher of his instrument. He was a pupil of the eminent +teacher and theorist Marxsen of Altona, and had cherished dreams of fame +as a pianoforte virtuoso. Adverse circumstances, delicate health, and +want of self-confidence, may have been the causes of his failure to +realize his aspirations; but whether or not this be the case, he has +left behind him the reputation of having been a good player, an +excellent instructor, and a thoroughly high-minded man. He was devoted +to his art, and had a large number of pupils; but they were chiefly +recruited from the classes who could not afford to pay much, and it was +not in Cossel's nature to be difficult on the question of remuneration. +He was fain to content himself with the consciousness of hard work well +done as a great part of his reward. + +To Cossel came, one day in the winter of 1840-41, Jakob Brahms with the +little seven-year-old Hannes, a pale, delicate-looking child with fair +complexion, blue eyes, and a mane of flaxen hair falling to his +shoulders. He was as neat and trim as a new pin--a little +'Patent-Junge'--and wore over his home-knitted socks pretty wooden shoes +such as are seen to this day in the shops of Hamburg, an effective +protection against the wet climate of the city. Too pale and serious to +be called pretty, there was a something most attractive in his +appearance, and when his face lighted up on hearing the conclusion of +his father's business Cossel's heart was won. + +'I wish my son to become your pupil, Herr Cossel,' said Jakob, speaking +in his native Low-German tongue. 'He wants so much to learn the piano. +When he can play as well as you do, it will be enough!' + +The short interview brought about important results to Hannes, whilst +for Cossel it insured the future enduring respect of the musical world. +He soon perceived that in his new scholar he had no ordinary pupil, and +his affection went out more and more to the docile, eager, easily-taught +child. He got into the habit of keeping the little fellow after his +lesson that he might practise on his piano, and be spared some of the +fatigue entailed by constant walks between home, school, and the +somewhat distantly-situated Steindamm. Hannes, on his part, grew +passionately fond of his teacher, and the special relation in which +he stood to him was soon recognised and accepted by Cossel's other +pupils. The two were brought still closer together at the end of +about a year, for Jakob and his wife, on the impending marriage of +their boarder, moved again into smaller quarters close by--at No. 29, +Dammthorwall--whilst Cossel took over their rooms in Ulricus-strasse. +Well for Hannes that an admirable method of instruction enabled him to +get through the necessary drudgery of acquiring a good position of the +hand and free movement of the fingers at a very early age, and that he +was prepared by wise guidance easily to encounter successive steps of +his master's system, which included the practice of the best masters of +études--Czerny, Cramer, Clementi--of the great classical masters, and of +pieces of the bravura school in fashion at the time. + +In the course of the year 1843 Cossel added to the many proofs he had +already given of his affection for his pupil, an admirable instance of +generosity and sacrifice of personal considerations. It became evident +to him that, notwithstanding--or perhaps in consequence of--the rapid +progress made by Hannes, influence was being brought to bear on Jakob to +induce him to transfer the boy to the care of some other teacher, and he +at once determined that in spite of the keen pangs of disappointment any +change would cause him, his darling should, if possible, be placed under +Marxsen. Various causes may have led him to this resolution--anxiety to +protect the boy from the chance of being thrown too early on the world +as a regular bread-winner, to the detriment of the quiet course of his +development; unselfish desire that he should grow up with the prestige +of association with a man of established musical authority; above all, a +profound sense of his own responsibility in regard to the genius of +which he found himself guardian, and of the duty incumbent on him to +submit its possibilities to the direction of the widest experience and +best skill attainable. + +La Mara[7] has related, on Marxsen's authority, the steps taken for the +fulfilment of the plan, and their immediate issue. Cossel brought the +ten-year-old Johannes to Altona, with the request that his master would +examine the boy, and, if satisfied of his possession of the necessary +gifts, undertake his further musical instruction. Marxsen, however, did +not prove ready to accept this charge. After hearing Johannes play 'very +capitally' some studies from Cramer's first book, he pronounced him in +the best hands, saying nothing could be more desirable for the present +than that he should remain, as heretofore, under Cossel's guidance. + +The friends of the family, however, continued to press Jakob, pointing +out that Cossel had been too retiring in his own case, prophesying that +the history of his career would be repeated in that of Johannes if some +change were not made, and insisting that the teacher was too cautious +and pedantic in his methods with the boy, who now required to be brought +forward. The upshot of these things was that, a few months after the +interview with Marxsen, a private subscription concert was arranged 'for +the benefit of the further musical education' of Johannes, which took +place in the assembly-room of the Zum Alten Rabe, a first-class +refreshment-house, long since pulled down, that stood in its own +pleasure-garden near the Dammthor. The programme included a Mozart +quartet for pianoforte and strings, Beethoven's quintet for pianoforte +and wind, and some pianoforte solos, amongst them a bravura piece by +Herz, the execution of which, by the youthful concert-giver, seems to +have caused immense sensation in the circle of his admiring friends. +Hannes, who was the only pianist of the occasion, was assisted in the +quintet by Jakob and three of his friends, and in the quartet by +Birgfeld and Christian Otterer, two well-known musicians of Hamburg, and +Louis Goltermann of the same city, afterwards professor at Prague (not +to be confounded with the 'cellist-composer C. E. Goltermann, native of +Hanover). The concert was a great success both from an artistic and a +financial point of view, and as its result Jakob himself visited Marxsen +to prefer, in his own name and that of Cossel, a second request that the +distinguished musician would accept Johannes as a pupil. This time +Marxsen consented, saying he would receive him once a week provided that +the lessons from Cossel were continued without interruption side by side +with his own. The mandate was carried into effect, and the arrangement +worked smoothly for a time without let or hindrance; but the successful +concert had brought danger as well as advantage in its train. An +impresario, who had obtained admission on the occasion to the 'Old +Raven,' conceived the idea of taking Johannes on a tour and exhibiting +him as a prodigy, and presently made proposals to this effect to Jakob, +who, not unnaturally, was transported to the seventh heaven by the +dazzling prospects which the wily stranger presented to his imagination. +The first step to be taken, for which he prepared, probably, with some +perturbation of mind, was to break the news to Cossel. + +'Well, Cossel,' he said, finding the young musician at home, 'we are +going to make a pile of money.' + +'What?' shouted Cossel. + +'We are going to make a pile of money. A man has been who wants to +travel with the boy.' + +Poor Cossel! all his worst fears seemed about to be realized; his heart +leapt to his mouth. + +'Then you are a word-breaker!' he thundered. + +It was now Jakob's turn to look aghast, for Cossel, as described by all +who knew him personally, was no stickler for ceremony, and could show +his wrath right royally when he felt he had righteous cause for +indignation. 'You are a word-breaker!' he cried, and, adopting a sudden +idea, went on: 'You said to me, "You shall keep the boy till he knows as +much as you do." He can only learn that from Marxsen!' + +A heated argument followed, which ended in a compromise. The affair was +to be allowed to stand over for a time, and, in fact, several +succeeding months passed as quietly as heretofore. But the impresario +renewed his proposal, and the struggle recommenced. Cossel perceived the +only means of securing a permanent victory for the benefit of Hannes, +and he determined to use it, cost him what it might. It lay in his own +complete self-renunciation. He went again to Altona, and besought +Marxsen to take entire charge of the boy's musical career, only to be +once more refused. Marxsen did not yet feel convinced that the great +progress made by Johannes during the past year had been due to other +qualities than those of assiduous industry and eager wish to learn. +Cossel, however, was not to be beaten. He returned to the attack, +actually declaring to his bewildered master that the boy made such rapid +strides he felt he could teach him nothing more. The kind Marxsen at +length gave way, and consented to take the musical education of Johannes +into his own hands henceforth, and to teach him without remuneration, +saying he did so the more willingly since the parents were not able to +pay for the training they wished to secure for their child, and because +he had become fond of the little pupil for his own sake. + +'How could you let yourself be put off from such business?' said Aunt +Detmering after the impresario had been finally dismissed. She had been +partner with Johanna in the little shop of the 'sisters Nissen,' and had +married into somewhat better circumstances than Jakob's wife. 'I can't +interfere in it,' answered Johanna simply, for her boy's good was more +precious to her than silver and gold, in spite of her hard, struggling +existence. 'Min soote Hannes!' she would say, throwing her arms round +him, when he came up sometimes to give her a kiss. + +Thus was the rich, budding faculty of Johannes guided to the safe +shelter of Marxsen's fostering care, and it is not too much to say that +Cossel, by his noble action, secured the future of the genius the +significance of which he was the first to recognise. It would be idle to +speculate about the unrealities of a non-existent might-have-been, and +to contemplate a fancied picture of Brahms' career based upon +circumstances and events other than those actual to his childhood. It +is, however, certain that no mere natural musical endowment, however +splendid, can attain to its perfect growth without having been put in +the right way, and those who have entered into the heritage of Brahms' +songs and symphonies, his choral works and chamber music, may well +cherish Cossel's name in grateful remembrance. Although he will not +again occupy a prominent place in our account of Brahms' life, his +private relations with his pupil did not cease. His piano and his +sympathy were still at the service of Hannes, who was grateful for one +and the other, and who, remembering his early teacher and friend to the +end of his life with admiring affection, strove, as opportunity served +in later years, to obtain for him the more widely-known professional +position to which his qualities so justly entitled him. Cossel died in +1865 at the age of fifty-two. + +[4] 'Brahms Erinnerungen,' in _Die Gegenwart_, No. 45. + +[5] Printed verbally in Max Kalbeck's 'Johannes Brahms,' p. 4. + +[6] Vol. II., Chap. XXI. + +[7] 'Musikalische Skizzen Köpfe,' vol. iii. + + + + + CHAPTER II + 1845-1848 + + Edward Marxsen--Johannes' first instruction in theory--Herr Adolph + Giesemann--Winsen-an-der-Luhe--Lischen--Choral society of + school-teachers--'ABC' Part-song by Johannes--The Amtsvogt + Blume--First public appearance--First visit to the opera. + + +Edward Marxsen was born on July 23, 1806, at Nieustädten, a village +close to Altona, where his father combined the callings of schoolmaster +and organist. His musical talent showed itself in early childhood, and +was cultivated by his father to such good purpose that, whilst still a +lad, he became competent to take the organist's duty from time to time +when a substitute was needed. He was not, however, destined for the +musical profession, and was on the verge of manhood when he was at +length allowed to follow his unconquerable desire to apply himself with +all his energies to the serious study of art. At eighteen he became the +pupil of Johann Heinrich Clasing, a musician well qualified to bring up +his students in the traditions of the classical school in which he had +himself been trained.[8] His warm interest was soon aroused by the +enthusiasm and unremitting application of his new pupil. Marxsen allowed +nothing to interfere with the regularity of his lessons, and walked the +two miles separating Nieustädten from Hamburg and back again, on dark +winter evenings, by the light of his hand-lantern, no matter how stormy +the weather. He continued to live at home, studying, teaching, and +helping more and more frequently with the organ, till he reached the age +of twenty-four, when his father's death left him free from ties. He soon +resolved to go to Vienna, with the especial purpose of perfecting his +theoretical knowledge under Ignaz von Seyfried, a prolific composer now +chiefly remembered as editor of the theoretical works of his master, the +renowned Albrechtsberger. Seyfried received the new-comer cordially, +and, probably finding Marxsen's musicianship to be but little inferior +to his own, treated him, during his lengthened sojourn at Vienna, more +as a friend than a pupil. He did not give him formal instruction, but +admitted him to frequent musical intercourse, which was chiefly devoted +to the discussion of artistic questions and to the free interchange of +opinion, and which brought to the younger musician, amongst other +benefits, the special gain of thorough familiarity with the great forms +of Beethoven. Seyfried's society was interesting and stimulating. He had +had pianoforte lessons, as a child, from Mozart, and had been on terms +of personal acquaintance with Haydn and with Beethoven, who was his +hero. He was of a kind disposition, moreover, and the many opportunities +he was able to offer for forming friendships, for hearing music, and for +living in musical society, were placed unreservedly at the disposal of +his protégé. Marxsen at the same time pursued his study of the +pianoforte under Carl Maria von Bocklet, a pianist and musician of +eminence, and a very successful teacher, who had enjoyed the favour of +Beethoven and been the close intimate of Schubert. Bocklet was one of +the earliest to appreciate the genius of the younger master, and, with +his colleagues Schuppanzigh and Klincke, gave the first performances, +early in 1828, of Schubert's two pianoforte trios, written a few months +previously. + +Marxsen returned to Altona, after an absence of between two and three +years, with the matured confidence of the travelled musician who has +associated with the authorities of his art, his previous enthusiasm for +the works of the great Vienna masters and for the then known +instrumental works of the mighty Sebastian Bach fanned into ardent +worship. That his mind was sufficiently powerful to rise entirely above +the musical artificiality and bad taste of his time cannot be said. To +us, who belong to a generation that has been educated on the purist +principles first made widely acceptable by Mendelssohn's influence and +since popularized by the genius of a few famous executants, with Clara +Schumann, Rubinstein, and Joachim at their head, it is difficult to +realize the revolution that has taken place in the general condition of +musical art since the days when Marxsen, three years Mendelssohn's +senior, was young. Many things were then accepted and admired in Vienna, +in Berlin, in Leipzig, in London, which would now be regarded as +impossible atrocities. Marxsen was capable of setting the Kreutzer +Sonata for full orchestra, but this is hardly so surprising as that the +Leipzig authorities should have produced the arrangement at one of the +Gewandhaus concerts, or that Schumann should have mentioned it +indulgently, on whatever grounds, in the _Neue Zeitschrift für Musik_. + +Marxsen came for the first time before the public of Hamburg on November +19, 1833, at the age of twenty-seven, in a concert of his own +compositions. Such a programme was a novelty in the northern city, and +excited attention. The occasion was successful, and established the +reputation of the concert-giver as a sound and earnestly striving +musician, and from this time his position as a teacher and theorist +continuously rose. He was a man of catholic tastes and liberal culture, +and his influence over his pupils was not merely that of the instructor +of a given subject, but was touched with the power of the philosopher +who has a wide outlook on life. The central aims of his theoretical +teaching were to guide his pupils to a mastery of the principles +illustrated in the works of the great composers, and to encourage each +student to develop his own creative individuality on the firm basis thus +afforded. He produced a very large number of works, which include +examples of the most complex as well as of the simpler forms of +composition, and many of them were brought to a hearing. That few show +the attempt to appeal to a higher tribunal than the musical taste of the +day may, perhaps, be a sign that Marxsen was conscious of not being +endowed with original creative power, and did not try to go beyond his +natural limitations. He had a genial, encouraging manner which invited +his pupils' confidence, and his lively interest in all questions +concerning literature, philosophy, and art gave constant impulse to the +minds of the really gifted amongst them, which was not the least of the +benefits they derived from association with him. + +We shall not be far wrong if we fix the age of Johannes, at the time he +became entirely Marxsen's pupil, as about twelve; and from this date his +time, always well employed, must have been very fully occupied. He had +to go to Altona for his pianoforte lessons (the question of his learning +composition had not yet arisen), to practise at Cossel's or at the +business house of some pianoforte firm--for there were too many +interruptions at home--and to go regularly to school. Not to the one on +the Dammthorwall mentioned above. He now attended F. C. Hoffmann's +school in ABC-strasse, an establishment several grades higher than that +of which he had formerly been a pupil, and one of good repute in its +degree. Hoffmann was a conscientious as well as a humane man, and won +the liking and respect of his scholars. He gave them sound elementary +instruction, and even had them taught French and English. Brahms +retained some knowledge of both languages, as the present writer can +testify from her personal acquaintance with him, begun when he had +entered middle age. He could read English to some extent, though he +could not speak it, and was able to help himself out, when necessary, +with a phrase or two of French, though his accent was hopeless. He +preserved a pleasant remembrance of Hoffmann in after-life, recommended +his school on one or two suitable occasions, and sent him a present on +the celebration of his jubilee in the middle of the seventies. + +Marxsen's interest and pleasure in Johannes' progress increased every +week as he became more convinced of his exceptional capacity. 'One day I +gave him a composition of Weber's,' he says,[9] 'going carefully through +it with him. At the following lesson he played it to me so blamelessly +and so exactly as I wished that I praised him. "I have also practised it +in another way," he said, and played me the right-hand part with the +left hand.' (No doubt Weber's _moto perpetuum_, published by Brahms, +without opus number, as a left-hand study.) + +Part of Marxsen's discipline was to accustom Johannes to transpose long +pieces at sight, a practice he had probably learnt from Seyfried, who +relates as a _tour de force_ of Albrechtsberger that on some public +occasion, when he had to play on a low-pitched organ, he transposed an +entire Mass from G to G sharp at sight, and without error. Brahms, it +may be parenthetically remarked, continued to find diversion in this +pastime, and would play fugues of Bach and other works for his own +edification in various transposed keys when at the height of his +mastership. + +The boy had, almost from infancy, shown signs of the tendency to +creative activity. Widmann[10] speaks of a conversation held with Brahms +within the last decade of his life, during which the master, recalling +early memories, described the bliss experienced by him as a very young +child on making the discovery, unaided, that a melody could be +represented on paper by placing large round dots in higher or lower +positions on lines. 'I made a system for myself before I knew of the +existence of such a thing.' When a few years older, he was fond of +writing the separate parts of concerted works one under the other--of +copying them into score, in fact. Nor was he to be kept from trying his +hand at original composition. Louise Japha, an eminent pianist of +Hamburg, whose more intimate acquaintance the reader will make later on, +speaks of having heard him play a sonata of his own when he was about +eleven, at the pianoforte house of Baumgarten and Heins, where she one +day found him practising. Cossel, responsible for his advance in +playing, is said to have been anxious at his spending too much of his +time in these childish attempts; but the instinct was unconquerable, and +Marxsen no doubt discovered this when he had Johannes constantly with +him. After a time he began to teach him theory. Referring to the +commencement of the new study, he writes to La Mara: + + 'I was captivated by his keen and penetrating intellect, and yet, + when he came later on to original composition, it was at first + difficult to him, and required a good deal of encouragement from + me. Still, though his first attempts produced nothing of + consequence, I perceived in them a mind in which, as I was + convinced, an exceptional and deeply original talent lay + dormant.... I therefore spared myself neither pains nor trouble to + awaken and cultivate it, in order to prepare a future priest of + art, who should proclaim in a new idiom through his works, its + high, true, and lasting principles.' + +At what age precisely Johannes began to earn regular money by playing in +the dancing-rooms and Lokals of Hamburg cannot now be ascertained. It is +possible that he occasionally performed on the violin from early +childhood, in cases of emergency, as substitute for his father or one of +his father's colleagues, though the conjecture is not borne out by +reliable record. There is no doubt, however, that loosely repeated +anecdotes have given rise to considerable false impression on the point. +The notion which has been partially prevalent, that Jakob made +systematic use of his boy from a tender age, employing his gifts for the +family benefit, is warmly repudiated by those who have the best means of +knowing the circumstances. 'With the best will,' says Christian Otterer, +who, about twelve years Johannes' senior, has till lately led an active +professional life, and retains a bright and unclouded remembrance of old +days, 'I cannot recollect that Johannes played, as a young child, in +Lokals. I was daily with his father at the time, and must have known if +it had been the case. Jakob was a quiet and respectable man, and kept +Hannes closely to his studies, and as much as possible withdrawn from +notice.' + +'It cannot be true,' said Mrs. Cossel repeatedly, referring to such +tales; 'my husband never mentioned such a thing to me when speaking of +Johannes' childhood; and even if it had been proposed, I am sure he +would never have allowed it.' Two authentic sources of information, +however, establish the fact that from the age of about thirteen the boy +regularly fulfilled engagements of the kind. The earnings derived from +them were eagerly contributed to the general family fund. + +A glimpse of him at this period is furnished by Christian Miller,[11] +then a young musical student, who has related that he used to play for a +small payment on Sunday afternoons during the summer of 1846, at a +restaurant in Bergedorf, near Hamburg. Miller heard him there, and, +fascinated by his performance, begged to be allowed to play duets with +him. After this the two lads met frequently until Miller left Hamburg to +become a pupil of the Leipzig Conservatoire. The companionship would +seem to have been tolerated rather than actively desired by Johannes, +who rarely spoke when out walking with Miller, but was accustomed to +march along hat in hand, humming! + +The reader will not have forgotten the band of six members which had, +during the late thirties, delighted the fashionable loungers of the +Jungfernstieg, patrons of the Alster Pavilion. Its activity had been +continuous up to the year 1842, when the disastrous fire which broke out +in Hamburg during the night of May 4-5, and was not extinguished till +the morning of the 8th, destroying the churches of St. Nicholas and St. +Peter, St. Gertrude's Chapel, the Guildhall, the old Exchange, the Bank, +and over 1,200 dwelling-houses and warehouses, had interrupted the +pleasant labours of the musicians. The Alster Pavilion had miraculously +been left untouched by the flames, whilst the Alster Halle, a similar +establishment close by, had been razed to the ground; and the demolition +of the row of shops and houses on the Jungfernstieg had changed the +agreeable promenade into a scene of ruin. Little could be thought of in +the city for a time save how to meet and repair the ravages inflicted by +the calamity, which had stricken the grave citizens of Hamburg with +dismay, and made an impression of mixed bewilderment and awe upon the +sensitive soul of our little Hannes that was never completely effaced. +Gradually, however, public edifices and private houses were rebuilt, +Hamburg was restored and beautified, and long before the year 1847, at +which our story has arrived, the little orchestra had again become used +to assemble, though with a somewhat changed personnel, in the familiar +room of the Pavilion, to discourse in lively strains before the +ever-shifting guests of the establishment. Jakob retained his position +as bass player, and, from his long association with the house, had come +to be regarded as an important support to its artistic attractions. + +Amongst the most faithful patrons of the Pavilion concerts of this +period was a certain Herr Adolph Giesemann, owner of a paper-mill +and a small farm in the not very distant country townlet of +Winsen-an-der-Luhe. He was in the habit of paying frequent business +visits to Hamburg, and, being very fond of music, a performer on the +guitar, and the possessor of a good voice, liked nothing better than to +spend a leisure hour on the Jungfernstieg listening to a movement of +Haydn or Mozart. A familiar acquaintance had grown up between him and +Brahms. Giesemann willingly listened to Jakob's eager talk about the +achievements of Johannes and the promise of his younger brother Fritz. +He had a little daughter of his own at home in Winsen, and hoped she +might some day be able to take her part in the private musical doings +there--at any rate, learn to play the piano well enough to accompany his +guitar. One evening in spring Jakob approached him with a request. His +Hannes had found constant employment during the past winter in playing +the piano until well into the night in the dancing-rooms of various +Hamburg Lokals, and the something under two shillings earned by each +engagement had amounted to a valuable addition to the scanty family +means. But the late hours had told sadly upon his health. Now the work +had ceased for a time, and the little toiler could be spared from home. +Would Giesemann give him a few weeks' holiday at Winsen? The boy's +musical services would be at his command in return. He could accompany +him, play to him, and give pianoforte lessons to the little Lischen, a +year younger than himself. + +Giesemann's kind heart was instantly touched. He had no need to think +twice about his own reply, and could answer for that of his wife. +Johannes was to be made ready to accompany him back to Winsen after his +next visit to Hamburg, which would take place very soon. + +And so, in the bright springing month of May, when the buds were +bursting and the birds singing, and the gray skies of Hamburg beginning +to show a little blue, our dear Hannes took his departure from his big, +busy native city to taste for the first time the delights of a free +country life, with a kind little sister as companion. He never for a +moment felt like a visitor on his arrival, but forgot his constitutional +shyness, becoming a child of the house to be petted and brought back to +health by fresh air and good food and Frau Giesemann's motherly care. +Lischen was at school all the morning, but this was quite a good thing. +Hannes had his tasks to attend to also, and could not afford to lose +time, for Jakob had made such arrangements as were at his limited +command to ensure that his boy's general progress should not suffer by +the holiday. + +Fresh air, however, was all-important, so he had come provided with a +small dumb keyboard for the mechanical exercise of his fingers, and +every day after breakfast, after he had got through such practice as had +to be done in the house, Frau Giesemann used to turn him into the fields +with a bag slung over his shoulder, containing his books and lunch, the +clavier under his arm, the notebook, without which he never stirred +anywhere, peeping from his pocket, and orders not to show himself again +till dinner-time. Johannes had already been enjoying himself out of +doors long before this hour. He used to rise at four o'clock, and begin +his day by bathing in the river. Joined not long afterwards by Lischen, +the two would spend a couple of delightful hours rambling about, +discovering birds' nests and picking flowers. Johannes was quite a +simple child in spite of his fourteen years and hard experience, and +revelled in the happy days passed amidst sunshine, wild blossoms, and +fragrant air. He was very pale and thin, and had little strength on his +arrival, but soon gained flesh and colour, to which the glass of fresh +milk put by for him every day no doubt contributed. The animals about +the place--the cows and pigs, the big dog, the doe--gave him great +delight, and he was charmed when the crane spread its wings and flew +high overhead as he and Lischen approached it, clapping their hands. He +liked to join in the games with which the children of Winsen amused +themselves by the river-side on cool summer evenings, but could not be +persuaded to take part in the boys' rough sport, and would only play +with the girls. The lads, of course, despised him for this, telling him +he was no better than a girl himself; but he did not seem to mind, and +continued quietly to follow his inclination. One evening, however, soon +after his arrival, before he had picked up much strength, as he was +returning with several children from wading in the river, Lischen well +on in front, one or two rough boys set on him, emptied his pockets, and +robbed him of all his possessions, even of the precious pocket-book. He +could not help crying at this, but Lischen, seeing him standing on the +bank rubbing his knuckles into his eyes, soon found out what was the +matter, and, dashing back into the water, forced the molesters to +restore everything to her. To the pocket-book Johannes confided his +inspirations on every subject. Sometimes it was a melody, sometimes a +line or two of verse, that occurred to him. Then, whether he were +walking, or climbing trees, or practising, or doing his lessons, out +came the book that the idea might be fixed on the spot. + +It was not long before his musical talents awakened the admiration of +the neighbourhood. There was a pleasantly situated Lokal at Hoopte, a +village about two miles from Winsen, which contained a large apartment +suitable for dancing and music. This and one or two adjoining rooms were +annually taken by the Giesemann circle for the Sunday afternoons of the +summer season, and after morning church and mid-day dinner as many of +the subscribers as felt inclined would meet there to pass a few sociable +hours. Johannes soon became the central figure of these occasions. It +was found that he could play, not only the most inspiriting music for +the dancers, but a variety of solos also, including some lovely waltzes +to which it was delightful to listen quietly; and on being asked, one +day, to conduct the men's choral society that was to contribute to the +afternoon's programme, he showed himself so astonishingly competent for +the rôle he consented to assume, and inspired such confidence and +sympathy, as he stood before his forces in short jacket and large white +turn-down collar, his fair girlish face, with its regular features and +shock of long, light hair, adding to the impression made by his +childlike manner, that he was unanimously elected conductor of the +society for so long as he should remain at Winsen; a period which was, +as now decided, to be prolonged until he should be recalled to the +recommencement of his autumn duties. + +The men's choral society of Winsen consisted of about twelve members, +the majority of whom were school-teachers of the neighbouring villages. +The teachers Backhaus of Winsen, Albers of Handorf, Schröder of Hoopte, +belonged to it; other prominent members were the goldsmith Meyer and the +big master-baker Rieckmann, who had a splendid bass voice. The practices +were held on Saturdays from six to eight o'clock, generally in Rector +Köhler's schoolroom, because it contained a piano, but when this was not +available, in the billiard-room of the Deutsches Haus, Winsen's best +Lokal. The singers used to stand round the billiard-table, and Johannes +would take his place at the top. Lischen was privileged to attend all +meetings of the society during the period that her friend officiated as +its conductor. + +The boy found a most valuable ally in teacher Schröder, who had great +talent and love for music, had worked hard at thorough-bass and +counterpoint, and been a composer since his fourteenth year. When +Johannes came upon a knotty point in his theoretical studies that +required discussion, he would walk over to Hoopte and consult Schröder, +who was always ready with sympathy and counsel. He had not returned late +one evening from an expedition of the kind, and Giesemann, becoming +uneasy, was about to start in search of his young guest, when up drove +Mr. Carriage-overseer Löwe from Pattenzen, a few miles away. 'Here is +your Johannes,' he cried as the boy jumped from the gig; he went out by +the wrong gate this morning and missed his way. I found him asleep by +the side of a ditch some distance out on the Lüneburg Heath, the clavier +by his side and the notebook fallen from his pocket; lucky they had not +all rolled in together!' + +The theoretical exercises and the little compositions for voices on +which Marxsen encouraged his pupil to try his hand were regularly +carried to Altona, for, with Marxsen's concurrence and the advice of the +schoolmaster Hoffmann, it had been arranged that Johannes should go +every week by steamboat to Hamburg and remain there two nights, which +allowed him a clear day for his music-lessons and for general private +instruction. Now and then Lischen was invited to accompany him, and to +share sister Elise's tiny chamber in the Brahms' little dwelling on the +Dammthorwall. The journeys were easily managed, for 'Uncle' Adolph +Giesemann's brother, manager of the restaurant at the Winsen +railway-station, was also contractor for the refreshment department of +the steamboat service to and from Hamburg, and nothing could be simpler +than for one or both of the children to go and return as his friends. +Frau Giesemann used to see that they started with a liberal supply of +'belegtes Brödchen,' a crusty roll cut through, buttered, and put +together again, with slices of cold meat, sausage, cheese, or what not, +between the two halves. Their friend the restaurateur provided each of +them, at the proper time, with a large mug of thin coffee, and Lischen +and Hannes, sitting together in the bottom of the boat, thoroughly +enjoyed these picnic dinners. + +Johannes always began the day after his arrival at Hamburg by exercising +his fingers on the upright piano that stood against the parlour wall, on +the music-desk of which a book invariably stood open, into which he +poked his head--for he was very near-sighted--reading as he worked. +Lischen saw little of him afterwards, for his time was occupied by his +various lessons, but she did not mind this. She soon became very fond of +his dear, kind old mother, and liked to watch her at her duties, +sometimes able to help her by fetching water from the pump at the bottom +of the steps outside the house, a task which Johanna's lameness +prevented her from performing herself. Lischen much admired the portrait +of Frau Brahms that hung above the piano, and thought, as she looked at +the youthful figure arrayed in a pink dress made Empire fashion, with +flowing skirt, short waist, and low neck, the hair dressed with little +curls in front and a high comb behind, that Hannes' mother must have +been very pretty in her youth. The parlour was rather bare, containing +little beyond the piano, table, chairs, a few shelves filled with books, +and one or two small prints; but Lischen did not think this mattered, as +everything was so neat and shining. She felt sorry, however, that it was +so dark, and that its one small window had no other prospect than a +close, dreary courtyard--for Johanna still had her little shop in +front--and proposed to Hannes that they should bring some +scarlet-runners from Winsen, which could be planted in the courtyard and +trained up sticks. There would soon be something bright in front of the +parlour window. Johannes greatly approved of the plan, which worked well +up to the planting of the beans and the placing of some immensely high +sticks in readiness for the training. After this stage it disappointed +expectations, as the plants failed to do their part and firmly abstained +from growing. + +It would have been impossible for Johannes to pass with entire enjoyment +through the months of his visit to Winsen if he had been without the +means of gratifying a taste hardly less strong in him than his passion +for music. From the very early age at which he was first able to read, +he had been devoted to books, and, whilst showing the child's natural +preference for the romantic and wonderful, had displayed strange +discrimination in the choice of his favourite tales. He had always +contrived by some means or other to provide himself with reading +material, preferring books for his little birthday and Christmas gifts, +buying them from time to time from pedlars' wheelbarrows with his +collection of halfpennies, or begging the loan of a volume from a +friend. Brahms' exceptional knowledge of the Bible grew from the time +when, as a young child, he was accustomed to eat his dinner with the +book lying open beside his plate, absorbed in the Old Testament stories +which were then his prime favourites, misty speculations forming in his +brain which laid the foundation of his future attitude towards many of +life's problems. He had not been long at Winsen before he had exhausted +the mental nourishment afforded by Uncle Giesemann's collection of +volumes. Fortunately, another resource was at hand. There was a lending +library in the neighbourhood belonging to a certain Frau Löwenherz, a +Jewess, who had a son called Aaron. With Aaron the two children made +friends, and of him, in the absence of sufficient funds to pay the full +price of a constant supply of literature, they sought counsel. He proved +an able adviser, and, whilst promising to obtain for them access to the +coveted books, showed that he was not wanting in the capacity of turning +opportunity to profit on his own account. He promised that he would, on +his private responsibility, bring one volume at a time for the perusal +of Hannes and Lischen, to be put back when done with and replaced by +another; the price demanded and agreed to for this secret service being +one groschen (about a penny) for each supply. + +By this expedient Hannes and Lischen--the latter having probably been +the active partner in striking the bargain, for Johannes had few spare +pennies--found themselves provided with as many books as they could +desire. Their best time for reading was when they sat together by the +river-bank, or fished in the pond during the afternoon. Forgetting their +rods, they used to pore silently over the open book supported between +them, devouring one tale after another of knights and tournaments, +outlaws and bandits. Aaron received very particular instruction as to +the kind of selections he was to make, and took pains to suit the taste +of his patrons. He appeared one afternoon with a volume containing the +history of 'The Beautiful Magelone and the Knight Peter with the Silver +Keys.' That was a red-letter day in the history of the young subscribers +to the lending library which neither Hannes nor Lischen ever forgot. The +romance made an indelible impression on both of them. As for bandits, +what better could Johannes desire than a work bearing the stimulating +title of 'The Robbers,' which Aaron offered another day, insisting with +justifiable pride on the success of his researches? The book was written +by one Schiller, and proved so satisfactory that Hannes begged Aaron to +be on the look-out for other volumes bearing this name on the +title-page. + +It might be expected that the young conductor of the Winsen Choral +Society and the pupil of the distinguished musician of Altona would turn +his studies to account by writing something for the use of his choir, +and so it was. Johannes composed an 'ABC' four-part song for his +school-teachers, consisting of thirty-two bars in two-four time, +preceded by three bars of introduction and followed by a kind of +signature. The introduction and first three of the four eight-bar +phrases had for their text the letters of the alphabet arranged, first +in order, and then in syllables of two letters as in a first spelling +lesson; the fourth phrase was set to a few words introduced at random. +The composition closed with the words 'Winsen, eighteen hundred seven +and forty,' sung in full chorus, _lento_ and _fortissimo_, on the +reiterated tonic chord. The little composition, tuneful and spirited, +showing a feeling for independent part-writing, and conceived in a vein +of boyish fun that was fully appreciated by the teachers, was soon +succeeded by a second, 'The Postilion's Morning Song,' composed to the +well-known words 'Vivat! und in's Horn ich stosse.' The young musician +was also requested by a deputation from the school-children of Winsen to +assist them in the performance of a serenade with which they were +desirous of greeting their Rector Köhler on his birthday. He accordingly +looked out one suitable to the occasion, arranged it in two parts, +practised the boys and girls until they were perfect with it, and +conducted the performance outside the Rector's house on the eve of the +birthday celebration. He was very strict and serious when engaged in +these professional duties, beat time with great verve, and insisted on +careful observance of the _pianos_ and _fortes_, as well as on the +proper graduation of the _rallentandos_. The singing of the Ständchen +was declared brilliantly successful by the quite considerable audience +that assembled near the Rector's house to enjoy it. + +Rumours of the increased musical activity of Winsen could not fail to +reach the ears of the Amtsvogt, Herr Blume, an official of good social +standing residing there, whose duties, as administrator of some of the +rural districts of northern Hanover, brought him into touch with the +life of such parts of the country as were included in his circuit. Herr +Blume was not far short of seventy when Johannes paid his first visit to +the Giesemanns, but his interest in music and love for Beethoven's art +were as strong as ever, and Johannes, before leaving Winsen, was invited +to his house, and pressed to use his piano for practice. The boy +delighted the Amtsvogt by playing with him some four-hand pianoforte +arrangements of Beethoven's works, and won the heart of Frau Blume, in +spite of his shy, awkward manner, by his simple, childlike nature. If, +as was hoped, he should be able to repeat his visit to Uncle Giesemann +next year, he was to come often to the Blumes' house, and use the piano +as long as he liked. Great regret was felt throughout the circle of +Winsen friends at the news of the young musician's impending departure, +but the arrival of autumn brought with it the necessity for the +resumption of duties in Hamburg, and nothing remained save to hope for a +renewal of the pleasures his long visit had brought to many beside +himself. + +Johannes returned to his home in such a satisfactory condition of health +and spirits that he was able, with Marxsen's approval, to take a decided +step forward in his career. He played in the Apollo Concert-room on +November 20, at a benefit concert given by Birgfeld, already known to +our readers as the violinist of the subscription concert at the 'Old +Raven,' performing Thalberg's Fantasia on airs from 'Norma.' Marxsen's +affection for his pupil and appreciation of his gifts are clearly to be +read in the summary of concerts which appeared a week later in the +_Freischütz_, a widely-read Hamburg paper to which he was one of the +chief contributors: + + 'Birgfeld's concert is said to have been interesting and enjoyable + as regards both the vocal and instrumental portions of the + programme. A very special impression was made by the performance of + one of Thalberg's fantasias by a little virtuoso called J. Brahms, + who not only showed great facility, precision, clearness, power, + and certainty, but occasioned general surprise and obtained + unanimous applause by the intelligence of his interpretation.' + +On the 27th of the same month, Johannes appeared in the small room of +the Tonhalle at a concert of the pianist Frau Meyer-David, whom he +assisted in the performance of a duet for two pianofortes, also by +Thalberg, whose fame was at this time at its height. Marxsen's influence +is again apparent in the special mention of Johannes in the Freischütz +review, though it is evident, from the misspelling of the name, that he +was not the writer of the notice: + + 'The duet performed by the concert-giver and the young pianist + Bruns, who lately appeared for the first time in public with such + marked success, gave satisfaction, and was played with laudable + unity and facility.' + +With the exception of a mere record of the same performance in the +_Hamburger Nachrichten_, no further mention of Johannes is to be found +in the newspapers of the winter 1847-48. It was passed by the young +musician in much the same routine of severe study by day and fatiguing +labour by night as the previous one had witnessed. He was, however, +spared in the spring for another visit to the Giesemanns' house, to +which he returned as to a second home. The members of the choral society +were delighted to welcome their conductor, who, in the course of the +season, added to their répertoire by arranging two folk-songs for use at +the practices. These must be accepted as the earliest recorded +illustrations of the partiality for national songs and melodies which +remained one of the great composer's most characteristic traits, and +which culminated, less than three years before his death, in the +publication, in seven books, of his well-known collection of German +Volkslieder. + +Johannes was frequently at the Blumes' this year, and often played duets +with the Amtsvogt. Lischen's pianoforte lessons were not resumed, as +they had not been attended by any great result. It was difficult to +confine her to the house to practise on bright summer afternoons, when +she longed to be enjoying herself out of doors. She never entirely +forgot what Johannes had taught her on his first visit, however, and +continued to be very fond of music. It was hoped that by-and-by it might +be possible to have her voice thoroughly trained. Johannes felt sure it +would develop into a fine one. + +Meanwhile she succeeded in procuring for her companion the greatest +pleasure he had as yet experienced. He wanted very much to hear an +opera, and Lischen thought she would like it, too, so one day, when they +were going together to Hamburg, she persuaded her father to stand treat +for two places in the gallery. It was to be a great night. Formes, then +of Vienna, had been secured for a few weeks by the managers of the Stadt +Theater (the opera-house of Hamburg), and was making a great sensation. +Lischen and Hannes were to hear him in 'Figaro's Hochzeit,' the +title-rôle of which was one of his great parts. They started early from +the house on the Dammthorwall, supplied by Frau Brahms with some +buttered rolls, and waited for two hours in the street before the door +opened, which was part of the pleasure. They got capital places, and +enjoyed sitting in the gallery before the performance, looking at the +house and seeing the people come in. But when the music began Johannes +was almost beside himself with excitement, and Lischen has never to this +day forgotten his joy. 'Lischen, Lischen, listen to the music! there +never was anything like it!' Uncle Adolph was made so happy when he +heard all about the evening and perceived the delight he had given, that +he said the visit to the opera must be repeated, and accordingly the +pair of friends went a little later on, to hear Kreutzer's 'Das +Nachtlager von Granada,' which both of them enjoyed very, very much. + +Johannes was not able to stay so long at Winsen this year as last, and +still greater sadness was felt as the day drew near on which his visit +would terminate, as it was the last of the kind he would pay. It was his +confirmation year. He was past fifteen now, his general school education +was finished, and he was to take his position in the world as a musician +who had his way to make and would be expected to contribute regularly to +the support of his family and the education of his brother Fritz, +destined for a pianist and teacher. He copied out the four-part songs, +dedicated to the Winsen Choral Society, beautifully, as a parting +present to Lischen, putting headings to each in splendid caligraphy, and +adding her name with a special inscription. Lischen treasured the +manuscripts long after she had become a wife and mother, in memory of a +happy episode of her youth. + +There was a solemn farewell ceremony at the last meeting of the choral +society, which took place at the Deutsches Haus. After the conclusion of +the practice, the conductor addressed his singers in a poem written by +himself for the occasion, which began with the line: 'Lebt wohl, lebt +wohl, ihr Freunde schlicht und bieder' (Farewell, farewell, ye friends +upright and simple). An instant's sorrowful silence followed; then +there was a tremendous stamping and clapping and shouting, and the big +master-baker Rieckmann, calling out, 'Here, young one!' hoisted Johannes +over his shoulder pickapack, and marched several times round the table, +followed by Lischen and the other members of the society singing a last +chorus. + +It was the concluding scene of Johannes' childhood, which had been +unusually protracted, in spite of its drawbacks; but, as everybody said, +he was to come often again to Winsen, and whenever he should be able to +take a short relaxation from the serious duties of life awaiting him, he +would know where to find a number of friends ready to greet his arrival +amongst them with heartiest welcome. + +[8] Clasing was a pupil of C. F. G. Schwenke, who succeeded C. P. +Emanuel Bach as cantor and music-director of St. Catharine's Church, +Hamburg. On the death of Emanuel Bach in 1788, a portion of his library +came into Schwenke's possession, including the score, in Sebastian +Bach's own handwriting, of the great B minor Mass. + +[9] La Mara, 'Studien Köpfe.' + +[10] 'Brahms in Erinnerung.' + +[11] Steiner's 'Johannes Brahms'. Neujahr'sblatt der Allg. +Musikgesellschaft in Zürich, 1898. + + + + + CHAPTER III + 1848-1853 + + Johannes' first public concert--Years of struggle--Hamburg + Lokals--Louise Japha--Edward Reményi--Sonata in F sharp + minor--First concert-tour as Reményi's accompanist--Concerts at + Winsen, Celle, Lüneburg, and Hildesheim--Musical parties in + 1853--Leipzig and Weimar--Robert Schumann--Joseph Joachim. + + +It was on September 21 that Johannes made his fresh start in life by +giving a concert of his own, thus presenting himself to his circle as a +musician who was now to stand on an independent footing. It took place +in the familiar room of the 'Old Raven,' 'Herr Honnef's Hall,' with the +assistance of Marxsen's friends, Madame and Fräulein Cornet, and some +instrumentalists of Hamburg. The price of tickets was one mark (about a +shilling), and the programme, as printed in the _Hamburger Nachrichten_ +of the 20th, was as follows: + + FIRST PART. + + 1. Adagio and rondo from Rosenhain's Concerto in A major for Piano, + performed by the concert-giver. + + 2. Duet from Mozart's 'Figaro,' sung by Mad. and Fräul. Cornet. + + 3. Variations for Violin, by Artôt, performed by Herr Risch. + + 4. 'Das Schwabenmädchen,' Lied, sung by Mad. Cornet. + + 5. Fantasia on Themes from Rossini's 'Tell,' for Piano, by Döhler, + performed by the concert-giver. + + SECOND PART. + + 6. Introduction and Variations for Clarinet, by Herzog, performed + by Herr Glade. + + 7. Aria from Mozart's 'Figaro,' sung by Frl. Cornet. + + 8. Fantasia for Violoncello, composed and performed by Herr + d'Arien. + + 9. _a_) 'Der Tanz' } Lieder, sung by Mad. + _b_) 'Der Fischer auf dem Meer' } Cornet. + + 10. _a_) Fugue by Sebastian Bach + _b_) Serenade for left hand only, by E. Marxsen + _c_) Étude by Herz, performed by the concert-giver. + +Unattractive as it now seems, this selection of pieces was no doubt made +with a view to the taste of the day, and the inclusion of a single Bach +fugue was probably a rather daring concession to that of the +concert-giver and his teacher. The two vocal numbers from 'Figaro' may +be accepted as echoes of the boy's delight on the evening of his recent +first visit to the opera. No record remains of the result of the +concert, but its success may fairly be inferred from the fact that it +was followed, in the spring of 1849, by a second, for which the price of +the tickets was increased to two marks. This was announced twice in the +_Nachrichten_ as follows: + + 'The undersigned will have the honour of giving a musical soirée on + April 14 in the concert-room of the Jenisch'schen Haus (Katharine + Street, 17), for which he ventures herewith to issue his + invitation. Several of the first resident artists have kindly + promised their assistance to the programme, which will be published + in this journal. + 'J. BRAHMS, Pianist.' + +The programme was appended to the third and last advertisement of April +10: + + FIRST PART. + + 1. Grand Sonata in C major, Op. 53, by Beethoven. (The + concert-giver.) + + 2. Romance from Donizetti's 'Liebestrank.' (Th. Wachtel.) + + 3. Schubert's 'Ave Maria,' performed on the Horn by Herr Börs. + + 4. 'O geh' nicht fort,' Lied, by E. Marxsen, sung by Frl. Cornet. + + 5. Fantasia for Piano on a favourite Waltz, composed and performed + by the concert-giver. + + SECOND PART. + + 6. Concerto for Violin, by Fr. Mollenhauer, performed by Herr Ed. + Mollenhauer. + + 7. Songs. Me. Cornet. + + 8. Fantasia on Themes from 'Don Juan,' by Thalberg, performed by + the concert-giver. + + 9. Duet, sung by Me. and Frl. Cornet. + + 10. Variations for Flute, by Fräsch, performed by Herr Koppelhöfer. + + 11. Air Italien, by C. Meyer, performed by the concert-giver. + +The performance of Beethoven's 'Waldstein' sonata, Op. 53, was regarded +long after the close of the forties, as a great technical feat, and, +taken together with the execution of the 'Don Juan' fantasia, would +represent something near the height of the pianistic virtuosity of the +time, whilst with the Fantasia on a favourite waltz the concert-giver +made his first public entrée as a composer. This work must be identified +with the variations on a favourite waltz mentioned by La Mara as having +been played at his concert by the young Brahms, of which one variation +took the form of a 'very good canon.' Marxsen's notice of the concert in +the _Freischütz_ of April 17 was the only one that appeared: + + 'In the concert given by J. Brahms, the youthful virtuoso gave most + satisfactory proofs of advancement in his artistic career. His + performance of Beethoven's sonata showed that he is already able to + devote himself successfully to the study of the classics, and + redounded in every respect to his honour. The example of his own + composition also indicated unusual talent.' + +Although the report adds that the room was so full as to oblige many +listeners to be content with seats in the ante-room, it is probable that +the young musician found concert-giving more vexatious and expensive +than useful or profitable. Though he appeared from time to time at the +benefit-concerts of other artists, and repeated his own fantasia at one +given on December 6 by Rudolph Lohfeldt, his third soirée in Hamburg, +given under conditions of which he could not at this time have dared to +dream, did not take place till after the lapse of another decade. The +four or five years immediately succeeding his formal entry into life +were, perhaps, the darkest of Brahms' career. Money had to be earned, +and the young Bach-Mozart-Beethoven enthusiast earned it by giving +wretchedly-paid lessons to pupils who lacked both talent and wish to +learn, and by his night drudgery amid the sordid surroundings of the +Hamburg dancing-saloons. + +It was an amelioration in his life and a step forward in his career, +when he was engaged by the publisher, August Cranz, as one of several +contributors to a series of popular arrangements of light music, +published under the name 'G. W. Marks.' We have read in Widmann's pages +of the spirit in which the great composer, a few years before his death, +recalled these passages of his struggling youth: + + 'He could not, he said, wish that it had been less rough and + austere. He had certainly earned his first money by arranging + marches and dances for garden orchestras, or orchestral music for + the piano, but it gave him pleasure even now, when he came across + one of these anonymously circulating pieces, to think that he had + devoted faithful labour and all the knowledge at his command, to + such hireling's work. He did not even regard as useless experience + that he had often had to accompany wretched singers or to play + dance music in Lokals, whilst he was longing for the quiet morning + hours during which he should be able to write down his own + thoughts. "The prettiest songs came to me as I blacked my boots + before daybreak."' + +And if the master could so speak and think of his early trials, must not +we, who are, perhaps, the richer through them, treasure the remembrance +of the nights of uncongenial toil through which he passed to become, +even on the threshold of life, its conqueror and true possessor? The +iron entered his soul, however, and the impression derived from his +night work remained with him till death. He was accustomed to read +steadily through the hours of his slavery. Placing a volume of history, +poetry, or romance on the music-desk before him, his thoughts were away +in a world of imagination, whilst his fingers were mechanically busy +with the tinkling keys. He did not lift his eyes to the scene before him +after his first entrance, though there were times when he felt it with +shuddering dismay. It is, however, right to repeat that, as we have +hinted in a previous chapter, this kind of industry was a more or less +recognised means by which struggling musicians of the class to which +Jakob Brahms belonged, were enabled to help their needy circumstances, +and it would not be difficult to name more than one executant afterwards +well known who fulfilled similar engagements in youth. The position of +Johannes was not in itself exceptional, though the contemplation of it +is now startling from its contrast with his tender nature, his sensitive +genius, and the great place which he ultimately won. + +An engagement of which Kalbeck speaks, to act as accompanist behind the +scenes and on the stage of the Stadt Theater, may have been less irksome +to the young musician than his other hack work, and it is possible to +believe that the experience drawn from it may have been of some +appreciable value to him in after-life, even though his artistic +development did not result in dramatic composition. Evidence is not +wanting, however, to show that he kept his thoughts steadily fixed upon +the higher practical possibilities of his profession, and that, though +his position continued very obscure, it did not remain at a standstill. +His terms to pupils increased to about a shilling a lesson, and +occasionally he was able to get more. Every now and then he obtained a +small concert-engagement, or officiated at a private party, and on one +occasion he appeared with Otto Goldschmidt, the then leading pianist of +Hamburg, who was about four years his senior, in a performance of +Thalberg's duet for two pianofortes on airs from 'Norma.' + +Conditions at home remained unfavourable for practice, and Johannes now +worked regularly at the establishment of Messrs. Baumgarten and Heinz, +where an instrument was always at his service. Here, one day, he met +Fräulein Louise Japha, who remembered the circumstance, already recorded +in these pages, of having heard him play five or six years previously as +a child of eleven. A talk ensued, a sympathetic note was struck, and a +comradeship quickly grew up between the two young musicians. Louise, +born in 1826, and therefore some seven years the senior of Johannes, was +possessed of high musical endowment. At the time of which we write, she +was the pupil of Fritz Wahrendorf for pianoforte, and of William Grund +for theory and composition. She achieved eminence later on, becoming +well known in Germany and a great favourite with the public of Paris. +Frau Dr. Langhans-Japha is now not far from eighty, but there is still a +peculiar charm in her playing, which is especially distinguished by +beauty of tone and phrasing. Her competent sympathy was a valuable +addition to young Brahms' pleasures in life, in the days when he knew +little of congenial artistic companionship. They met constantly to play +duets and compare notes as to their compositions, for Louise was a +song-writer of ability. Johannes used to discuss with her both his +favourite authors and his manuscripts. One day it was a long exercise in +double counterpoint that he brought to show her, another day a +pianoforte solo. On a third occasion he produced a pianoforte duet in +several movements, which he begged her to try with him, and, +acknowledging its authorship at the close of the performance, asked her +opinion of the work. This proving generally favourable, the composer, +going more into detail, took exception to one of his themes, which he +feared was rather 'ordinary'; but when Louise was half inclined to agree +with him, he cried angrily: 'Why did you not say so yourself? Why was I +obliged to ask you?' + +He was always composing, and as time went on, was ably guided by Marxsen +to the practice of the large musical forms, over which he soon acquired +conspicuous mastery, showing extraordinary facility in applying to them +the skill he had gradually attained in free contrapuntal writing, whilst +allowing to his fancy the stimulus of the classical-romantic literature +that appealed with special force to his imagination. 'It came into my +head after reading so-and-so,' he would say. The whole of his small +amount of spare cash was devoted to the purchase of second-hand volumes +from the stalls to be found in the Jews' quarter of Hamburg, and what he +bought he read. Sophocles and Cicero, Dante and Tasso, Klopstock and +Lessing, Goethe and Schiller, Eichendorff, Chamisso, Pope, Young, and +many other poets, were represented in the library collected by him +between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one.[12] His favourite romances +were those of Jean Paul and E. T. A. Hoffmann, whose influence over his +mind is easily recognisable in the published compositions of his first +period. No other work on which he might be engaged, however, prevented +him from the composition of many songs. He threw one off after another. +'I generally read a poem through very slowly,' he said to Louise, 'and +then, as a rule, the melody is there.' + +Fräulein Japha was before her time in conceiving an enthusiasm for +Schumann's art, and tried hard to win over Johannes to an appreciation +of its beauties, but he was too entirely under the influence of Marxsen, +who, in training him as a composer rightly proceeded on strictly +orthodox lines, to become a present convert. He, on his part, made +efforts to induce Louise to change her teachers and put herself under +his master. She had quite other views, however. Schumann and his wife +paid a visit to Hamburg in 1850, appearing several times in public, and +Louise resolved that if it could be made possible, she would enter on a +fresh course of study of composition and the piano under the two great +artists respectively. She only waited for a convenient opportunity to +carry out her plan. Johannes approached Schumann in another fashion, by +sending a packet of manuscripts to his hotel and begging for his +opinion. It is no wonder that the master, who was besieged on all sides +during his week's stay, found no time to look at them, and returned the +parcel unopened. + +It must not be supposed that the young Brahms was always so +companionable as we have shown him when in the society of his chosen +friends. He had his moods. Christian Miller's early experiences of his +persistent taciturnity had not been exceptional. He spent a few evenings +at the Japhas' house, but Louise's family, her sister Minna only +excepted, by no means took a fancy to her favourite. One evening, when +he was about eighteen, a gentleman of the Japha circle, who had been +interested in hearing him play the scherzo now known as Op. 4, the +earliest written of his published instrumental works, accompanied him on +the way home, and made repeated but quite hopeless efforts after +sociability. Not one word would Johannes say. Perhaps he felt subsequent +secret prickings of conscience, for he made confession to Louise, though +not in any apparently repentant spirit. 'One is not always inclined to +talk,' he said; 'often one would rather not, and then it is best to be +silent. You understand that, don't you?' 'No, you were very naughty,' +she told him, but forgave him nevertheless. She could overlook his +occasional whims. She perceived his genius, admired his candid nature, +and felt her heart warm to him when he talked to her of the old mother +to whom he was devoted, and of Marxsen, whom he revered with all the +enthusiastic loyalty of his true heart. Soon after his walk with the +Japhas' friend he had a chance opportunity of playing his scherzo to +Henry Litolff, who bestowed high praise on the composition. + +Meanwhile the friends at Winsen faithfully remembered their young +musician. Uncle Adolph and friend Schröder seldom missed going to see +him when occasion brought either of them to Hamburg, and Lischen came +over to be introduced to Madame Cornet and Marxsen. Johannes persevered +in his desire that her voice should be trained for the musical +profession, and wished her to obtain a good opinion on the subject. The +verdict of the authorities proved, however, unfavourable to the project. + +Of the general invitation to visit the Giesemanns Brahms gladly availed +himself, staying sometimes for a few days, sometimes in the summer for a +week or two, as his occupations allowed. He was never again able to +undertake the choral society, but there was always a great deal of music +at the Amtsvogt's house when he was at Winsen, as well as at the +Giesemanns' and Schröders'. Town-musician Koch was a good violinist, and +but too happy to have the chance of playing the duet sonatas of Haydn, +Mozart, and Beethoven with such a colleague, and every now and again +compositions were looked out in which Uncle Giesemann could take part +with his guitar. Pretty Sophie Koch, the younger of the town-musician's +two daughters, took great interest in these artistic doings, and it was +rumoured, as time went on, that her fondness for music was not untinged +by a personal element connected with the Giesemanns' popular guest. If +this were so, Johannes himself was probably the last person to become +observant of it. He was wholly absorbed in his profession, and several +quite independent informants have concurred in describing him to the +author as being, at this time of his life, something less than +indifferent to the society of ladies, and especially of young ones. For +his early playmate, Lischen, his affection continued unchanged, and with +her he remained on the old terms of frank and cordial friendship. + +It happened as a natural consequence of the political revolution which +took place early in the year 1848 in Germany and Austria, that, during +the year or two following its speedy termination, there was an influx +into Hamburg and its neighbourhood of refugees on their way to America. +Conspicuous among them were a number of Hungarians of various sorts and +degrees, who found such sympathetic welcome in the rich, free +merchant-city that they were in no hurry to leave it. Some of them +remained there for many months on one pretext or another, and amongst +these was the violinist Edward Reményi, a German-Hungarian Jew whose +real name was Hoffmann. + +Reményi, born in 1830, had been during three years of his boyhood a +pupil of the Vienna Conservatoire, studying under Joseph Böhm, now +remembered as the teacher of Joachim. He had real artistic endowment, +and played the works of the classical masters well, if somewhat +extravagantly; but something more than talent was displayed in his +rendering of the airs and dances of his native country, which he gave +with a fire and abandon that excited his hearers to wild enthusiasm. +Eccentric and boastful, he knew how to profit to the utmost by his +successes in Hamburg, where he created a furore. Johannes, engaged one +evening to act as accompanist at the house of a rich merchant, made his +personal acquaintance, and Reményi, quickly perceiving the advantage he +derived from having such a coadjutor, made overtures of friendship in +his swaggering, patronizing way, which were not repulsed by the young +pianist. Brahms had, in fact, been fascinated by Reményi's spirited +rendering of his national Friskas and Czardas; he was willing that the +chance acquaintance should be improved into an alliance, and, on his +next visit to the Giesemanns' house, was accompanied by his new friend. + +The violinist had connections of his own in the neighbourhood. Begas, a +Hungarian magnate, had settled down into a large villa at Dehensen, on +the Lüneburg Heath, that had been placed at his disposal for as long a +time as he should find it possible to elude or cajole the police +authorities, and kept open house for his compatriots and their friends. +To his circle Brahms was introduced, and much visiting ensued between +Dehensen and Winsen, for one or two musicians staying with Begas were +pleased to come and make music with Reményi and Johannes, and to partake +of the Giesemanns' hospitality. It was a feather in Brahms' cap, in the +eyes of many of his friends, that he had been able to capture for Winsen +such a celebrity as Reményi, though they were not all quite of one mind. +Lischen, for example, did not care for him at all, but much preferred +the tall, handsome fiddler Janovitch, with his flashing black eyes and +his velvet jacket, who wrote a splendid characteristic waltz expressly +that he might dedicate it to her. The jolly party broke up suddenly at +last, running off to take speedy ship for America, for they had heard +that the police were on their heels. Johannes, who happened to be at +Winsen when this crisis occurred, accompanied them as far as Hamburg, +where he remained to pursue his ordinary avocations. Meanwhile the +Friskas and Czardas continued to revolve in his brain. + +Time went on, the Hungarians were no longer vividly regretted, and +somewhere about the autumn of 1852, Brahms was left more lonely than +ever by the departure of Louise Japha, who found opportunity to carry +out her cherished wish to stay at Düsseldorf, where the Schumanns had +now been settled for about two years. Her sister Minna was to accompany +her, to carry on the cultivation of her own special gift under Professor +Sohn, of the Düsseldorf Academy of Art. The thought of losing his friend +caused Johannes great sorrow. 'Do not go,' he entreated; 'you are the +only person here that takes any interest in me!' His prospects do not +seem to have been improving at this time, and his best encouragement +must have been derived from his own sense of his artistic progress. This +was advancing by enormous strides, the exact measure of which is +furnished by the manuscript of the Sonata in F sharp minor now in the +possession of Hofcapellmeister Albert Dietrich. It bears the signature +'Kreisler jun.,' a pseudonym adopted by Brahms out of love for the +capellmeister Johannes Kreisler, hero of one of Hoffmann's tales, and +the date November, 1852. + +This work, which, though published later on as Op. 2, was written +earlier than the companion sonata known as Op. 1, is, in many of its +fundamental characteristics, immediately prophetic of the future master. +In it the mastery of form and skill in contrapuntal writing, the +facility in the art of thematic development, the strikingly contrasted +imaginative qualities--here subtly poetic, there large and +powerful--bring us face to face with the artist nature which united in +itself high purpose, resolute will, sure capacity, sensitive +romanticism, boundless daring. The fancy, however, has not yet +crystallized; the young musician has still to pass out of the stage of +mental ferment natural to his age before he will be able to mould his +thoughts into the concentrated shape which alone can convince the world. +The sonata, not perhaps destined ever to become widely familiar, must +always remain a treasure to the sympathetic student of Brahms' art, not +only by reason of the beauties in which it abounds, but also because it +is absolutely representative of its composer as he was at nineteen. We +may read his favourite authors in some of its movements without the need +of an interpreter, and we know, from his own communication to Dietrich, +that the melody of the second movement was inspired by the words of the +German folk-song, 'Mir ist leide, Das der Winter Beide, Wald und auch +die Haide, hat gemachet kahl.' + +It would be difficult, and is fortunately unnecessary, to trace the +exact steps of Reményi's career after his flight from Germany. For the +purpose of our narrative the facts suffice that he reappeared in Hamburg +at the close of 1852, giving a concert in the Hôtel de l'Europe, which +does not seem to have created any great sensation, and that he found +himself in the same city in the spring of 1853. Brahms, depressed by the +hopeless monotony of his daily grind, was no doubt glad enough to see +him, and, as his slack time was at hand, it was proposed, perhaps by +Reményi, perhaps by Uncle Giesemann, possibly by Johannes himself, that +the two musicians should give a concert to their friends in Winsen, who +would, no doubt, hail the prospect of such an event, and assist it to +the utmost of their power. Communications were opened, and the proposal +was not only entertained, but developed, as such ideas are apt to do. If +at Winsen, why not also at Lüneburg and Celle? Amtsvogt Blume had +influence in both towns, which he would be too happy to exert. In the +end, the project expanded into the plan of a concert-tour. Johannes and +Reményi would give performances in the three localities named, and from +Celle it would be no distance to go on to Hanover, where the +twenty-one-year-old Joachim, already a European celebrity, had a post at +Court. Reményi had known him for a short time when they had both been +boys at the Vienna Conservatoire; they would go and see him. He was +bound to welcome his compatriot and former fellow-pupil. Who could tell +what might happen? + +No doubt Brahms' heart beat fast when he left home on this his first +quest of adventure, and probably not the least ardent of his +anticipations was that of making the personal acquaintance of the +celebrated violinist whose first appearance in Hamburg at the +Philharmonic concert of March 11, 1848, with Beethoven's Concerto, +remained vividly in his remembrance as one of the few great musical +events of his own life. Before starting, he exacted a promise from his +mother that she would write to him regularly once a week--not a mere +greeting, but a real letter of several pages. It was a serious +undertaking for Johanna, who was not practised in penmanship, but she +gave her word to Hannes, and found means to keep it. The travellers took +but little luggage with them. Such as Johannes carried was made the +heavier by his packet of manuscripts, which contained his pianoforte +sonata-movements and scherzo, a sonata for pianoforte and violin, a +pianoforte trio, a string quartet, a number of songs, and possibly other +works. One programme was to suffice for the concert _tournée_, and this +the two artists had in their heads. + +The exact date of the Winsen concert is forgotten, apparently beyond +chance of recall, but the event may be fixed with certainty as having +taken place in the last week of April. Both musicians were the guests of +the Giesemanns for several days beforehand, and spent the greater part +of their mornings practising together, beginning before breakfast. They +gave a great deal of time to the Hungarian melodies, and it would seem +as though Johannes had been preparing a pianoforte accompaniment; for +they repeated the periods over and over again, Reményi becoming very +irritable during the process. The season was a warm one; they worked +energetically in their shirt-sleeves, and the violinist more than once +drew a scream of pain from his colleague, by bringing the violin bow +suddenly down on his shoulder to emphasize the capricious _tempo_ he +required. One morning Johannes, very angry, jumped up from the piano, +and declared he would no longer bear with Reményi; but the concert came +off nevertheless, and turned out a brilliant success. It took place in +the large room of the Rusteberg club-house; the entrance fee was about +eight-pence, and the profits to be divided came to rather over nine +pounds. Beethoven's C minor Sonata for pianoforte and violin headed the +programme, and was followed by violin solos; Vieuxtemps' Concerto in E +major, Ernst's 'Elégie,' and several Hungarian melodies, all accompanied +by Brahms, who, it must be remembered, was but the junior partner in the +enterprise. Only one thing was to be regretted. Schröder had been ill, +and could not come to Winsen for the concert. He managed, however, to +attend a repetition of the programme, which the two artists gave the +next day in his schoolroom at Hoopte, expressly in order that he might +get some amount of pleasure out of the great doings of the +neighbourhood. + +The next concert took place on May 2 at Celle. It had been arranged for +with the assistance of Dr. Köhler, a well-known inhabitant of the town, +probably a relation of the Rector of Winsen, and a friend of Amtsvogt +Blume, who, besides seeing through the business arrangements, had +neglected no opportunity of arousing general interest in the event. The +single public announcement appeared in the _Celles'sche Anzeigen_ of +Saturday, April 30: + + 'Next Monday evening at seven o'clock the concert of the Herren + Reményi and Brahms will take place in the Wierss'schen room. The + subscription price is 12 g.gr.[13] Tickets may also be obtained of + Herr Wierss jun. at Herr Duncker's hotel, and on the evening at the + room for 16 g.gr.' + +At Celle there was a sensation. The two artists, going, on the morning +of May 2, to try their pieces in the concert-room, were dismayed to +find that the only pianoforte of which it boasted was in such an +advanced state of old age as to be unusable for their purpose. Classical +concerts were rare events in Celle, and it had occurred to no one to +doubt the excellence of the instrument; a piano was a piano. It was +arranged that every effort should be made, during the few hours that +remained, to procure a better one, and a better one was actually +discovered and sent in just as the hour had arrived for the concert to +begin. But a fresh difficulty arose. The second instrument proved to be +nearly a semitone below pitch, and Reményi refused to make so +considerable a change in the tuning of his violin. What was to be done? +The practised and intrepid Johannes made short work of the difficulty. +If Reményi would tune his fiddle slightly up, so as to bring it to a +true semitone above the piano, he himself would transpose his part of +the Beethoven sonata a semitone higher than written, and play it in C +sharp instead of C minor. No sooner said than done. The young musician +performed the feat without turning a hair, though his colleague allowed +him no quarter, and the performance was applauded to the echo. Reményi +behaved well on this occasion. Addressing the audience, he related the +circumstances in which he and his companion had found themselves placed, +and said that all approval belonged by right to Brahms, whose +musicianship had saved the situation for everyone concerned. History +does not relate whether the young hero transposed his parts throughout +the evening, or whether the old instrument was sufficiently serviceable +for the accompaniments of the violin solos, and the question does not +appear to have suggested itself until the present time, when it cannot +be solved. Johannes himself seems to have thought but little of his +achievement. Writing presently to let Marxsen know how he was getting +on, he mentioned the incident, not as worthy of comment, but as one +amongst others. + +The day after these events Reményi and Brahms retraced their steps as +far as Lüneburg, where they were to remain for a week as the guests of +Herr Calculator Blume, son of the Amtsvogt. At his hospitable house +they were presented to the musical circle of the town, so far as it +included members of the sterner sex. At the earnest persuasion of +Brahms, no ladies were invited to the party arranged by Frau Blume in +the interests of the forthcoming concert. 'It is so much nicer without +them,' he said, and was so serious about the matter that his hostess +regretfully gave way to him. He played part of the C major Sonata, on +the composition of which he had lately been engaged, on this private +occasion, making but little impression with it. Perhaps the double +consciousness, which cannot but have been secretly present with him, of +his great artistic superiority to Reményi, and of the quite secondary +place to which he found himself relegated whenever they appeared +together, may have increased the awkward shyness which placed him at +such a disadvantage by the side of his colleague. He was incapable of +making any effort to assert himself in general society, and attracted +little notice from ordinary strangers who had no particular reason for +observing him closely. However, everyone behaved very kindly to him +throughout the journey. He was certainly a good pianist, and accompanied +Reményi delightfully. + +The concert was advertised in the _Lüneburger Anzeiger_ of May 7, the +twentieth birthday anniversary of our Johannes: + + 'The undersigned propose to give a concert on Monday evening, the + 9th inst., at 7.30, in Herr Balcke's Hall, and have the honour to + invite the attendance of the music-loving public. Amongst other + things, the concert-givers will perform Beethoven's Sonata for + Pianoforte and Violin in C minor, Op. 30, and Vieuxtemps' grand + Violin Concerto in E major. + + 'Tickets to be had,' etc. + + 'EDWARD REMÉNYI. + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS.' + +Again a great success was scored, and the next day a second concert 'by +general desire' was announced, with the same programme and special +mention of the 'Hungarian Melodies,' for Wednesday, May 11. It brought +the visit to Lüneburg to a brilliant conclusion, and the performances +were again repeated on the 12th at a second concert in Celle, advertised +in the Celle journal of the 11th. + +With the account of these five soirées, exact record of the public +concerts of the journey is exhausted. Neither advertisement nor local +recollection of any other can be traced, though Heuberger speaks, on the +authority of Brahms' personal recollection, of two given at +Hildesheim.[14] The first was very sparsely attended, and the artists, +after supping at a restaurant where they seem to have made merry with +some companions, paraded the streets with a queue of followers until +they arrived underneath the windows of a lady of position who had been +their principal patron. Reményi greeted her with some violin solos, the +assembled party followed suit with a chorus, and the ingenious +advertisement proved so successful that a second concert-venture on the +following evening drew a crowded audience. The circumstances thus +related point to the conclusion that the first concert at Hildesheim was +hastily arranged, and the explanation may be that some unexpected +introduction caused the musicians to visit the town. This would fit in +with the fact that there is no reference in any Hildesheim journal of +the date to Brahms and Reményi, and with the absence of all knowledge, +on the part of several persons still living who have personal +associations with the journey, of any other concerts than those in +Winsen, Lüneburg, and Celle, and of one other of a different kind in +Hanover, to which we shall return. + +It is necessary for the understanding of what is to follow that we +should here part company, for a time, with the travellers. Before +introducing Johannes to the great musical world which he is to enter +before long, we must glance at the party questions by which it was +agitated in the early fifties, and which had hitherto been unknown or +unheeded by our young musician in the inexperience of his secluded life. + +The musical world of Leipzig, the city raised by the leadership of +Mendelssohn to be the recognised capital of classical art, had become +split after the death of the master in November, 1847, into two +factions, both without an active head. The Schumannites, whilst +receiving no encouragement from the great composer whose art they +championed, decried Mendelssohn as a pedant and a phrase-maker, who, +having nothing particular to say, had covered his lack of meaning by +facility of workmanship. The Mendelssohnians, on the other hand, +declared Schumann to be wanting in mastery of form, and perceived in his +works a tendency to subordinate the objective, to the subjective, side +of musical art. The division soon spread beyond Leipzig throughout +Germany, and, in the course of years, to England, with the result that +Mendelssohn, once a popular idol, is now rarely represented in a concert +programme. + +Meanwhile Franz Liszt, perhaps the greatest pianoforte executant of all +times, and one of the most magnetic personalities of his own, had +exchanged his brilliant career of virtuoso for the position of conductor +of the orchestra of the Weimar court theatre, with the avowed noble +purpose of bringing to a hearing such works of genius as had little +chance of being performed elsewhere. He declared himself the advocate of +the 'New-German' school, and, making active propaganda for the creeds of +Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner, succeeded in attracting to his +standard some of the most talented of the younger generation of artists, +amongst whom Joachim, Raff, and the gifted and generous Hans von Bülow, +were some of the first converts. There were, therefore, three different +schools of serious musical thought in the year 1853, each of which +boasted numerous and distinguished adherents. + +The purists of Leipzig held sacred the memory of Mendelssohn, clung to +the methods as well as the forms of classical tradition, and declined to +recognise as legitimate art anything that savoured of progress. + +The Schumannites believed it possible to give musical expression to the +world-spirit of the time by expanding their methods within the old +forms--_i.e._, by free use of chromatic harmonies, varied cadences, +mixed rhythms, and so forth. + +The Weimarites, rejoicing in the potent leadership of Liszt, declared +they would no longer be hampered either by old methods or old forms, +which they regarded as worn out and perishing of inanition. + +The party disputes as to the respective merits of Mendelssohn and +Schumann, were as nothing beside the violent controversies which raged +for years around the theories professed by the founders of the so-called +'music of the future.' For some time the battle was fought chiefly +between the 'academics' of Leipzig and the 'revolutionists' of Weimar. +The classical-romantic art of Schumann had points of contact with that +of each of the extremists. Animated by new impulse and instinct with +modern thought, it was by no means coupled by the leaders of the new +party with that of Mendelssohn, but was accepted by them for some years +with more than toleration, and some of the master's works, as 'Genoveva' +and 'Manfred' were performed at Weimar under Liszt's direction. Schumann +himself, however, whilst warmly appreciating the great qualities of +Wagner's musicianship, was well aware that any relationship between his +own works and that of the new school was merely superficial. He was +second to none in his reverence for the forms of the great masters, upon +which he based his compositions, and, though it is probably the case +that the originality of his art-methods did not attract the sympathy of +Mendelssohn, he clung to the memory of this departed friend as that of a +beloved comrade in arms. + +Schumann, who had long since retired from his labours as editor of the +_Neue Zeitschrift für Musik_, of which he was the founder, lived quietly +at Düsseldorf, where he had, in 1850, succeeded Ferdinand Hiller as +municipal conductor. The success achieved by him there, during the first +season of his activity as director of the orchestral subscription +concerts and the choral society, was only transient. His reserved +nature, and the progress of the malady that threatened him, unfitted him +for the position, and he was subject to the constant annoyance that +resulted from differences with his committee. To this was added the +serious disappointment of knowing that the periodical to which he had +devoted untiring energy during some of the best years of his life, had +become, under the editorship of Franz Brendel, the organ of the +New-German party, from whose principles he felt increasing alienation. +These vexations probably augmented his nervous condition, and his +habitual silence and reserve increased. His chief pleasure was found in +the absorbing work of composition, and in his generous sympathy with a +group of young musicians who regarded themselves as his disciples. +Perhaps feeling that the best part of his own career was already behind +him, he lived in the constant hope that someone would appear of creative +genius sufficiently decisive to indicate him as the worthy successor to +the prophet's mantle of classical art. + +Many of our readers are aware that Joseph Joachim was born on June 28, +1831, at Kittsee, a village near Presburg in Hungary; that at the age of +twelve he had learnt all that the distinguished violinist Böhm, of the +Vienna Conservatoire, master of many famous pupils, could teach him; and +that he lived at Leipzig, well known at the conservatoire, though not +its pupil, for the next six years, happy during the first four of them +in the affection of Mendelssohn, to whom he was passionately attached, +and who lost no opportunity of furthering his protégé's genius and of +laying the foundation of his future career. + +It was not until after Mendelssohn's death that either of the party +questions to which we have referred became acute, and Joseph grew up an +unquestioning believer in the principles of musical tradition, which he +reverenced with something of religious fervour. The loss of Mendelssohn +left him, at the age of sixteen, lonely and disconsolate, in spite of +his being himself already a distinguished personality and a universal +favourite. The peculiar place in his life which the master had occupied +could not again be filled, and for more than two years he was unable to +regard anyone as even the partial successor to his best affections. It +happened, however, that two events of the year 1850, awakened in his +heart something of the personal enthusiasm which had made his early +happiness. A week spent by the Schumanns at Leipzig in the month of +March, convinced him of his sympathy with the composer and his art; and +a visit which he paid to Weimar in August, on the occasion of the first +performance of Wagner's 'Lohengrin,' stirred him so strongly that by the +end of the year he had resigned his position in Leipzig and taken up his +residence in Weimar as concertmeister in Liszt's orchestra.[15] + +Here he lived for two years, and it seemed for a time as though he would +become one of the most enthusiastic of the band of young musicians, +amongst whom were Bülow, Raff, Cornelius, and the violoncellist +Cossmann, who proclaimed themselves disciples of the new school. His +genius and his already eminent position as an artist made him by far the +most important member of the group, and he was treated by Liszt almost +on equal terms, as a younger colleague. In the constant companionship of +this fascinating master, Joachim felt some renewal of the satisfaction +in life which he had experienced when with Mendelssohn at Leipzig; but +his early convictions and affections were too deeply rooted to be +effaced by newer impressions, and his allegiance to the school of the +future was not permanent. Liszt's aspirations, as the composer of +sounding orchestral works which Joachim ought to have admired, but could +not, gradually caused the young concertmeister to feel his position a +false one, and he was glad to accept a post offered him, at the close of +1852, as court concertmeister and assistant capellmeister at Hanover. By +this step he regained his independence without hurting the feelings of +his Weimar friends. His absence of warmth on the subject of the +Symphonic Poems had, indeed, been observed by Liszt, but Joachim had +naturally refrained from expressing himself about them in detail, and +Liszt could not guess that his young companion had conceived a positive +aversion to his compositions. Joachim remained for some years yet on +terms of affectionate intimacy with Liszt, Bülow, and the others, and +was, indeed, so lonely and depressed during the first few months of his +residence in Hanover, that he was impelled to express his state of mind +by the composition of an overture to 'Hamlet.' Sending the manuscript to +Liszt in the middle of March, he wrote: + + 'I have been very much alone. The contrast between the atmosphere + which is constantly resounding, through your influence, with new + tones, and an air which is completely tone-still, is too barbarous. + Wherever I have looked there has been no one to share my aims--no + one; instead of the phalanx of like-minded friends at Weimar ... I + took up "Hamlet" ... I am certain that you, my ever-indulgent + master, will look through the score, and will advise me as though I + were sitting near you, dumb as ever, but listening eagerly to your + musical wisdom.'[16] + +The Festival of the Lower Rhine, held in the year 1853 at Düsseldorf +(May 15-17), was a particularly brilliant function. The names of Robert +and Clara Schumann, Ferdinand Hiller as chief conductor, Joseph Joachim, +the English artist Clara Novello, and others of high distinction, roused +lively expectations which were perhaps exceeded by the performances. +Schumann's D minor Symphony, Pianoforte Concerto played by his wife, and +Overture and final chorus from the 'Rheinweinlied,' all given under his +own direction, were received with enthusiasm; and the first appearance +on the Rhine of the young concertmeister from Hanover, with Beethoven's +then little-known Violin Concerto, resulted in a triumph that defies +description. 'He opened a veritable world of enchantment,' 'He was the +hero of the festival,' 'We will not attempt to describe his success; +there was French frenzy, Italian fanaticism, in a German audience,' say +the critics of the day. + +For our readers, the peculiar interest of the occasion lies in the fact +that Joachim, increasingly attracted by Schumann's art and +individuality, took advantage of his few days' stay in Düsseldorf to +draw closer his relations with the master, and it may be said that his +future attitude was finally determined at this time. He saw in Schumann +the living representative of the music that he loved, and to him and his +he became bound henceforth by ties that death itself was but partially +able to sever.[17] + +[12] _Cf._ Kalbeck, p. 186. + +[13] Two Guter Groschen were of about the value of 2-1/2d. + +[14] Heuberger, 'Musikalische Skizzen.' + +[15] The concertmeister is the leader--_i.e._, leading violin of the +orchestra. The capellmeister is the conductor of the orchestra. + +[16] Moser's 'Life of Joachim.' + +[17] To assist those of our readers to whom the terms 'musical form,' +'absolute music,' 'programme music,' convey no distinct ideas, and who +do not realize with exactness what the real position of Wagner's art was +in its relation to the school of Weimar, we have entered into these +subjects, in Appendix No. I. of this volume, in detail which cannot be +conveniently introduced into the body of our narrative. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + 1853 + + Brahms and Reményi visit Joachim in Hanover--Concert at + Court--Visit to Liszt--Joachim and Brahms in + Göttingen--Wasielewski, Reinecke, and Hiller--First meeting with + Schumann--Albert Dietrich. + + +Leaving Düsseldorf on May 18, the day following the close of the +festival, Joachim proceeded on a week's visit to Weimar, and, returning +thence to spend a day or two at home in Hanover before settling for the +summer at Göttingen, where he proposed to attend University lectures, +was surprised by a call from Reményi and Brahms.[18] His first attention +was naturally devoted to his old school-fellow, but by-and-by he turned +to the stranger, and an account of the interview may be given in his own +words: + + 'The dissimilar companions--the tender, idealistic Johannes and the + self-satisfied, fantastic virtuoso--called on me. Never in the + course of my artist's life have I been more completely overwhelmed + with delighted surprise, than when the rather shy-mannered, blonde + companion of my countryman played me his sonata movements, of quite + undreamt-of originality and power, looking noble and inspired the + while. His song "O, versenk dein Leid" sounded to me like a + revelation, and his playing, so tender, so imaginative, so free and + so fiery, held me spell-bound. No wonder that I not only foresaw, + but actually foretold, a speedy end to the concert-journey with + Reményi. Brahms parted from him soon afterwards, and, encouraged + before long by an enthusiastic recognition, marched proudly onwards + in his own path of endeavour after the highest development.'[19] + +Reményi had not been mistaken in building hopes for the success of the +concert-journey upon the chance of an interview with Joachim, who proved +the medium through which both he and his companion were guided to the +respective spheres for which each was peculiarly fitted. The great +violinist was at this, his first interview with Brahms, so deeply +penetrated by the certainty of his genius, so impressed by its daring, +and so profoundly touched by the evident sincerity and childlike +freshness of his nature, that he took him then and there to his heart, +and made his cause his own. He at once exerted his influence in Hanover +to such purpose that the travellers were engaged to appear before King +George and the royal circle. + +'There is in his (Brahms') playing,' he wrote to the Countess +Bernstorff, a lady of great musical accomplishment attached to the +Hanoverian Court, 'that concentrated fire, what I may call that +fatalistic energy and precision of rhythm, which prophesy the artist, +and his compositions already contain much that is significant, such as I +have not hitherto met with in a youth of his age.'[20] + +Joachim's engagements did not allow him to wait in Hanover till the date +of the proposed court concert; but before his departure he cordially +invited Johannes, who called to bid him farewell, to visit him in +Göttingen if his relations with Reményi should come to as early a +termination as Joachim thought likely. + +Mention of the concert before King George and the royal family is to be +found in a volume, 'Aus allen Tonarten,' by Heinrich Ehrlich, court +pianist at Hanover, who was present, and has recorded that Brahms played +the E flat minor Scherzo. In a subsequent letter to this musician +Joachim wrote: + + '... It was his exceptional talent for composition, and a nature + which could have been developed in its integrity only in close + retirement, pure as the diamond, tender as snow.' + +From Hanover, Reményi and Brahms travelled to Weimar, where Joachim had +ensured them a welcome by writing to Liszt on their behalf. Of the first +meeting between the world-famous musician, who lived in a style of +ostentatious luxury in a house on the Altenburg belonging to the +Princess Caroline von Sayn-Wittgenstein, and the obscure young composer +from the Lane-quarter of Hamburg, we have, fortunately, the account of +an eye-witness, William Mason, of New York, who was at the time resident +in Weimar as a pupil of Liszt, and one of the ardent young champions of +the new school. + + 'One evening early in June,' says Mason,[21] 'Liszt sent us word to + come up the next morning to the Altenburg, as he expected a visit + from a young man who was said to have great talent as a composer, + and whose name was Johannes Brahms. He was to come accompanied by + Edward Reményi. + + 'The next morning, on going to the Altenburg with Klindworth, we + found Brahms and Reményi already in the reception-room with Raff + and Prückner. After greeting the new-corners, of whom Reményi was + known to us by reputation, I strolled over to a table on which were + lying some manuscripts of music. They were several of Brahms' + unpublished compositions, and I began turning over the leaves of + the uppermost of the pile. It was the pianoforte solo, Op. 4, + Scherzo in E flat minor.... Finally Liszt came down, and after some + general conversation he turned to Brahms, and said: "We are + interested to hear some of your compositions whenever you are ready + and feel inclined to play them." + + 'Brahms, however, who was in a highly nervous state, declared that + it was quite impossible for him to play, and as the entreaties of + Liszt and Reményi failed to induce him to approach the piano, Liszt + went over to the table, saying, "Well, I shall have to play"; and + taking the first piece at hand from the heap of manuscripts, he + performed the scherzo at sight in such a marvellous way, carrying + on, at the same time, a running accompaniment of audible criticism + of the music, that Brahms was surprised and delighted. Raff found + reminiscences, in the opening bars, of Chopin's Scherzo in B flat + minor, whereupon Brahms answered that he had neither seen nor heard + any of this composer's works. Liszt then played a part of Brahms' + Sonata in C major, Op. 1. + + 'A little later, someone asked Liszt to play his own sonata, a work + which was quite recent at that time, and of which he was very fond. + Without hesitation he sat down and began playing. As he progressed, + he came to a very expressive part, which he always imbued with + extreme pathos, and in which he looked for the especial interest + and sympathy of his listeners. Glancing at Brahms, he found that + the latter was dozing in his chair. Liszt continued playing to the + end of the sonata, and then rose and left the room. I was in such a + position that Brahms was hidden from my view, but I was aware that + something unusual had taken place, and I think it was Reményi who + told me what had occurred. It is very strange that among the + various accounts of this first Liszt-Brahms interview--and there + are several--there is not one which gives an accurate description + of what took place on the occasion; indeed, they are all far out of + the way. The events as here related are perfectly clear in my own + mind; but not wishing to trust implicitly to my memory, I wrote to + my friend Klindworth, the only living witness of the incident + except myself, as I suppose, and requested him to give me an + account of it as he remembered it. He corroborated my description + in every particular, except that he made no specific reference to + the drowsiness of Brahms, and except also that, according to my + recollection, Brahms left Weimar on the afternoon of the day on + which the meeting took place; Klindworth writes that it was on the + morning of the next day--a discrepancy of very little moment.' + +It is to be observed, in the first place, with reference to this +interesting account, that Brahms' panic was probably caused by his +finding that he was expected to play before not only Liszt himself, but +a party of his pupils, the most unnerving kind of audience with which he +could possibly have been confronted; and in the second, that Reményi, +in saying his companion had fallen asleep, unquestionably merely +intended to convey the meaning that he had not taken prudent advantage +of his opportunity to ingratiate himself with the great man. The very +different methods employed by the violinist for the advancement of his +own ambition are illustrated by a letter written by him to +Liszt--evidently soon after this first interview--which throws an +illuminating sidelight upon the scene and its immediate sequel. It is +clear that Reményi at once took steps for the purpose of ingratiating +himself with the leader of Weimar and his rising young musicians by +acquainting himself with, at all events, the names of Liszt's +compositions, and announcing himself a convert to the New-German music. +He remained associated with the party for a considerable time, and Liszt +recognised his gifts whilst ridiculing his extravagances. The letter +referred to opens with a kind of preamble: + + 'This scribbler ventures to address the great man, after having + heard the sonata, the scherzo, the rhapsodies, the Dante fantasia, + etc. One must have courage to dare to write to such a man. Let us + see, let us try, nevertheless. We shall see whether I have the + talent to continue. Now to work! + + 'TISZTELT LISZT UR! + 'Admirable compatriot! + + 'I am here on the Altenburg, the place where I have had the + happiness (read effrontery) of being received by Liszt, and where I + have the happiness of finding myself again! + + 'Conceive the immense joy you have given me by forwarding the + letter addressed to me from Hungary. Every bad thing is of some + use; when I reflect that this bit of a Hungarian letter has + procured me the sublime lines of Liszt--Ah! yes, I have read this + letter four or five times--no! devoured it, but not altogether; + some fragments fortunately remain for me to point to proudly in the + future (when I shall have become a great man??!!): do you see, + gentlemen? I am a happy mortal. I possess the writing--no, _a + personal letter from Liszt_. You may be assured that that is + _everything_ for me--it will be my talisman! If you by chance ask + what I am doing, really I cannot tell you--of what interest can it + be to you if I scrape on the violin or compose some new mazourek + fantastiques? That is zero for you.... + + 'As for my political confession, it is already sent--Raff has + edited it! + + 'Now, I think this letter is much too long. I shall finish it by + telling you quite simply, but very sincerely, that the good God has + you in His holy keeping, and that He ever directs your genius for + the honour and glory of the human race in general, and particularly + (but particularly) of your dear country. + + 'Adieu, great compatriot! + + 'I subscribe myself, + 'E. REMÉNYI, + '_Citizen of the Altenburg, ci-devant of Hungary_. + + 'P.S.--Brahms has left for Göttingen.'[22] + +And no wonder! one feels inclined to exclaim, on reading the postscript, +the first of three appended to the epistle. Johannes must have felt that +his power of endurance was being strained to its utmost limit by daily +association with such a comrade, and determined to break it, helped, +very likely, to his resolution by the recollection of the very different +personality of that other violinist, the young king of fiddlers, who had +invited him to Göttingen. The story frequently related, that Brahms and +Reményi, or one of them, stayed on for several weeks as Liszt's guests +at the Altenburg, is contradicted by all contemporary testimony, +negative as well as positive. No such visit is mentioned in any known +letter of the period, whilst Reményi's communication to Liszt would of +itself be fairly good evidence that none such took place, and, taken +together with the independent accounts of Mason and Klindworth, must be +accepted as conclusive against the supposition. The morning at the +Altenburg can, indeed, have left little behind it in the mind of our +musician beyond a feeling of mortification, and Mason expressly states +that the impression it produced on the young men present was that it had +not been a success. It is likely that Klindworth was substantially +correct as to the exact date of Brahms' departure from Weimar. Perhaps +hoping to appear to better advantage in a _tête-à-tête_ interview, he +seems to have called a second time on Liszt, who presented him with a +leather cigarette-case in which was placed an autograph inscription in +remembrance of their meeting.[23] + +Somewhere about the middle of June, then, Joachim, at work one day in +his rooms at Göttingen, had hardly time to call out, 'Come in' in answer +to a knock at the door, before the door opened and in walked Brahms. +This was the beginning of the intimate acquaintance between the two +youthful musicians, which ripened into the historic friendship that +endured until the death of Brahms forty-four years later. What a +discovery was each to the other! Alike in no respect, perhaps, save in +earnest devotion to art, and a profound feeling of obligation in her +service, the dissimilarity of their dispositions was such as to make +them mutually interesting and to cement the growing bond between them. +To Joachim the worship of art, adored goddess though she might be, could +never be all in all; it could never appease the craving for human +sympathy which, since Mendelssohn's death, he had at times felt to be +almost intolerable. Johannes, haunted by a vision of the delight of +intimate sympathy, was not convinced of its being either possible or +indispensable, and knew that he could, if necessary, live his life +without it. To Joachim, possessed of strong likings and antipathies, and +firm to convictions involving a principle, it was not difficult, in a +conflict of mere inclinations, to yield. In Johannes, with all his +childlike sweetness of nature, there dwelt an ineradicable combative +instinct. To Joachim life had been one continued triumph; he had never +known even the taste of failure. A personality from childhood, he had +conquered his world once and for all with scarcely an effort. Hannes had +passed his days in obscurity, and had seen and known only struggle. And +now, to Joachim, who had never had to plan for his own advancement, what +a fresh joy it was to think and hope and suggest for the future of +Johannes, and to Johannes, who had known little of the satisfaction of +intelligent appreciation from colleagues of his own standing, what an +astonishing experience was this enthusiastic and authoritative approval +from such a comrade! The companions, engrossed in the first place by +their compositions--for Joachim was engaged upon two overtures, and +Johannes busy with sonatas and songs--found plenty of time for other +occupations. They studied and made music together, and walked and talked +and dined together, and compared opinions and argued and agreed +together. No doubt Johannes heard much about the Leipzig of Bach and +Mendelssohn, and he found to his surprise that Joachim, the unparalleled +interpreter of Bach and Beethoven, shared Louise Japha's opinion of +Schumann's music. He certainly touched Joachim's heart by his loving +talk of Hamburg, rich in proud traditions, and not without art memories +of its own, associated with the great names of Klopstock and Lessing, of +Telemann and Keiser, of Handel and Mattheson and Emanuel Bach. The fêted +violinist, familiar since his ninth year with one or other centre of +musical learning, brilliant pupil of the conservatoire of Vienna, +beloved favourite of that of Leipzig, listened, moreover, with no little +interest to all that Johannes chose to relate of his solitary studies +with his Marxsen. The happy young Hamburger felt that he could tell +Joseph anything. He spoke to him of his struggles, his kind friends at +Winsen, his acquaintance with Louise Japha, the difficulties of his +journey with Reményi. Joachim was so much interested in the Winsen +episodes that he could not refrain from writing to Uncle Giesemann to +tell him that his young musician would be a great man some day. + +In one thing only Johannes would not bear his friend company. He +declined to attend the university lectures of Ritter and Waiz, voting +lectures a bore, and preferring to take his mental food, as usual, from +books. He was very ready, however, to join the jovial fellowship that +met at the Saxsen, the students' club-restaurant frequented by Joachim +and his friends. He entered with great zest into all the fun of the +social evenings, and on the night when he and Joachim were called upon, +as the youngest of the party, to perform the 'Fox-ride,' he sat +astraddle on his little chair, and galloped round the table with the +court concertmeister from Hanover as though he were bent on keeping his +terms with the most serious-minded student of them all. The happy +holiday was crowned by a concert given by the two 'students,' which +attracted an overflowing audience and provided Brahms with welcome funds +for the prosecution of his immediate plans. He wished to make a walking +excursion along the Rhine before the summer should have passed away, and +left Göttingen about the middle of August, armed with several of his +friend's visiting-cards with which to introduce himself to musical +houses on his route. The acquaintance which Joachim desired to secure +for him above all others was that of Schumann, but Johannes, probably +sore from his recent experiences of an interview with a leader +surrounded by his followers, was uncertain if he should stay at +Düsseldorf. The separation between himself and Joachim was to be a short +one only. They were to meet in October at Hanover, where Johannes was to +pass the winter in his friend's society. + +We have to picture our traveller as passing, during the next two or +three weeks, from point to point along the beautiful Rhine valley in a +frame of mind rendered almost ecstatic by the combined influences of his +daily surroundings, his recent experiences, and his well-grounded hopes +for the future. We meet him again early in September in the house of J. +W. von Wasielewsky, who at this period filled a post as music-director +at Bonn, and who has given an interesting account of Brahms' arrival in +that city. + + 'Towards the end of the summer,' he says,[24] 'I was surprised by a + visit from an attractive-looking, fair-haired youth, who delivered + to me one of Joachim's visiting-cards, on the reverse side of + which was his own humorously-written signature.[25] Coming in the + direction from Mainz, he had travelled on foot through the Rhine + valley, and presented himself to me staff in hand and knapsack on + his back. His fresh, natural, unconstrained manner impressed me + sympathetically, so that I not only bade him welcome, but invited + him to stay a day or two with me, to which he then and there + consented. After the first hours of our intercourse, I naturally + felt a desire to learn to know my guest from the musical side. He + at once favoured me with a performance of one of his then + unpublished early works, a pianoforte sonata, the quality of which + immediately revealed to me his great talent for composition. I also + heard him in other things. I particularly remember his + characteristic execution of the Rakóczy March, which he was fond of + playing and gave with great effect.' + +Asked by Wasielewsky whether he intended to visit Schumann, Johannes +replied that he had come to no decision on the point, giving as the +reason for his uncertainty, the failure of his effort to approach the +master on his visit to Hamburg in 1850, and no persuasion of his new +friend availed to bring him to a resolution. He did not quit the +neighbourhood of Bonn immediately. Acting, no doubt, on Wasielewsky's +advice, he retraced his steps a little in order to present himself at a +great house in the vicinity--that of Commerzienrath Deichmann, a +gentleman widely known, not only from his wealth and hospitality, but +also by the warm interest taken by himself and his family in matters +connected with literature and art. Distinguished visitors of many +varieties of social rank, from royal personages downwards, were +entertained by Frau Deichmann at her residence at Mehlem, opposite +Königswinter. Celebrities on a visit to the Rhine country were generally +to be met in her drawing-rooms in the course of their stay, many of the +artists resident in the neighbourhood belonged to her intimate circle, +and young musicians of promise were received by her with especial +kindness. Needless to say that the arrival of Brahms as Joachim's +intimate was hailed by her with lively satisfaction, and the familiar +friends of the house, amongst whom were Franz Wüllner, the 'cellist +Reimers, Wasielewsky himself, and other young musicians, hurried to +Mehlem on receiving her hasty summons, prepared to extend to the +new-comer's performances as much approbation or criticism as the event +might justify. + +'I found,' said Wüllner, in a memorial speech delivered after Brahms' +death in the conservatoire of Cologne, 'a slender youth with long fair +hair and a veritable St. John's head, from whose eyes shone energy and +spirit. He played us the just-finished C major Sonata, the earlier +completed F sharp minor Sonata, the E flat minor Scherzo, and several +songs--amongst them the now familiar "O versenk dein Leid." We young +musicians were immediately delighted and carried away by his +compositions.' + +As might have been expected, Brahms was not allowed to leave Mehlem +immediately. He was persuaded to remain on as the Deichmanns' guest, to +improve his acquaintance with their friends, and to further explore the +Rhine and its beauties from their house, and it was during this visit +that he found the opportunity, eagerly desired by him since his stay at +Göttingen, to begin the real study of Schumann's compositions, till now +but little known to him. What must have been his wonder and his joy as +he found himself brought face to face in many of their pages with his +favourite authors, Jean Paul and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and perceived in +them as in a mirror the dreamings of his own soul! His surprise was +probably but little less on making the discovery that Schumann's +tone-poems, with all their fresh originality of method and their +fascinating romance, were no mere erratic imaginings, but were firmly +rooted in the great traditions of classical art. It is, perhaps, +impossible to realize in its strength the revulsion of feeling that must +have attended this first real spiritual meeting of 'Kreisler jun.' with +the composer of the 'Kreisleriana'; but it is safe to say that it +settled him in the determination to pay the visit to Schumann which +Joachim had planned, and that it had its share in producing the temper +of mind manifest in a letter written by Johannes in the third week of +September, whilst he was on a few days' excursion with the boys of the +Deichmann family, to the Amtsvogt Blume of Winsen: + + 'DEAR HERR AMTSVOGT, + + 'Permit me to offer most heartfelt wishes for your own and for Frau + Blume's happiness on the joyful festival which you celebrate this + month. The great esteem and love which I have for you may excuse me + for troubling you from so great a distance, and perhaps at the + wrong time, with these lines; I only know that you celebrate your + golden wedding in the middle of this month. May God long preserve + you in health, that I may often again, as hitherto, spend many + happy hours at your house. In case you still feel some interest in + my fate, you may, perhaps, be pleased to hear that I have passed a + heavenly summer, such as I have never before known. After spending + some gloriously inspiring weeks with Joachim at Göttingen, I have + now been rambling about for five weeks according to heart's desire + on the divine Rhine. I hope to be able to pass this winter at + Hanover in order to be near Joachim, who is equally noble as man + and artist. Begging you to remember me most warmly to your wife and + daughter, I would also request you to express my heartiest greeting + to your son with his wife and children, to dear Uncle Giesemann, + and to all acquaintances. With best greeting, Your JOH. BRAHMS. + + 'IN THE LAHNTHAL, _Sept. 1853_.'[26] + +Johannes' thoughts were engaged at this time on the Pianoforte Sonata in +F minor, Op. 5, that was finally completed early in November. Who that +has really tasted of the enchantment of that wonderful composition, +great in spite of its immaturity, can doubt, on reading these lines, +that the shining Rhine with its wooded heights, that the Rolandseck and +the Nonnenwerth and the Drachenfels, and the deep blue sky and gorgeous +starry nights, had their part, with the romance and wonder and gratitude +and delight dwelling in his young heart, in the making of the work--not +in the sense of supplying the composer with a programme for his +inspiration; but as the sunbeam caught by the plant--as mingling with +his nature and becoming a portion of the very elemental force that +blossomed into the flower of his imagination? + +Yet another important halt was made by Brahms at Cologne, where two more +interesting names were added to the long list of acquaintances already +formed by him during the short five months of his absence from home. He +delivered a letter from the university music-director of Göttingen, +Arnold Wehner, and a greeting from Wasielewsky, to Carl Reinecke, at the +time professor of pianoforte and counterpoint in the conservatoire of +the Rhenish capital, and Reinecke, after hearing some of his +compositions, conducted him to Ferdinand Hiller's house, and +subsequently accompanied him to the railway-station at Deutz. Here he +took train for Düsseldorf,[27] full, no doubt, of fluttering expectation +at the thought that he was about to seek an interview with the great +master of his day; sole successor, since the death of Mendelssohn, to +the mighty giants in whose traditions he had been steeped since early +childhood by Cossel and Marxsen. And as we accompany the young musician +in imagination on this last stage of his Rhine journey, we may fittingly +pay the tribute of passing remembrance to these two men. To their +talents and attainments and character he owed it that he was able to +approach the supreme hour of entrance upon the manhood of his artistic +life, shortly to dawn for him, with the certainty of equipment and +devotion of purpose that had already stamped upon his genius the +unmistakable pledge of mastership. + +Several accounts, agreeing in essential points, have been given by Dr. +Schübring and others of Brahms' first acquaintance with Schumann. After +some preliminary conversation, the master desired his visitor to play +something of his own. Scarcely was the first movement of the C major +Sonata concluded, when he rose and left the room, and, returning with +his wife, desired to hear it again. And as Johannes had played it three +months previously to the amazement and delight of Joseph Joachim, so he +now played it to the amazement and delight of Robert and Clara Schumann; +and when he had finished one movement these two great artists bade him +play another, and at the end of that, another, and still desired more, +so that when, at length, the performance was at an end their hearts had +gone out to him in affection, whilst in his the first link had already +been forged of that chain of love by which he soon became bound to the +one and the other till the end of both their lives. + +Johannes lost no time in finding out his old friends Louise and Minna +Japha. What wonderful adventures he had to relate to them, more than +could be got through in one or even two interviews! There was the tour +with Reményi, the performance at Court--how far away these things +seemed!--then the visit to Weimar, the student-life at Göttingen, the +journey along the Rhine. He had made the acquaintance of many young +musicians, who had one and all welcomed his coming amongst them; he had +been introduced to Hiller, become Joachim's closest friend, and now had, +he thought, won Schumann's approval. 'He patted me on the shoulder,' +Johannes told Louise, 'and said, "We understand each other." What did he +mean?' Schumann's meaning was made very obvious to Joachim, who received +the following note from the master in answer to the introduction and +messages of greeting he had sent him by Brahms: 'This is he that should +come.' + +We may now turn to the delightful account given by Albert Dietrich,[28] +one of Schumann's favourite disciples, who lived at Düsseldorf in daily +intercourse with the great composer, of his first acquaintance with the +new-comer: + + 'Soon after Brahms' arrival in September, Schumann came up to me + before the commencement of one of the choral society practices with + mysterious air and pleased smile. "Someone is come," said he, "of + whom we shall one day hear all sorts of wonderful things; his name + is Johannes Brahms." And he presented to me the interesting and + unusual-looking young musician, who, seeming hardly more than a boy + in his short gray summer coat, with his high voice and long fair + hair, made a most agreeable impression. Especially fine were his + energetic, characteristic mouth, and the earnest, deep gaze in + which his gifted nature was clearly revealed.' + +Here was another companion of the right sort for Brahms. He and Albert +met daily from this time forward during his four weeks' stay at +Düsseldorf, breakfasting together at an open-air restaurant in the +Hofgarten, and sharing each other's confidences and pleasures. Albert's +recognition of the powers of his new friend was no less thorough than +Joachim's had been, and he sent enthusiastic reports of him to Kirchner, +Naumann, and other young musicians of the Schumann set. Himself a +_persona grata_ in the various artistic circles of Düsseldorf, he was +able to open to Johannes a new and inexhaustible source of interest. He +introduced him to Schirmer, Lessing, Sohn, and other of the leading +painters, at whose houses the young musician heard much talk about the +sister arts which bore due fruit in a mind whose first need was, in +Joachim's words, 'the harmonious cultivation of its various powers and +the loving assimilation of all sorts of knowledge.' A charming young +society was quite ready to welcome a new playfellow--and such a +playfellow--into its midst, and Johannes was invited by Albert's friends +to many parties and excursions. He managed to waive the objection to +ladies' society which he had once found insuperable, and discovered that +a festivity from which they were not rigorously excluded was not +therefore a necessarily tiresome affair! Music in general and his music +in particular, was much in demand at frequent evening gatherings, and +his hearers knew not whether they were more delighted by his +interpretations of the great masters or of his own compositions. + + 'Everyone was filled with astonishment,' says Dietrich, 'and the + young people, especially, were dominated by the impression of his + characteristic, powerful, and, when necessary, extraordinarily + tender playing. He used to receive the enthusiastic praise + accorded to his performances in a modest, deprecatory manner. + + 'His constitution was thoroughly sound; the most strenuous mental + exertion scarcely fatigued him, but then he could go soundly to + sleep at any hour of the day he pleased. With companions of his own + standing he was lively, sometimes arrogant, dry, and full of + pranks. When he came to see me, he used to rush up the stairs, + thump on the door with both fists, and burst in without waiting for + an answer.... Brahms never spoke of the works with which he was + busy, or of his plans for future compositions, but he told me one + day that he often recalled folk-songs when at work, and that then + his melodies suggested themselves spontaneously.' + +At the Schumanns' house Brahms learned chess and table-turning. He was +soon made free of the master's library, and borrowed from it many a book +to lend to the Japhas, who had to submit to a term of quarantine during +Minna's recovery from an attack of measles. Johannes refused, for his +own part, to acquiesce in the decree, and paid long daily visits to the +sisters as soon as they were able to receive him. He often sat at +Louise's side reading with her from an open volume placed between them, +as he had once been used to do with Lischen in the Winsen fields. One +day he brought some volumes of Hoffmann, to reread his favourite tales +from Schumann's own copy. He carried the old memories and friends, and +the simple home with its dear affections, faithfully in his heart +throughout his excitements and successes, and throughout the weeks and +months of his absence Johanna kept her promise to her boy. 'Look,' said +Hannes one day, pulling a letter out of his pocket, and holding it open +before Louise and Minna as he told them of the stipulation he had made, +'I get one like this every week; my old mother keeps her promise. Some +of it is copied from the newspapers; what is she to do when she has no +more news? she cannot write a philosophical treatise, but she always +sends me three whole pages.'[29] + +The passionate admiration quickly conceived by Brahms for the character +and genius of Schumann, which was intensified by the recollection of his +past misconception of the great composer's art, was returned in +appropriate measure. Schumann became every day fonder of his young +friend, and inclination united with conviction to strengthen the strong +first impression he had received as to the extraordinary nature of his +gifts. 'Facile princeps' is written in one of Schumann's pocket-books +against the name Johannes Brahms, added, in the master's handwriting, to +a list of his favourite young musicians. It has sometimes been suggested +that the secret of the immediate fascination exercised over him by +Brahms' compositions lay in his perception of their dissimilarity from +his own. This, however, is only part of the truth. Though it be the case +that Schumann's influence is not traceable either in the melody, +harmony, or structure of Brahms' first published movements, it is +equally the fact that the 'delicate youth with dreamy expression, who, +without a tinge of affectation, spoke naturally in poetic phrases; who +signed his manuscripts "Joh. Kreisler jun."; who exactly answered +Joachim's description, "pure as the diamond, tender as snow"';[30] had +elements in his many-sided nature of near kin to the characteristic +spirit of Schumann's genius, which were by no means without influence on +the individuality of his works, and especially the works of his first +period. Schumann, astonished beyond measure by the mastery and +originality of Brahms' technical attainment, was, in regard to his ideal +qualities, certainly penetrated as much by the romance as by the +independence, by the tenderness as by the power, by the subjective, as +by the objective side, of his art, and the elder musician loved the +younger as much because of the affinity as of the difference between +them. Both contrasting sides of Brahms' nature are strikingly manifest +in the very beautiful drawing of him which was executed for Schumann at +this time by the painter de Laurens, a representation of which we are +enabled, by the kindness of Frau Professor Böie, to whom the original +now belongs, to place before the reader at the beginning of this volume. + +Schumann had not been forgetful of the overtures to closer intimacy made +to him by Joachim in the spring of the year, and composed two +concert-pieces for violin and orchestra about this time, during the +writing of which, the famous young violinist and his performances at the +Düsseldorf festival were constantly present to his mind. In a letter to +Hanover concerning these and other matters, written by him on October 8, +the following passages occur:[31] + + 'I think if I were younger I could make some polymetres about the + young eagle who has so suddenly and unexpectedly flown down from + the Alps to Düsseldorf.[32] Or one might compare him to a splendid + stream which, like Niagara, is at its finest when precipitating + itself from the heights as a roaring waterfall, met on the shore by + the fluttering of butterflies and by nightingales' voices.... + + 'The young eagle seems to be content in the Lowlands; he has found + an old guardian who is accustomed to watch such young flights, and + who knows how to calm the wild wing-flapping without detriment to + the soaring power.'[33] + +On the same day he wrote to Dr. Härtel, head of the great Leipzig +publishing firm: + + 'A young man has just presented himself here who has most deeply + impressed us with his wonderful music. He will, I am convinced, + make the greatest sensation in the musical world. I will take an + opportunity of writing more in detail about him.'[34] + +Five days later, writing again on business to Joachim, who was to take +part on the 27th, in the first Düsseldorf subscription concert of the +season, he adds: + + 'I have begun to put together my thoughts about the young eagle. I + should wish to help him on his first flight through the world, but + fear I have grown too fond of him to be able to describe the light + and dark colours of his wings quite clearly. When I have finished + the paper, I should like to show it to his comrade [Joachim], who + knows him even better than I do.' + + A postscript is subjoined: 'I have finished the essay and enclose + it. Please return it as soon as possible.' + +A second letter to Dr. Härtel enters into some of the promised detail: + + 'You will see before long, in the _Neue Zeitschrift für Musik_, an + article signed with my name on young Johannes Brahms from Hamburg, + which will give you further information about him. I will then + write to you more fully about the compositions he intends to + publish. They are pianoforte pieces and sonatas, a sonata for + violin and piano, a trio, a quartet, and a number of songs--all + full of genius. He is also an exceptional pianist.' + +And now, whilst Schumann, with Albert and Johannes, was eagerly looking +forward to Joachim's arrival for the concert of the 27th, Schumann +proposed that they should prepare a surprise for him in the shape of a +new sonata for pianoforte and violin, to be written by the three of them +jointly. Thereupon Dietrich undertook the first movement, Schumann the +intermezzo and finale, and Brahms the scherzo. + +The popular young concertmeister had been passing his time pleasantly +enough during the progress of some of the events just related; had +attended a festival at Carlsruhe, where he met his friends of the Weimar +circle in force--Liszt, Wagner, Cornelius, Bülow, and the others; and +had played for Berlioz at a concert in Brunswick. He was to be +Schumann's guest during the two days of his stay in Düsseldorf, and was +greeted, on his arrival on the 26th, by the assembled party of his +intimate friends. Amongst them was an attractive, youthful lady attired +in rustic costume, who stepped forward from the rest and handed him a +basket of flowers. Hidden beneath these was the manuscript sonata of +welcome, on the title-page of which Schumann had written: + + 'F. A. E.[35] + + 'This Sonata has been written in expectation of the arrival of the + honoured and beloved friend Joseph Joachim by Robert Schumann, + Johannes Brahms, Albert Dietrich.' + +There was a small gathering of intimate friends in the evening at the +Schumanns' house, when the sonata was performed and Joachim was required +to guess the authorship of the several movements, a problem he had no +difficulty in solving correctly. Schumann was in a bright mood. He was +always at his happiest in his home circle with one and another of the +young musicians who might be said to belong to it about him, and he had +taken both Brahms and Joachim into his most special affection. 'One +cannot be fond enough of him,' he whispered to Fräulein Japha as +Joachim, accompanied by Frau Schumann, came to the concluding bars of +the new fantasia for violin. Johannes was nervous and excited this +evening. 'What shall I play?' he said, crossing over to Louise when +Schumann summoned him to the piano. She suggested the scherzo, which the +master had not yet heard, but eventually got a scolding for her pains. +Johannes persuaded himself that his performance was a failure. 'Why did +you give me that advice?' he asked reproachfully, returning to his +faithful friend. 'Liszt did not care for the scherzo, and now Schumann +does not like it!' + +The concert of the following day was the last given in Düsseldorf under +the direction of Schumann, who was about to start with his wife on a +concert tour in Holland. He was at this time seriously contemplating a +permanent removal to Vienna, whence he had received overtures that were +attractive to himself and Frau Schumann. Whether he would have made up +his mind to the step cannot be determined. The decision was, as we know, +taken out of his hands by one of the tragedies of fate. + +[18] The accounts of some authors place the visit in Göttingen. They +must be regarded as, in this respect, mistaken. Dr. Joachim is positive +on the point. 'The whole scene lives clearly in my memory; it occurred +in my rooms in Princes Street, Hanover,' he lately said to the present +writer. + +[19] Festival address at Meiningen, October 7, 1899. + +[20] Moser's 'Life of Joachim.' + +[21] 'Memoirs of a Musical Life.' + +[22] From La Mara's 'Briefe hervorragender Zeitgenossen an Franz Liszt.' + +[23] According to a personal communication to the author by Frau Dr. +Langhans-Japha, to whom Brahms showed the case. + +[24] 'Aus siebzig Jahren.' + +[25] 'Joh. Kreisler jun.' + +[26] This letter and another to Amtsvogt Blume, which follows in Chapter +VI., were first published in the _Lüneburger Anzeige_ March 29, 1901. + +[27] 'Gedenkenblätter an berühmte Musiker,' by Carl Reinecke. + +[28] 'Erinnerungen von Johannes Brahms.' + +[29] At this period envelopes were not in universal use. The large +'letter-paper' was folded and sealed, and addressed on the blank fourth +page. + +[30] Ehrlich, 'Dreissig Jahre Künstlerleben.' + +[31] 'Robert Schumann's Briefe.' Neue Folge. Edited by Gustav Jansen. + +[32] These words sufficiently disprove the assumption occasionally +adopted, that Schumann expected Brahms before receiving his call at +Düsseldorf. + +[33] The movements of the F minor Sonata were no doubt submitted to +Schumann's criticism during the process of their composition. + +[34] See, for this and other letters of Schumann, Dr. Jansen's +collection referred to above. + +[35] 'Frei aber einsam' (Free but lonely), Joachim's favourite device at +this time. + + + + + CHAPTER V + 1853 + + Schumann's article 'New Paths'--Johannes in Hanover--Sonatas in C + major and F minor--Visit to Leipzig--First publications--Julius + Otto Grimm--Return to Hamburg viâ Hanover--Lost Violin + Sonata--Songs--Marxsen's influence as teacher. + + +On October 28 Schumann's article appeared in the _Neue Zeitschrift für +Musik_. Brahms seems to have read it for the first time in Hanover, +whither, in pursuance of the plans formed in the summer between himself +and Joachim, he accompanied his friend from Düsseldorf. Its contents +were so unexpected, and their influence on Brahms' career was so +far-reaching, that, though it may already be familiar to many readers, +it seems right to quote it _in extenso_. + + 'NEW PATHS. + + 'Years have passed--almost as many in number as those dedicated by + me to the previous editorship of this journal, namely, ten--since I + appeared on this scene so rich to me in remembrances. Often, in + spite of arduous productive activity, I have felt tempted; many new + and considerable talents have appeared, a fresh musical energy has + seemed to announce itself through many of the earnest artists of + the present time,[36] even though their works are, for the most + part, known to a limited circle only. I have thought, watching the + path of these chosen ones with the greatest sympathy, that after + such a preparation someone must and would suddenly appear, destined + to give ideal presentment to the highest expression of the time, + who would bring us his mastership, not in process of development, + but would spring forth like Minerva fully armed from the head of + Jove. And he is come, a young blood by whose cradle graces and + heroes kept watch. He is called Johannes Brahms, came from Hamburg, + where he has worked in obscure tranquillity, trained in the most + difficult laws of art by an excellent and enthusiastic teacher, and + was lately introduced to me by an honoured, well-known master.[47] + He bore all the outward signs that proclaim to us, "This is one of + the elect." Sitting at the piano, he proceeded to reveal to us + wondrous regions. We were drawn into circles of ever deeper + enchantment. His playing, too, was full of genius, and transformed + the piano into an orchestra of wailing and jubilant voices. There + were sonatas, more veiled symphonies--songs, whose poetry one would + understand without knowing the words, though all are pervaded by a + deep song-melody,--single pianoforte pieces, partly demoniacal, of + the most graceful form,--then sonatas for violin and + piano--quartets for strings--and every one so different from the + rest that each seemed to flow from a separate source. And then it + was as though he, like a tumultuous stream, united all into a + waterfall, bearing a peaceful rainbow over the rushing waves, met + on the shore by butterflies' fluttering, and accompanied by + nightingales' voices. + + 'If he will sink his magic staff in the region where the capacity + of masses in chorus and orchestra can lend him its powers, still + more wonderful glimpses into the mysteries of the spirit-world will + be before us. May the highest genius strengthen him for this, of + which there is the prospect, since another genius, that of modesty, + also dwells within him. His companions greet him on his first + course through the world, where, perhaps, wounds may await him, but + laurels and palms also; we bid him welcome as a strong champion. + + 'There is in all times a secret union of kindred spirits. Bind + closer the circle, ye who belong to it, that the truth of art may + shine ever clearer, spreading joy and blessing through the world. + + 'R. S.' + +Such was the proclamation by which Schumann, carried away by the +impulsive generosity of his nature, designed to facilitate the entrance +into the jealous musical world of the composer of twenty, whose gifts +had not been tested by the publication of a single composition, whose +name was hardly known to rumour. + + 'It is doubtful,' says Mason, 'if, up to that time, any article had + made such a sensation through musical Germany. I remember how + utterly the Liszt circle in Weimar were astounded at it. It was at + first, no doubt, an obstacle in Brahms' way, but, as it resulted in + stirring up great rivalry between two opposing parties, it + eventually contributed much to his final success.' + +In sober truth, Brahms' worst enemy could scarcely have weighted him +with a heavier mantle of immediate difficulty. It made his name an easy +subject of ridicule to those who would in any case have been inclined to +regard a new-comer with incredulity; it drew upon him the sceptical +attention of others who might have been prepared to receive him with +indifference or indulgence; it was calculated to awaken extravagant +expectations in the minds of some whom it disposed to be his friends. + +The musical world generally, adopted an attitude of hostile expectancy, +and this was shared especially by the 'Murls,'[38] as the young +satellites of Liszt styled themselves. Their 'Padisha,' Liszt himself, +could afford to be more or less indifferent, though he was not +unobservant. 'Avez-vous lu l'article de Schumann dans le dernier numéro +de Brendel?' he says, writing on November 1 to Bülow, who replies on the +5th, alluding to supposed Brahms resemblances: 'Mozart-Brahms ou +Schumann-Brahms ne trouble point du tout la tranquillité de mon sommeil. +Il y a une quinzaine d'années que Schumann a parlé en des termes +tout-à-fait analogues du génie de W. Sterndale Bennett. Joachim, du +reste, connait Brahms, de même l'ingermanique Reményi'.' + +What Brahms' own feelings were on reading the paper cannot be difficult +of conjecture. Joy and bewilderment, gratitude and dismay, must have +struggled within him for mastery. The steady sense of proportion which +was one of his life-long characteristics, the consciousness of the +almost crushing weight of artistic responsibility thus thrust upon him +at the outset of his career, must have conflicted severely with his +natural loyalty and his delight at having won from Schumann such an +overflowing measure of approval. To a man of weaker moral fibre, the +temptation to overmuch exaltation or undue depression might have proved +more than perilous. Brahms, however, was made of stuff that enabled him +to face the situation, to accept it, and finally to triumph over it, and +the means which he used are the only means that can enable even genius +to win the kind of victory that he obtained. They were unswerving +loyalty and single-hearted devotion to an exalted purpose. + +The matter of the selection of works to be submitted for the approval of +the publishers was much discussed both before and after the departure of +Joachim and Johannes from Düsseldorf, with the result that Schumann, +wrote on November 3, to Dr. Härtel, and proposed for publication; as Op. +1, String Quartet; 2, Set of six Songs; 3, Pianoforte Scherzo; 4, Second +set of six Songs; 5, Pianoforte Sonata in C major. He hoped, he said, to +arrive at an understanding by which, whilst the young composer would +derive an immediate pecuniary advantage, the publishers would not run +too much risk, and he suggested that if the sale of the works should, +after five years, have realized expectations, Brahms should then receive +further proportionate remuneration. He proposed as first payments; ten +Louis-d'ors (about £9 10s.) each, for the quartet and sonata, eight +Louis-d'ors (about £7 12s.) for the scherzo, six (£5 14s.) for each of +the two sets of songs--in all about £38. Should these proposals meet Dr. +Härtel's views, he would put Brahms into direct communication with him +in order that the works might be submitted for his consideration. + + 'He is an intimate of Joachim's in Hanover, where he proposes to + spend the winter. Joachim has written an extremely fine overture to + Hamlet, and an equally original and effective concerto for violin + and orchestra, which I can recommend to you with the warmest + sympathy.'[39] + +Schumann's kindness did not stop here. He sent a sympathetic note to +Jakob Brahms at home in Hamburg, tidings of which, and of the rejoicing +family circle, just established in a new dwelling at No. 7 +Lilienstrasse, were forwarded by the father to the young musician at +Hanover. Dr. Härtel did not delay in sending word that he would be glad +to see the manuscripts, for on November 9, Schumann wrote him a letter +of thanks for his favourable reply, and added: + + 'I will write to-day to Brahms, and beg him to go as soon as + possible to Leipzig to introduce his compositions to you himself. + His playing belongs essentially to his music. I do not remember to + have heard such original tone effects before.' + +Dr. Härtel's note was forwarded to Hanover by Schumann in a letter to +Joachim with the words: Give the enclosed to Johannes. He must go to +Leipzig; persuade him to do this, or they will get a wrong idea of his +works; he must play them himself. This seems to me very important.' +After relating the arrangements pending with the publisher, he adds: +'Once again, pray urge him to go to Leipzig for a week;' and concludes: +'Now good-bye, dear friend. Write again before our Dutch journey, and +tell Johannes, the lazy-bones, to do the same.' + +Johannes had, in fact, not written to Schumann since leaving Düsseldorf, +and he still waited, letting nearly three weeks go by before thanking +the master for his article in the _Neue Zeitschrift_. Perhaps this fact +may be regarded as confirmation of the surmise that he had not read +Schumann's prophetic announcement with feelings of unmixed satisfaction, +but if it be so, he allowed no other sign to appear of such a +possibility. He very anxiously reconsidered his choice of works for +publication, however, and before receiving Härtel's letter to Schumann, +had forwarded to Leipzig a somewhat different selection from that +decided on at Düsseldorf, withholding from it the string quartet. +Having settled this matter as far as he could to his satisfaction, and +brought himself to consent to Joachim's persuasions that he should go to +Leipzig for a week, his attitude to Schumann remained one of unmixed +gratitude and affection, as may be read in the following letter:[40] + + 'HONOURED MASTER, + + 'You have made me so immensely happy that I cannot attempt to thank + you in words. God grant that my works may soon prove to you how + much your affection and kindness have encouraged and stimulated me. + The public praise you have bestowed on me will have fastened + general expectation so exceptionally upon my performances that I do + not know how I shall be able to do some measure of justice to it. + Above all it obliges me to take the greatest care in the selection + of what is to be published. I do not propose to include either of + my trios, and think of choosing as Op. 1 and 2 the Sonatas in C and + F sharp minor, as Op. 3 Songs, and as Op. 4 the Scherzo in E flat + minor. You will think it natural that I should try with all my + might to disgrace you as little as possible. + + 'I put off writing to you so long because I had sent the four + things I have mentioned to Breitkopf and Härtel, and wished to wait + for the answer, to be able to tell you the result of your + recommendation. Your last letter to Joachim, however, informs us of + this, and so I have only to write to you that I shall go, as you + advise, within the next few days (probably to-morrow) to Leipzig. + + 'Further I wish to tell you that I have copied out my F minor + Sonata, and made considerable alterations in the finale. I have + also improved the violin sonata. I should like also to thank you a + thousand times for the dear portrait of yourself that you have sent + me, as well as for the letter you have written to my father. By it + you have made a pair of good people happy, and for life Your + + BRAHMS.' + + 'HANOVER, _16 Nov. 1853_.' + +The reader may have noted that the work chosen by Brahms with which to +introduce himself, not only to Joachim, but to the Deichmann circle, to +Wasielewsky, and to Schumann himself, was the C major Sonata now known +as Op. 1; and the natural inference to be drawn, that he considered it +his best as it was his latest achievement, is confirmed by his reply to +Louise Japha when she asked him, later on, why he had numbered his +scherzo, a much earlier work, as Op. 4. 'When one first shows one's +self,' he said, 'it is to the head and not the heels that one wishes to +draw attention.' + +That the composer was not mistaken, if we may thus take his own estimate +of his published works by implication, may be safely affirmed. Sharing +the fundamental characteristics, technical as well as temperamental, of +the earlier written work of the same form--unity of plan, wealth of +resource, impetuous vigour, dreamy romance, a breath that is repeatedly +suggestive of the folk-lore in which the composer loved to steep his +imagination--the Sonata in C gives evidence that the process of +crystallization had already begun which was to distinguish Brahms' +development towards maturity, which, indeed, did not stop at maturity, +but may be traced continuously down to the close of his career. This +process is to be observed, as regards the work in question, in the +themes of the principal movements, which are not only more pregnant in +themselves, but are presented in more concentrated form than those of +the Sonata in F sharp minor. That the first theme of the opening +movement bears traces of the composer's study of Beethoven's Sonata in B +flat, Op. 106, is of no great consequence. The question of musical +reminiscence is so frequently misunderstood that it may be well to +devote a few words to it on the threshold of our narrative of Brahms' +career as a composer, which will take but little account of such +occasional examples as may easily be found in his works--in the opening +bars of the scherzo of Op. 5, the second subject of the first allegro of +Op. 73, and so forth. No one would affirm that reminiscences are in +themselves desirable, but they are almost inevitable, and the important +question is, not whether this or that rhythmical figure, this or that +passing melodic progression, may be found anticipated in some earlier +work, but whether it has been so used the second time as to have become +an integral part of a composition with a distinct individuality of its +own. The parentage of Brahms' sonata Op. 1, as, indeed, of every work +published by him, is loudly proclaimed by each one of its pages. The +opinion entertained by our composer, when in his maturity, of the +self-satisfied reminiscence-hunter, is well illustrated by his reply to +a conceited acquaintance who was courageous enough, on an occasion late +in the seventies, to draw his attention to a transient resemblance in +one of his great works to a passage of Mendelssohn. 'Some booby has +already been telling me something of the kind.' (So was hab' ich schon +von einem Rindvieh gehört), he answered. 'Such things are always +discovered by the donkeys,' he said one day to a friend. + +That the C major Sonata has been heard more frequently than that +numbered as Op. 2, and is still occasionally to be found in a +concert-programme, may be accepted both as evidence and result of its +advance upon the Sonata in F sharp minor. The step from the C major to +the F minor Op. 5, is, however, more remarkable. In this work we find +that the 'wild wing-flapping' of which Schumann wrote has been calmed by +the faithful guardian, not only without detriment, but with strange +increase of strength and certainty, to the 'soaring power.' The progress +shown in the facility of expressing the idea seems almost to have +reacted on the idea to be expressed. No work in the entire catalogue of +Brahms' compositions more convincingly exhibits the composer's title to +rank as a seer of visions. In this one respect, in its exalted +imaginative energy, it may almost be associated with the wonderful first +symphony. Truly, it requires an interpreter who can decipher the vision, +and hearers capable of receiving the interpretation. In spite, however, +of the difficulties it presents both to listener and performer, as well +as of its defects of immaturity, this sonata, which was a favourite with +von Bülow, has grown very gradually into some measure of general +acceptance, and it seems not impossible that it may some day be +frequently heard in the concert-room. It is the only one of Brahms' +extant works which was submitted to Schumann's criticism whilst in +process of completion. In consequence of a mischance presently to be +related, the violin sonata referred to in the letter quoted above was +never published. + +Amongst the young Schumannites who had been roused by Joachim's and +Dietrich's accounts of Brahms to an extreme expectation, which had not +been lessened by the appearance of Schumann's essay, was one Heinrich +von Sahr, a musician from choice rather than necessity, who lived at +Leipzig in the intimacy of the notabilities of its artistic circle. He +had written in October to Dietrich: + + 'Send me your real opinion of Brahms. I am dreadfully anxious to + know him.... What is he like personally? Ah, write! do please write + soon and tell me what you think of him. Is he still in Düsseldorf? + What is his music like? What has he composed?' + +Von Sahr was the first person in Leipzig to make Brahms' acquaintance, +and, on the day after his arrival, insisted that he should leave his +hotel to become his guest. He introduced him to Mendelssohn's old +friend, the celebrated concertmeister, David; to Julius Rietz, conductor +of the Gewandhaus concerts; to the personal acquaintance of Dr. Härtel; +to Wieck and his daughter Marie (Frau Schumann's father and sister); to +Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel, one of Schumann's special friends; to Julius +Otto Grimm, a young musician whose room was on the same staircase as his +own, and who soon became numbered amongst Johannes' particular chums; +and, generally speaking, to the entire Leipzig circle. + + 'He is perfect!' he exclaims in a letter to Albert; 'the days since + he has been here are amongst the most delightful in my + recollection. He answers so exactly to my idea of an artist. And as + a man!--But enough, you know him better than I do.... + Unfortunately, he can only stay till Friday. He has, however, + promised, and I think he will keep his promise, to come again + soon.' + +There was a performance in von Sahr's rooms one morning, by Brahms and +David, of the sonata for pianoforte and violin, and performances on the +same and the following days of the C major Sonata and other solos, with +the now customary result. Johannes also writes to Albert: + + 'The Härtels have received me with immense kindness.... If our + master is still in Düsseldorf, tell him this, and say how highly I + honour him, how much I love him and how grateful I should like to + be.' + +Brahms left Leipzig on Friday, November 25, in Grimm's company, for a +few days' visit to the Countess Ida von Hohenthal, a lady living on her +estate not far from Leipzig, who was devoted to music, liked to receive +young artists, and always had a particularly warm welcome for Grimm and +his friends. Her name, which appears on the title-page of Brahms' Sonata +in F minor, Op. 5, is of interest from its association with this period +of the composer's début in the circle of the Leipzig notabilities, whose +number was swelled, during the first ten days of December, 1853, by the +presence of Berlioz from Paris, and that of Liszt, supported by a body +of his 'Murls,' from Weimar. + +The occasion of the assembling of the members of the New-German party in +the city of Leipzig was one of great importance to them. Berlioz had +been invited to conduct a selection of his works within the precincts of +the classical Gewandhaus itself, and the second part of the subscription +concert of December 1, was to be devoted to the following compositions: +'The Flight into Egypt,' 'Harold in Italy,' 'The Young Shepherd of +Brittany,' the fairy Scherzo from 'Romeo and Juliet,' selections from +'Faust,' and the overture to the 'Carnaval Romain.' Brahms and Grimm +returned in time to be present with their friends on the occasion, which +was made lively by the demonstrations and counter-demonstrations of two +conflicting parties in the audience, but seems to have resulted as +satisfactorily for the Weimarites as they could reasonably have +expected. Brahms and his messiahship were discussed, and none too +gently handled, at a supper-party at which Berlioz, Liszt, Gouvy, and +others of their set, met after the concert, but the hostile attitude +adopted towards the young musician was not enduring. The personal animus +which Schumann's essay had aroused against him was generally disarmed, +as he became known in Leipzig, by the attraction of his unassuming +manner--the more speedily, perhaps, because it was felt that his modesty +rested upon an underlying feeling of confidence in himself and his +purpose. He at once showed his indifference to party jealousies, and +perhaps ran some risk of offending his companions, by calling on Liszt, +who, with Berlioz, Raff, Laub, Reményi, and others, was staying at the +Hôtel de Bavière, and it will presently be shown that Liszt reconsidered +his position to the young musician towards whom public attention had +been so suddenly and strikingly directed. + +Johannes presented himself on the Sunday (December 4) following the +Gewandhaus concert at two houses always open to visitors on the first +day of the week, into both of which we are enabled to penetrate by means +of detailed accounts written immediately after the occurrences they +describe. One is contained in a volume by Helene von Vesque;[41] the +other in an 'open letter' written by Arnold Schloenbach to the editor +Brendel, for publication in the _Neue Zeitschrift für Musik_ of December +9, 1853. + +Hedwig, younger daughter of the wealthy house of Salamon, was not only +possessed of literary and artistic talents, but of a magnetic +personality which enabled her to form many distinguished friendships. +She was long intimate with the families of Mendelssohn, Schumann, +Schleinitz, Hauptmann, and other leaders of musical Leipzig, knew +Joachim as a boy, and was for some time looked upon by her circle as the +probable future wife of the Danish composer, Niels Gade. At the time of +which we write she had nearly completed her thirty-second year, but her +marriage with the composer Franz von Holstein did not take place until +nearly two years later. The extracts from her diaries and letters +contained in Helene von Vesque's book include several of interest to +musical readers. Of young Brahms she says: + + 'Yesterday Herr von Sahr brought me a young man who held in his + hand a letter from Joachim. He sat down opposite me, this young + hero of the day, this young messiah of Schumann's, fair, + delicate-looking, who, at twenty, has clearly-cut features free + from all passion. Purity, innocence, naturalness, power, and + depth--this indicates his being. One is so inclined to think him + ridiculous and to judge him harshly on account of Schumann's + prophecy; but all is forgotten; one only loves and admires him. In + the evening he came to a small party at Elizabeth's [Hedwig's + sister, Frau von Seebach].... He placed himself at a little table + near me, and spoke so brightly and continuously that his friends at + the other table could not be surprised enough, for he is generally + extremely quiet and dreamy. We had plenty of points in common: + Joachim, the Wehners, our mutual favourite poets, Jean Paul and + Eichendorf, and his, Hoffmann and Schiller.... He vehemently urged + me to read "Kabale and Liebe" and the "Serapionsbrüder," but above + all Hoffmann's musical novels, of which he spoke with real + enthusiasm. "I spend all my money on books; books are my greatest + pleasure. I have read as much as I possibly could since I was quite + little, and have made my way without guidance from the worst to the + best. I devoured innumerable romances of chivalry as a child until + the 'Robbers' fell into my hands, of which I knew nothing except + that it had been written by a great poet. I asked for something + more by the same Schiller, however, and so made gradual progress." + He speaks in the same fresh way of music, and when I said to him, + "You will not care so much about music when you have a post as + music-director or professor," he answered smiling, but quite + decidedly: "Yes; I shall not take a post." + + 'And with all this independent strength, a thin boy's voice that + has not yet changed! and a child's countenance that any girl might + kiss without blushing. And the purity and firmness of his whole + being, which guarantee that the spoiled world will not be able to + overcome this man; for, as he has been able to bear his elevation + from obscurity to the perilous position of an idol without losing + any of his modesty, or even his naïveté, so God, who created such + a beautiful nature will continue to help him!' + +Schloenbach's 'open letter' is written in too inflated a style to +deserve lengthy quotation, but one or two extracts may be welcome as +describing our composer's first semi-public appearance in Leipzig. Franz +Brendel's 'at home' on the particular Sunday in question was a more than +usually brilliant function. 'Composers, teachers, virtuosi, lyric and +dramatic poets, romancists, booksellers, critics and journalists--even +preachers--clever, artistic women, charming girls,' were gathered in the +editor's reception-rooms, and one artist after another performed for the +edification of the distinguished audience. A harp solo executed by +Jeanette Paul, and rewarded by a double handshake from Berlioz; one on +the pianoforte by Krause; a number of vocal contributions by the great +tenor Götze--songs by Schumann and Wagner, and, in association with the +accomplished amateur and Wagner enthusiast Frau Lily Steche, the famous +'Lohengrin' duet--formed the earlier part of the impromptu programme. + + 'The last performance of all was of special interest. Following + maturity came immaturity, but immaturity of rare endowment and rich + promise; immaturity already considerably defined, because possessed + of individual power and true originality. We listened now to the + young Brahms from Hamburg, referred to the other day in Schumann's + article in your journal. The article had, as you know, awakened + mistrust in numerous circles (perhaps in many cases only from + fear). At all events it had created a very difficult situation for + the young man, for its justification required the fulfilment of + great demands; and when the slender, fair youth appeared, so + deficient in presence, so shy, so modest, his voice still in + transitional falsetto, few could have suspected the genius that had + already created so rich a world in this young nature. Berlioz had, + however, already discovered in his profile a striking likeness to + Schiller, and conjectured his possession of a kindred virgin soul, + and when the young genius unfolded his wings, when, with + extraordinary facility, with inward and outward energy, he + presented his scherzo, flashing, rushing, sparkling; when, + afterwards, his andante swelled towards us in intimate, mournful + tones, we all felt: Yes, here is a true genius, and Schumann was + right; and when Berlioz, deeply moved, embraced the young man and + pressed him to his heart, then, dear friend, I felt myself affected + by such a sacred tremour of enthusiasm as I have seldom + experienced.... If you should smile now and then whilst reading my + letter, remember that it is the poet who has spoken, and that it + was yourself who invited him to do so. + + 'LEIPZIG, + '_December 5, 1853_.' + +It must not be forgotten, in connection with these effusive lines, that +the party circumstances of the time and the excitement caused by +Schumann's article made Brahms' appearance amongst the guests of +Brendel, who had identified himself with the New-Germans, an event of +importance, to be regretted by the younger and more excitable of the +Leipzigers, and welcomed by the Weimarites. It no doubt contributed to +the satisfaction expressed by Liszt, in a letter to Bülow, on his return +to Weimar after a second appearance of Berlioz in Leipzig, and the +sympathetic tone of this communication clearly shows that the motive of +policy which dictated it was supported by a more personal feeling of +approbation. He says on December 14: + + 'Je viens de passer quelques jours à Leipzig, où j'ai assisté aux + deux concerts de Berlioz le 1er et le 11 de ce mois. Le résultat + d'opinion à été en somme très favorable à Berlioz.' + +And two days later: + + 'Écrivez-moi de Hanovre, où vous ferez bien de passer une quinzaine + de jours. Vous y trouverez Brahms auquel je m'intéresse sincèrement + et qui s'est conduit avec tact et bon goût envers moi durant les + quelques jours que je viens de passer à Leipzig en l'honneur de + Berlioz. Aussi l'ai-je invité plusieurs fois à dîner et me plais à + croire que ses "Neue Bahnen" (New Paths) le rapprocheront davantage + de Weimar par la suite. Vous serez content de la Sonate en Ut dont + j'ai parcouru les épreuves à Leipzig et qu'il m'avait déjà montré + ici. C'est précisément celui de ses ouvrages qui m'avait donné la + meilleure idée de son talent de composition. Mille et mille tendres + amitiés à Joachim, auquel j'ai fait demander sa partition de + l'ouverture de Hamlet par Brahms et par Cossmann. Rappelez-lui que + je désire beaucoup la faire exécuter à la prochaine représentation + et la maintenir pour les représentations subséquentes.'[42] + +Brahms was persuaded to make his first public appearance in Leipzig at +one of the David Quartet Concerts, which took place regularly in the +small hall of the Gewandhaus. The programme of the occasion consisted of +Mendelssohn's D major Quartet, Brahms' C major Sonata and E flat minor +Scherzo, and Mozart's G minor Quintet. The reception of the new works by +the audience was not discouraging, in spite of the absence from them of +the qualities that go to the making of an immediate popular success, and +most of the critics treated the composer sympathetically. Some of them, +not content with writing about his music, discussed his appearance, and +one described his 'Raphael head.' + + 'In the second Quartet concert, which took place on December 17,' + says 'Hoplit' [Dr. Richard Pohl, a writer in the interests of the + Weimar school, who was on the staff of the _Neue Zeitschrift_], + 'Johannes Brahms presented himself to the public with his Sonata in + C major and his Scherzo. Schumann's article caused much division + amongst the uninitiated, but all doubt has been dispelled by + Brahms' public appearance, and we concur with all our heart, and + with the warmest satisfaction, in Schumann's opinion of the + unassuming and richly-endowed young artist. There is something + forcible, something transporting, in the works which Brahms + performed the other evening. A ripeness rare in one so young, a + creative power springing spontaneously from a rich artist-mind, are + revealed in them. We find ourselves in the presence of one of those + highly-gifted natures, an artist by the grace of God. Some + roughnesses and angularities in the outward, very independent form + of Brahms' compositions may be overlooked for the sake of the + imposing beauty of their artistic aim. His modulations are often of + striking effect; they are frequently surprising, but always fine + and artistically justifiable. Brahms' spirit is in affinity with + the genius of Schumann. He will, advancing steadfastly and safely + along his "new paths," some day become what Schumann has predicted + of him, an epoch-making figure in the history of art.' + +Stress was laid by the orthodox _Signale_ on the originality and +freshness of the composer's invention, on the significance of his +thematic material, and on his eminent gift for presenting his ideas in +varied and interesting forms. His facility in unexpected modulations was +noted, but, by this critic, not always approved. With regard to the +performance, 'much appeared more difficult to the executant than to the +creator, for the sonata is very hard to play, and Brahms is a better +composer than virtuoso.' + +The composer's Leipzig successes had, indeed, been sufficient to enable +him to arrange with a second publisher, Bartolf Senff, for the +production of his sonata for violin and pianoforte, and of a third set +of songs, as Op. 5 and Op. 6, respectively. His satisfaction at the +remarkable turn in his affairs is summed up in a letter, overflowing +with happiness, to the master at Düsseldorf. The style of the address is +in allusion to the Schumanns' just completed brilliantly successful +concert-journey in Holland. + + 'MYNHEER DOMINE, + + 'Forgive him, whom you have made so boundlessly glad and happy, for + the jesting address. I have only the best and most satisfactory + news to relate. + + 'To your warm recommendation I owe my reception in Leipzig, + friendly beyond all expectation, and especially beyond all desert. + Härtels declared themselves ready, with great pleasure, to print my + first attempts. They are these: Op. 1, Sonata in C major; Op. 2, + Sonata in F sharp minor; Op. 3, Songs; Op. 4, Scherzo in E flat + minor. + + 'I delivered to Herr Senff for publication: Op. 5, Sonata in A + minor for Violin and Pianoforte; Op. 6, six Songs. + + 'May I venture to place Frau Schumann's name upon the title-page of + my second work? I scarcely dare to do so, and yet I should like so + much to offer you a little token of my respect and gratitude. + + 'I shall probably receive copies of my first things before + Christmas. With what feelings shall I then see my parents again + after nearly a year's absence. I cannot describe what is in my + heart when I think of it. + + 'May you never regret what you have done for me, may I become + really worthy of you. Your + + 'JOH. BRAHMS.' + +The letter was written from Hanover, whither Johannes proceeded on the +20th, accompanied by Grimm, with whom the acquaintance of the first +Leipzig days had already ripened into an intimacy that remained one of +the closest of our composer's life. A treasured memorial of its +commencement is in the possession of Fräulein Marie Grimm--the original +manuscript of the set of six Songs, Op. 6, as arranged for publication, +with Brahms' autograph inscription on the title-page: 'Meinem lieben +Julius zur Erinnerung an Kreisler jun., 8 Dec., 1853.' + +There was quite a reunion at Hanover, for Dietrich had come over by +Johannes' particular desire to meet him, and the four young men spent +two pleasant days in each other's society. Grimm now first made +acquaintance with Joachim, and remained behind to cultivate his +friendship when the two others departed. By the end of the week Johannes +was in his parents' arms. + +It is not difficult to imagine something of the mother's feelings as she +welcomed back the long-absent Hannes, who had always been as the apple +of her eye, or to picture the simple preparations, the sweeping and +scouring, the polishing and decorating, with which she and Elise +anticipated his arrival; but who shall measure the father's joy on the +return of his young conquering hero? The swiftly-progressing successes +of Johannes' journey had been most literally Jakob's own personal +triumphs, vindicating emphatically every one of the stages of his +career; the obstinate disobedience of his boyhood, the pertinacious +struggle of his youth, the reckless adventure of his marriage. What +wonder that, as time went on, Johannes became to him as a sacred being +in whose presence he felt awed and unable to speak or act naturally, but +of whom, when alone with a sympathetic listener, he would talk +unweariedly by the hour, tears of joy running down his cheeks. + +As to Johannes himself, the feelings he had not been able to describe in +his letter to Schumann were probably strong enough within his heart to +touch the joy of the first home embraces with a gravity that did not +immediately admit of speech. The first emotions over, however, an +exuberant mirthfulness asserted itself in the bearing of the happy young +fellow. He established at this time a custom from which he never +afterwards departed. The first visit paid by him after his arrival was +to Marxsen. One to the Cossels soon followed, and, on this occasion of +his return from a first real absence, he went the round of several +Lokals, where he had been accustomed to work regularly, and in his +lightness of heart flourished on some of the instruments that had been +the sign of his bondage, in very joy at his emancipation. + +The radiance of this year's Christmastide in the little home where the +young genius dwelt for a few days, the simple, unspoiled child of loving +and beloved parents, might have been taken for granted. We possess an +assurance of it, however, in some words written by Johannes, at the end +of the year, to Schumann: + + 'HONOURED FRIEND, + + 'Herewith I venture to send you your first foster-children (which + are indebted to you for their world citizenship), very much + concerned as to whether they may rejoice in your unaltered + indulgence and affection. To me, they look in their new form much + too precise and timid, almost philistine indeed. I cannot accustom + myself to seeing the innocent sons of Nature in such decorous + clothing. + + 'I am looking forward immensely to seeing you in Hanover and being + able to tell you that my parents and I owe the most blissful time + of our lives to your and Joachim's too-great affection. I was + overjoyed to see my parents and teacher again, and have passed a + glorious time in their midst. + + 'I beg you to express the most cordial greetings to Frau Schumann + and your children of + + 'Your + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS. + + 'HAMBURG, _in December, 1853_.' + +As we have said in a previous chapter, the violin and pianoforte sonata +that was to have been published as Op. 5 was not given to the world. The +manuscript was mysteriously lost. How or by whose agency has never been +made clear. That Brahms delivered it to Senff for publication is +expressly stated in his letter to Schumann. The known circumstances of +the case lead to the conclusion that it was borrowed from the publisher +by Liszt during his Leipzig visit--no doubt with Brahms' +concurrence--for performance with Reményi at the Hôtel de Bavière, and +not returned. In a letter written by Liszt six months later to +Klindworth, who was giving concerts in England with Reményi, he says: + + 'Reményi does not answer me about the manuscript of Brahms' violin + sonata. Apparently he has taken it with him, for I have, to my + vexation, hunted three times through the whole of my music without + being able to find it. Do not forget to write to me about it in + your next letter, as Brahms wants the sonata for publication.' + +There is a ring of vexation in these words which suggests that Liszt +felt responsible for the work. No trace of it was discovered, however, +until 1872, nineteen years after its disappearance, when, says Dietrich, +'whilst I was staying in Bonn to conduct my D minor Symphony, +Wasielewsky showed me a very beautifully copied violin part, and asked +me if I knew the handwriting. I immediately recognised it as that of +Brahms' first period. We regretted very much that the pianoforte part +was not to be found. It will have been the violin part of the lost +sonata.' + +The works actually published, therefore, before and after the New Year +were--by Breitkopf and Härtel, the Sonatas in C, Op. 1, and in F sharp +minor, Op. 2, dedicated respectively to Joachim and Frau Schumann; the +set of Songs, Op. 3, dedicated to Bettina von Arnim, whose acquaintance +Brahms had made, through Joachim, during his visit to Hanover in +November; and the Scherzo, Op. 4, dedicated to Wenzel: and by Bartolf +Senff, the Sonata in F minor, Op. 5, dedicated to the Countess Ida von +Hohenthal, substituted for the lost work; and the set of Songs dedicated +to Louise and Minna Japha, Op. 6. Schumann presented a copy of the +songs, Op. 6, to the Japhas immediately on their publication, on which +he wrote: 'Dem Fräulein Japha, zum Andenken an das Weihnachtsfest, 1853, +als Vorbote des eigentlichen Gebers. R. Schumann' (To the Misses Japha, +in remembrance of the Christmas Festival, 1853, as forerunner of the +real giver). + +In the two sets of songs, Op. 3 and 6, and in the third, Op. 7, +dedicated to Dietrich and published but little later, may already be +perceived the composer whose lyrics were destined to take their place in +the heart of the great German people as a unique portion of a peculiar +national treasure. Deeply original, absolutely sincere, of an +imagination that is angelic in its purity, feminine in its tenderness, +and virile in its reticent strength, Brahms' songs admit us to communion +with a rarely ideal nature, and the intuitive power of perfect +expression which marks some of his early lyrics anticipates the +experience of his later years. The beautiful 'O versenk dein Leid' will, +no doubt, always be treasured as the most exquisite example, in its +domain, of this early period of his fancy, but each of the three first +song collections contains one or more tone-poems to which the +music-lover returns with delight. Amongst them may be mentioned 'Der +Frühling' (Op. 6, No. 2) and 'Treue Liebe' and 'Heimkehr' (Op. 7, Nos. 1 +and 6). The last-named little gem is the earliest written of the +published songs; unfortunately, it has only one verse. + +The energy of imagination dwelling within Brahms' songs is often the +more striking from its concentration within the short form preferred by +the composer in the majority of instances. In it, as time went on, he +gave vivid expression to thoughts wistful or bright, playful or sombre, +naïve or deeply pondered; and whilst his lyrics are especially +characterized by the clear shaping of the song-melody, and the +distinctness of the harmonic foundations upon which it rests, many of +them derive an added distinction from a quiet significance in the +accompaniment, which, whilst helping the musical representation of a +poetic idea, never embarrasses the voice. In spite of their apparent +simplicity, the accompaniments are, however, frequently difficult both +to read and to perform. + +It is to be said, generally, of Brahms' songs that they do not betray +the marked influence of either of the two great lyrical composers who +preceded him. They have no affinity with those of Schumann, and if many +of them share the fresh naturalness of Schubert's inspirations, this is +rather to be traced to a partiality for the folk-song, in which both +composers found an inexhaustible stimulus to their fancy. On the other +hand, in Brahms' songs we frequently meet the musician who has +penetrated so deeply into the art of Bach that it has germinated afresh +in his imagination, and placed him in possession of an idiom capable of +serving him in the expression of his complex individuality. Each song +bears the distinctive stamp of the composer's genius, though hardly two +resemble each other, and it would be difficult to point to one that +could be mistaken for the work of another musician. + +The young Kreisler was in the habit of presenting his manuscripts, and +especially those of his songs, to intimate friends. Most of these gifts +bear his boyish, affectionate inscriptions, some only the date and place +of composition. 'Göttingen, July, 1853,' is written at the end of an +autograph copy of 'Ich muss hinaus' presented at Düsseldorf to the +Japhas. 'Weit über das Feld' has a friendly inscription in his hand to +the sisters. His manuscripts--probably the originals--of some of the +songs from Op. 3, notably 'O versenk' and 'In der Fremde,' the latter +dated 1852, were given 'To my dear Julius in kind remembrance' (J. O. +Grimm). Touching pictures arise in the mind as one looks at these pages, +some of them discoloured by time, of the young idealist with his girlish +face and long fair hair sitting at his night toil, his soul whole and in +his possession, his thoughts straining towards the early morning hours, +the only ones of the twenty-four which he was certain of being able to +devote to the loveliest inspirations of his muse. In the eager affection +of the inscriptions is to be read his bounding joy at his release; in +the devoted remembrance with which his gifts have been treasured may be +perceived one of the qualities of his personality which he, perhaps, but +little understood--the power of attracting the abiding love of loyal +friends. + +It is now time to sum up the real significance in the life of Brahms of +the remarkable first concert-journey, the account of which has so long +occupied our attention, and this may be done in a very few words. The +journey was the transformation scene of his life. The obscure musician +who, having been guarded from the dangers of prodigy fame, had started +from Hamburg in April without prestige, without recommendations, without +knowledge of the world, its manners or its artifices, had passed from +the two or three provincial platforms on which he had appeared as +Reményi's accompanist, to present himself as pianist and composer in the +Leipzig Gewandhaus, and to return to his home in December the accepted +associate of the great musicians of the day; recognised by Weimar, +appreciated by Leipzig; encouraged by Berlioz and Liszt, claimed by +Schumann and Joachim. Before he had well begun to climb the steep hill +of reputation he had found himself transported to its summit. Starting +hardly as an aspirant to fame, he had come back the proclaimed heir to a +prophet's mantle. His life's horizon had been indefinitely widened, his +whole existence changed. Back again amid the familiar scenes of Hamburg, +the events of the past nine months must have seemed to him as the +visions of an enchanted dream. + +To the wise and faithful friend in Altona the occurrences which had +startled the musical world had seemed in no wise astonishing. + + 'There was probably,' wrote Marxsen later to La Mara, 'but one man + who was not surprised--myself. I knew what Brahms had accomplished, + how comprehensive were his acquirements, what exalted talent had + been bestowed on him, and how finely its blossom was unfolding. + Schumann's recognition and admiration were, all the same, a great, + great joy to me; they gave me the rare satisfaction of knowing that + the teacher had perceived the right way to protect the + individuality of the talent, and to form it gradually to + self-dependence.' + +These last words seem to indicate that here is a fitting opportunity for +the brief consideration of a question which has not seldom been raised, +and has received various answers, often biassed by prepossession. What +was Marxsen's share in the art of Brahms? A Brahms would have learned +what he did learn, if not from Marxsen then from someone else, has been +the opinion of some people to whose judgment respect is due. Such +influence as Marxsen had on Brahms' development was merely negative, is +the reply of others; and it has been affirmed, on the authority of Herr +Oberschulrath Wendt, that Brahms declared on one occasion that he had +learned nothing from his master.[43] + +Without stopping to discuss whether it has been just to the memory +either of Brahms or of Marxsen to give the permanence and emphasis of +print to whatever depreciatory words Brahms may have let fall in an +unguarded moment to an intimate friend, it may safely be asserted that +if our composer fortunately became aware, at an early age, of what had +been the weak points of his master's teaching, he preserved, when at the +height of his mastership, a clear recognition and grateful appreciation +of the strong ones. + +Marxsen has himself indicated, in the last sentence of the above +quotation from his letter, the two main purposes of his teaching, both +of which were attained by him in the case of Brahms with absolute +success. To have 'protected the individuality' of an endowment so +powerfully original as that of our composer might, perhaps, be regarded +as an easy achievement if taken alone; though even here it should be +remembered that Marxsen made himself responsible, when the affectionate +and impressionable Hannes was at a tender age, for his musical +education, and must, therefore, have been instrumental in directing his +creative energy to that study of the highest art by means of which it +developed to such good purpose. To have trained his talent to the +'self-dependence' it had attained by the time the young composer was +twenty, however, implies in the teacher a distinctness of aim, a +knowledge of method, an insight and originality, an active and potent +influence, which few will fail to attribute to Marxsen who have a real +acquaintance with the large works of Brahms' earliest period, written at +the time that his formal pupilage was drawing or, in the case of one +work, had just drawn, to its close. + +Limitation of space prevents the possibility of giving here a detailed +description of Marxsen's methods of instruction, but, as some account of +their excellencies and shortcomings seems to be called for, it may be +said that as a teacher of free composition, and especially of the art of +building up the forms which may be studied in the works of Haydn, +Mozart, and Beethoven, he was great--the more so that he did not educate +his pupils merely by setting them to imitate the outward shape of +classical models. He began by teaching them to form a texture, by +training them radically in the art of developing a theme. Taking a +phrase or a figure from one or other of the great masters, he would +desire the pupil to exhibit the same idea in every imaginable variety of +form, and would make him persevere in this exercise until he had gained +facility in perceiving the possibilities lying in a given subject, and +ingenuity in presenting them. Pursuing the same method with material of +the pupil's own invention, he aimed at bringing him to feel, as by +intuition, whether a musical subject were or were not suitable for +whatever immediate purpose might be in view. The next step was that the +idea should be pursued not arbitrarily, but logically, to its +conclusion--a conclusion that was not, however, allowed to be a +hard-and-fast termination. Marxsen's pupils were taught to aim at making +their movements resemble an organic growth, in which each part owed its +existence to something that had gone before. 'Unity clothed in variety' +might have been his motto. + +The strength and freedom of craftsmanship, the immense resource imparted +by such training, and the assistance lent by its earlier stages to the +later study of construction, hardly need pointing out, nor is it +necessary to dwell upon particular instances of its efficacy in the case +of Brahms. Every page of his instrumental music teems with +illustrations of the fruitfulness of his youthful studies; their result +lives in the very core of his technique, and to them may in great part +be traced, not only his mastery of form, but the elasticity which from +the first marks his essential adherence to the models of classical +tradition. + +The severe course of apprenticeship in the art of free contrapuntal +writing to which Marxsen subjected his pupil, which furthered, and was +itself helped, by his training, in thematic development, is abundantly +evident in the movements of the three pianoforte sonatas, and the +estimation of the precise value especially of the two first of these +works is facilitated by some knowledge of the methods from which they +resulted. That Brahms, when at the summit of his mastership, expressed +his exact sense of his indebtedness to his teacher, to whom he +constantly testified his gratitude and affection both by word and +action, is in the knowledge of the present writer. Gradually in the +course of his career he had, he said, made the acquaintance of nearly +all the foremost musicians of Germany, and he believed that in the +teaching of the logical development of a theme, and in the teaching of +form, especially what is called 'sonata form,' Marxsen, even if he could +be equalled could not be excelled. + +Eminent as he was, however, as an instructor in the art of free +imitative composition, in that of pure part-writing Marxsen was no +trustworthy guide. That he had gone through a course of training in +strict counterpoint, canon and fugue--the surest foundation for the +attainment of facility in part-writing--in his early days under Clasing, +and that he carried his pupils through the same branches of study, goes +without saying; but he had retained neither the exact knowledge, nor the +interest, necessary to enable him to impart to his pupils purity and +ease in the strict style of writing, or to train them to the effective +application of the contrapuntal skill they might have acquired, in +compositions in pure parts for voices or instruments. + +It would be a nice question to determine, however, whether the very fact +of Marxsen's deficiencies did not result in a balance of gain to +Brahms. While his powers of imagination obtained from what his master +did do, encouragement and strength and facility in concentrating +themselves into shape, they were exempt by the absence of that which he +did not do from the danger of being dwarfed or intimidated. Marxsen +helped Johannes to the putting forth of his strength in confidence and +joy, and if the young musician ever felt it irksome to have to go back +to the confining and polishing processes, he knew that the conquests won +by him during the time of his pupilage ensured him final victory in the +fresh course of serious study to which he soon voluntarily submitted +himself. + +Marxsen's indifference to the study of part-writing is strangely +illustrated by the absence of his name from the list of subscribers to +the great Leipzig edition of Bach's works; an absence which can hardly +be accounted for, in view of his enthusiasm for the instrumental works +of the mighty master, otherwise than by the supposition that his +vehement intolerance of religious creeds had impaired his interest in +the branch of musical art which originated and reached its highest +development in the service of the churches. The majority of the works +made generally known by the publications of the Bach Society were +written for use in the two churches for the musical portion of whose +services Bach was for many years responsible. This hypothesis is equally +plausible in its application to the church composers and learned +contrapuntists of the early Italian and German schools. + +An interesting article on Marxsen is to be found in a little book called +'Künstler Charakteristiken aus dem Concert-Saal,' by his friend +Professor Joseph Sittard, and in an address given by this author at a +Brahms memorial concert in Hamburg immediately after the master's death, +the following sympathetic allusion was made to the beloved teacher: + + 'Brahms had the rare good fortune of being trained under a teacher + whose like does not fall to the lot of many young musicians. + Pledged to no special artistic creed, sworn to no particular + tendency or party, Marxsen had interest to bestow upon every + important development of musical art. He never gave instruction on + an inflexible scheme, but allowed himself to be guided by the + separate requirements of each case. He was careful not to interfere + with the individuality of young talent, not to meddle with the + distinctive peculiarities of his pupil's creative ability; he only + guided them within artistic confines. Brahms regarded his teacher + with touching gratitude, and when at the height of his creative + power still continued to send his compositions, before their + publication, for Marxsen's critical inspection. Nothing is more + indicative of the intimate relation between the two men than the + letters (from Brahms to Marxsen) that I was permitted to see years + ago.' + +Unfortunately for the musical world, only one or two scraps of this +correspondence remain. On the death of Marxsen in 1887, Brahms' letters +to his teacher were returned to him at his request, and were destroyed. + +[36] 'I have here in my mind Joseph Joachim, Ernst Naumann, Ludwig +Norman, Woldemar Bargiel, Theodor Kirchner, Julius Schäffer, Albert +Dietrich, not forgetting the earnest-minded E. F. Wilsing. As trusty +heralds in the right path, Niels W. Gade, C. F. Mangold, Robert Franz, +and St. Heller should also be named here.' + +[37] Joachim. + +[38] Anti-philistines. + +[39] 'Robert Schumann's Briefe.' Neue Folge. Edited by Gustav Jansen. + +[40] The letters in this and the following chapters from Brahms to +Schumann were first published by La Mara in the _Neue Freie Presse_ of +May 7, 1897. + +[41] 'Eine Glückliche. Hedwig von Holstein in ihren Briefen und +Tagebuchblättern.' + +[42] 'Liszt's Briefe.' Edited by La Mara. + +[43] Kalbeck's 'Johannes Brahms,' p. 35. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + 1854-1855 + + Brahms at Hanover--Hans von Bülow--Robert and Clara Schumann in + Hanover--Schumann's illness--Brahms in Düsseldorf--Variations on + Schumann's theme in F sharp minor--B major Trio--First public + performance in New York--First attempt at symphony. + + +With the opening of the year 1854, Brahms may be said to have entered +upon the first chapter of his new life. The transition stage of his +career had been defined with unusual sharpness of outline. The eventful +journey had been as a bridge by which he had passed from youth to +manhood. Behind it were the dark years of lonely effort with issue still +untried, the gathering up of strength and treasure but dimly recognised +by the worker, labouring under a thick haze of obscurity; in front lay, +straight and clear, the pathway of endeavour towards a fixed goal, +cheered by companionship and illumined by the consciousness of a measure +of success already won. Having tranquillized his mind and shaken off the +effects of months of excitement by nearly a fortnight's intercourse with +his family and friends at Hamburg, Johannes was impatient to get quietly +to work again, all the more since new and forcible motives--the sense of +his responsibility to Schumann, and the desire to become as far as +possible worthy of his encomiums--added their influence to the energy of +his nature, and helped to spur him on to the resolve to outdo even his +utmost. + +Bringing his stay in Hamburg to a close with the opening of the New +Year, he left on January 3 or 4 for Hanover, where he found a new +introduction awaiting his arrival. Hans von Bülow, who had passed +Christmas in Joachim's 'dear society,' writes on the 6th to his mother: + + 'I have become tolerably well acquainted with Robert Schumann's + young prophet Brahms. He arrived two days ago, and is always with + us. A very lovable, frank nature, and a talent that really has + something God-given about it.'[44] + +Bülow took an early opportunity of carrying out Liszt's desire, hinted +at in the letter of December 16. He played the first movement of the C +major Sonata on March 1 at Frau Peroni-Glasbrenner's concert in Hamburg, +and was thus the first artist--always excepting the composer himself--to +perform a work of Brahms in public. That his attitude towards our +composer did not, during the succeeding twenty years, correspond with +this promising beginning, as will be seen hereafter, may be chiefly +attributed to the disappointment with which the disciples of the +New-German school gradually realized that their artistic aims were at +variance with the mature convictions of Joachim, whom they reckoned for +a while as one of themselves, and of Brahms, whose allegiance they had +hoped to secure. + +Johannes, established in a lodging of his own at Hanover, began the +routine of work, diversified by intimate association with a few chosen +friends, which he preferred to the end of his life, and was soon +absorbed in the composition of his B major Pianoforte Trio. The intimacy +between Joachim and himself was now widened to a triple alliance by the +addition of Grimm, and lively discussions were carried on in Joachim's +rooms late into the night by the three friends. The young violinist had +not been a smoker up to this time, but his companions used to envelop +him and themselves in such thick clouds of tobacco, that one night, +unable any longer to endure his sufferings passively, he suddenly +declared his surrender, and began to puff away with the others, to +Brahms' and Grimm's great delight. + +Schumann had accepted an invitation from Hille, the founder and +conductor of the 'New Singakademie' at Hanover, to be present at a +performance of his 'Paradise and the Peri' on January 28, and, to the +joy of the young musicians, wrote to Joachim to suggest that his visit, +which was to be made in the company of his wife, should be the occasion +of several public appearances. He continues: + + 'Now, where is Johannes? Is he with you? If so, greet him. Is he + flying high--or only amongst flowers? Is he setting drums and + trumpets to work yet? He must call to mind the beginnings of the + Beethoven symphonies; he must try to do something of the same kind. + The beginning is the main point; when one has begun, the end seems + to come of itself.... + + 'I hope also to see, or better still to hear, something new of + yours soon. You, too, should remember the above-named symphony + beginnings, but not before Henry and Demetrius.[45] + + 'I always get into a good humour when I write to you. You are a + kind of physician for me. + + 'Adieu. + + 'Your R. SCHU.' + +Some idea of the happy week passed by the three friends in the constant +society of their 'master' may be gathered from Moser's charming +description in his Life of Joachim. Schumann could not see enough of his +beloved young favourites, Joachim and Brahms, and readily extended his +cordiality to their companion Grimm. The third subscription concert was +a veritable Schumann festival. Joachim conducted the master's fourth +symphony, 'evidently with great delight and love,' says the _Hanover +Courier_, as well as Beethoven's Pianoforte Concerto in E flat, played +by Frau Schumann, and performed Schumann's lately-written Violin +Fantasia dedicated to him and first played at Düsseldorf. There were +plenty of opportunities for private meetings in Joachim's rooms, in the +railway restaurant, and elsewhere, that were unshadowed by any +presentiment of an impending catastrophe; for Schumann was unusually +bright and communicative, and took pleasure in amusing his young +friends with anecdotes of his own early experiences. The hours thus +passed were tenderly remembered in after-years by those who had been +gladdened by the setting radiance of a light soon to be extinguished. + + 'What a high festival we have had through the Schumanns' visit,' + writes Brahms, a few days after their departure, to Dietrich in + Düsseldorf. 'Everything has seemed alive since. Greet the great + ones from me many times.'[46] + +A week after their return Schumann wrote: + + '_February 6, 1854._ + + 'DEAR JOACHIM, + + 'We have been at home eight days, and have not yet sent a word to + you and your companions. I have, however, frequently written to you + with invisible ink.... We have often thought of the past days; may + others like them come quickly! The kind royal family, the excellent + orchestra, and the two young dæmons moving amid the scenes--we + shall not soon forget it. + + 'The cigars are very much to my liking. It seems they were a + handshake from Brahms, and, as usual, a very substantial and + agreeable one. + + 'Write to me soon--in words and in tones! + + 'R. SCHU.' + +It is sad to realize that the very day after sending this letter, so +free from signs of depression, so bright and healthy in tone, Schumann +wrote down his last musical thought, the now well-known Theme in E flat; +and that three weeks later he was overtaken by the crisis of his +terrible malady. Alarming symptoms declared themselves as the month went +on; the master became a prey to attacks of mental agony, and was +distressed by illusions, imagining that he constantly heard one or more +notes from the impression of which he was unable to rid himself. In the +intervals of relief from his sufferings he continued to compose, and +wrote several variations on his theme, which he fancied had been brought +to him in the night by the spirits of Schubert and Mendelssohn; but his +condition gave rise to such grave apprehension that he was constantly +watched by his wife in turn with one or another devoted friend. On +February 27, however, he managed to leave his house unobserved, and a +few moments afterwards had thrown himself into the Rhine. He was rescued +by some sailors belonging to a steamboat near, and conveyed to his home +in a carriage, but his state continued so distressing that Frau +Schumann, herself needing care at the time, was not allowed by the +doctors to see him, and he was taken, on March 4, to the private +establishment of Dr. Richarz at Endenich, near Bonn. + +It would be difficult to describe in exaggerated terms the consternation +with which a great part of the musical world, and especially the friends +of Schumann's immediate circle, became aware of these overwhelming +occurrences. Sorrow for the great master, love for the indulgent friend, +alarmed sympathy for the stricken wife, kept the younger of his +disciples in a state of restless agitation, which seems to have found +its principal relief in the writing of letters of excited inquiry to +Dietrich, the only one of their number on the scene of the catastrophe. + + 'Never in my life has anything so moved and deeply shaken me,' + wrote Theodor Kirchner, 'as the dreadful occurrence with our + honoured, beloved Schumann.... We should all be terribly lonely + without him, and as regards myself, all pleasure in my own + endeavours would be gone.' + + 'Pray send me an exact description of the whole catastrophe _as + quickly as possible_,' so ran Naumann's letter, 'especially if + there is any hope of Schumann's complete restoration, how his + unhappy wife has borne this cruel stroke of fate, and how you are + yourself. I repeat my request for _immediate_ news.' + +To the friends in Hanover, who had so lately seen Schumann in apparent +enjoyment of unwonted health both of body and mind, the tidings, of +which they first became informed through a paragraph in the _Cologne +Gazette_, seemed too sudden and tragic to be credible. + + 'DEAR DIETRICH--'Joachim dashed off-- + + 'If you have any feeling of friendship for Brahms and me, relieve + our anxiety, and write word instantly whether Schumann is really as + ill as the paper says, and let us know at once of any change in his + condition. It is too grievous to be in uncertainty about the life + of someone to whom we are bound with our best powers. I can + scarcely wait for the hour that will bring me tidings of him. I am + quite beside myself with dread. + + 'Write soon. + + 'Your J. JOACHIM.' + +It was impossible, however, to wait for an answer, and no letter could +have appeased the desire of the affectionate young musicians to be on +the spot; so Brahms, having no fixed duties to detain him, started +immediately for Düsseldorf, and Joachim hoped to follow, if only for a +couple of days. On March 3 Johannes sent his report: + + 'DEAREST JOSEPH, + + 'Do come on Saturday; it comforts Frau Schumann to see certain dear + faces. + + 'Schumann's condition seems to be improved. The physicians have + hope, but no one is allowed to see him. + + 'I have already been with Frau Schumann. She wept very much, but + was very glad to see me and to be able to expect you. + + 'We expect you on Sunday morning, and Grimm on Wednesday. + + 'Your + 'JOHANNES.'[47] + +'To my great relief,' wrote Dietrich a fortnight later to Naumann, +'Brahms came at once after hearing the dreadful news. Grimm is also +here. Joachim was here for two days, and is coming again in a few +weeks.' + +At the end of the letter he adds: + + 'Brahms has written a quite wonderful trio, and is a man to be + taken in every respect as a pattern. With all his depth, he is + healthy, fresh, and lively, entirely untouched by modern + morbidness.' + +It now became the cherished duty of the young men to do what in them lay +to support and comfort the sorely-tried wife in her desolation. Nothing, +perhaps, could have helped and soothed her so much as the feeling that +the tie which primarily bound them to her was that of their devotion to +her husband, the knowledge that they mourned with her in a common grief, +and that their sympathy was touched by their personal sense of what she +had lost. Never, indeed, was more loyal sympathy offered for the +consolation of sorrow, and it had its reward. After the first terrible +days had been lived through, a calm and self-possession returned to the +illustrious lady, which heightened, if possible, the young artists' +admiration of her. The news from Endenich improved towards the end of +the month, and on April 1 even became reassuring. The patient was now +passing his time walking, or quietly sleeping, undisturbed by fits of +anxiety or delusions of hearing; was gentle towards his attendant, had +conversed a little with him, and had even made a joke appropriate to the +day. Frau Schumann summoned up courage to look with hope to the future, +and allowed herself to be persuaded to resume some of her ordinary +avocations. The short remainder of the musical season was, indeed, +passed in necessary retirement; but the great pianist found solace in +quietly studying her husband's compositions anew with Dietrich, Brahms, +Grimm, and others of the circle, playing his great orchestral and choral +works with them on the pianoforte, and listening in turn to their +performances. Dietrich writes in March: + + 'Yesterday and the day before she went through the whole of + Schumann's "Faust" music with us. We are with her every day, and it + is impossible for me to think of leaving at present.' + +Frau Schumann found congenial occupation in the summer in writing a set +of variations on the theme of her husband's Album-Blatt, Op. 99, No. 1: + +[Music: etc.] + +--which itself refers to the composer's early work, Op. 5, Variations on +a theme by Clara Wieck, and a touching memorial of Brahms' efforts to +assist in diverting her mind from its burden of sorrow exists in his +treatment of the same theme in his Variations for the pianoforte on a +theme of Robert Schumann, Op. 9, dedicated to Frau Clara Schumann. This +work was begun during the period of Frau Schumann's convalescence after +the birth of her seventh child on June 11. Each new variation was +brought to her as it was completed. Grimm, who remained at Düsseldorf +during these months in close companionship with Johannes, christened the +work 'Trost-Einsamkeit' (Consolation in loneliness), and remembered it +as such ever afterwards. It tells plainly enough the story of the young +composer's thoughts. It is full of references to Schumann and his +wife--notably in the ninth variation, which contains note for note +reminiscences of Schumann's Album-Blatt, Op. 99, No. 2, and in the +tenth, in which the first four bars of Clara Wieck's original theme + +[Music: etc.] + +are introduced by diminution into the middle voice: + +[Music] + +The work is astounding in its evidence of the mastery already achieved +by the young composer over the technique of variation form, in which he +uses the complicated resources of contrapuntal science with absolute +playfulness. For one illustration of this the reader may again be +referred to the tenth variation, in which the original bass of +Schumann's theme is used as the melody of the upper part and its +inversion as the bass part, whilst the original melody (quoted on p. +159) is imitated by diminution in the middle part. + +[Music: etc.] + +We must resist the temptation to linger over the many interesting +details of this noble work, as the aim of our pages is not a technical +one; but we may note in passing that, of the sixteen variations which it +contains, five are written in keys varying from that of the theme, a +circumstance which again brings it into a certain association with +Schumann.[48] Brahms, in his five other independent sets of variations +for pianoforte, nearly follows the practice of the earlier masters, who +confined themselves to the major and minor modes of one key. + +Johannes had meanwhile, according to custom, sent the completed +manuscript of his trio to Marxsen, and had speedily received it back +again with his master's critical remarks. These he acknowledged on June +28 in a letter from which the following brief extracts are taken, +sending Marxsen, at the same time, a collection of short pieces written +at odds and ends of time, which he proposed to call 'Leaves from the +Journal of a Musician, published by the Young Kreisler.' + + 'Let me thank you very much for having vouchsafed such a long + letter, such a detailed examination to my trio. I will write about + the proposed little alterations when I send you the printed copy. I + have allowed the trio to lie in order to accustom myself to them.' + +Asking Marxsen if he considers the pianoforte pieces worth publishing, +he adds as to the proposed title: 'What do you think of it? Doesn't it +please you? I must confess I should be sorry to strike it out.'[49] It +must be presumed that Marxsen's opinion, coinciding with that of some of +the young colleagues to whom the pieces were also shown, was +unfavourable, for they did not see the light. We shall, however, meet +with one or two of them in a few concert-programmes before long, and one +will be found to have a particular interest for English readers. + +The B major Trio, published in 1854 by Breitkopf and Härtel as Op. 8, +which remained for many years but little known, has, with its beautiful +youthful qualities, long since become dear to those who have yielded +their hearts to the spell of Brahms' music. The composer's fertile fancy +has betrayed him, in the first allegro, into some episodical writing +which somewhat clouds the distinctness of outline, and impedes the +listener in his appreciation of the distinguished beauties of the +movement, and there are places in the finale where a certain +disappointment succeeds to the conviction inspired by the impetuous +opening subject; but in wealth of material, in the rare beauty of its +principal themes, and in noble sincerity of expression, the trio +occupies a distinguished place even amongst the examples of Brahms' +maturity. The scherzo with its trio are already masterly both in +conception and treatment, and in the adagio we have promise of the +deeply impressive slow movements which were moulded in ever-increasing +perfection of structure by the composer's ripening genius. That Brahms +retained an affection for this child of his young imagination is shown +by his having published a revised edition of the work so late in his +career as the year 1891. We must confess our preference for the original +version, which is consistently representative of the composer as he was +when he wrote it. The later one does not appear to us to have solved the +difficulty of successfully applying to a work of art the process of +grafting, upon the fresh, lovable immaturity of twenty-one, the +practised but less mobile experience of fifty-seven. + +The trio was performed for the first time in public, to the lasting +musical distinction of America, on November 27, 1855, at William Mason's +concert of chamber music in Dodsworth's Hall, New York, by the +concert-giver, Theodor Thomas, and Carl Bergmann, to whom, therefore, +belongs the honour of having inaugurated the public performances of +Brahms' great series of works of this class. It was played, for the +second time, at Breslau on December 18 of the same year. Many years +elapsed before it was heard in England. + +[Illustration: BRAHMS AND JOACHIM, 1855.] + +Frau Schumann changed her residence to another in Düsseldorf in the +month of July, and immediately afterwards went with one of her young +daughters to stay with her mother in Berlin, whither Joachim also +proceeded on a visit to some of his own particular friends. Dietrich had +quitted Düsseldorf some months previously to follow prospects of success +in Leipzig; Grimm and Brahms remained behind to take charge of any +urgent tidings from Endenich. To Johannes was specially entrusted the +congenial task of arranging Schumann's books and music in the new +dwelling. This was soon accomplished to his satisfaction, as he writes +to Dietrich: + + 'And now I sit there the whole day and study. I have seldom felt so + happy as I do now, rummaging in this library.' + +On July 19, the very day of Frau Schumann's departure, the happy news +arrived that a marked improvement had taken place in her husband's +health. He had spoken of feeling better, expressed a desire to visit his +friend Wasielewsky at Bonn; above all, had picked flowers, and evidently +wished them to be sent to his wife, whom he had not mentioned during his +illness. News and flowers were instantly despatched to Berlin, and were +received with almost overwhelming feelings of hope and longing. + + 'I cannot describe my feelings,' Frau Schumann writes to Dietrich + after informing him of the tidings, 'but I never knew till now how + difficult it is to bear a great happiness ... it often seems to me + as though I should lose my reason; it is too much, all that I have + gone through and that is still before me!' + +She returned to Düsseldorf after about a fortnight's absence. The +succeeding movements of the party are chronicled in a letter written by +Johannes to the Amtsvogt Blume of Winsen: + + 'ULM, _August 16, 1854_. + + 'HONOURED SIR, + + 'You certainly think that your dear letter did not give me the + least pleasure, as I have left it so long unanswered? Ah, the time + lately has been so full of excitement that I was obliged to put it + off from day to day. Frau Schumann went with a friend on the 10th + of this month to Ostend for the benefit of her health. I, after + much persuasion, resolved to make a journey through Swabia during + her absence. I did not know how greatly I was attached to the + Schumanns, how I lived in them; everything seemed barren and empty + to me, every day I wished to turn back, and was obliged to travel + by rail in order to get quickly to a distance and forget about + turning back. It was of no use; I have come as far as Ulm, partly + on foot, partly by rail; I am going to return quickly, and would + rather wait for Frau Schumann in Düsseldorf than wander about in + the dark. When one has found such divine people as Robert and Clara + Schumann, one should stick to them and not leave them, but raise + and inspire one's self by them. The dear Schumann continues to + improve, as you have read in my letter to my parents. There has + been a great deal of gossip about his condition. I consider the + best description of him is to be found in some of the works of E. + T. A. Hoffmann (Rath Krespel, Serapion, and especially the splendid + Kreisler, etc.). He has only stripped off his body too soon.--If + you would give me pleasure, let me find a letter from you in + Ddf.--is that quite too bold? I will write to you again, and more + rationally, from there. I am writing this letter in the + waiting-room of the railway-station, which accounts for its having + become, probably, very confused.--A thousand hearty greetings to + dear Uncle Giesemann, I will write to him also from Ddf.; heartiest + greetings also to Frau Blume and your daughter. Remember with + affection + + 'Your JOHANNES BRAHMS.'[50] + +Stopping at Bonn on his return journey to inquire after the patient at +Endenich, Brahms obtained permission to look at Schumann, himself +unseen, and from his position behind an open window was able, after he +had sufficiently controlled his first agitation, to assure himself that +the master looked well and wore the kind, tranquil mien natural to him; +and on his arrival at Düsseldorf, whom should he find there but Grimm, +who, having missed the object of a journey on which he, too, had set, +out, had likewise been to Endenich, seen Schumann, and gained an +impression of his appearance and manner similar to that which had +reassured Johannes! + +Grimm left Düsseldorf in November for Hanover, and remained there till +the following year, when he accepted a post as conductor of a choral +society at Göttingen. Johannes also went north on a visit to his +parents, but for a few weeks only. The Schumanns' house had become a +second home to him, and his place in the affections of its master and +mistress that of a beloved elder son. Almost every particular that had +marked the course of his year's acquaintance with them had been of a +kind to stir his true, loving, high-strung nature to its depths. +Schumann's noble character, his quick affection for the young stranger +and unconditional acceptance of his art, the ideal relation which united +the great composer with his wife, the distinguished qualities of the +gifted woman who found her greatest happiness in consecrating her genius +to the service of her romantic love, the terrible blow which had +separated the two lives so closely linked, the sadness of the present, +the uncertainty of the future--each and all of these things had aroused +in the heart of Johannes a tumult of feeling, a poignancy of affection, +that allowed him no rest when he was out of immediate touch with the two +people who were its object. He could study to his heart's content in +Schumann's library, where books and music were unreservedly at his +disposal; could be of use to Frau Schumann, who truly valued his +sympathy and returned his affection; he was in constant communication +with Joachim, and could have as much pleasant society as he cared for. +In short, he felt that for the present his place was at Düsseldorf, and +at Düsseldorf he remained. + +It was in the spring of 1854 that he made the acquaintance of Julius +Allgeyer, who, four years his senior, was at the time a student of +copper-plate engraving in Düsseldorf under Josef Keller. + + 'Brahms,' says Allgeyer in a letter of this date, 'has Schiller's + striking profile; his compositions sound different from everything + else known to me. He has the bad manners of a frolicsome child and + the understanding of a man.' + +There was much in the circumstances and characters of the two young men +to foster an intimacy between them. Allgeyer's youth had, like that of +Johannes, been passed in struggle, and he resembled Brahms in his +restless hunger after general culture, which he endeavoured to satisfy +by constant and varied reading. The composition of Brahms' Ballades for +pianoforte, Op. 10, which belongs to this time, has a direct association +with Allgeyer, to whom the young musician was indebted for his +acquaintance with Herder's 'Stimmen der Völker,' the volume containing a +translation of the Scotch ballad 'Edward' that inspired the first of the +pieces in question. Brahms' memory for such details is well illustrated +by his dedication to Allgeyer of the Lieder und Romanzen for two voices, +with pianoforte accompaniment, Op. 75, published in 1878, the first +number of which is a setting of 'Edward.' Another avowed instance of his +partiality for Herder's collection is to be found in a still later work, +No. 1 of the three Intermezzi for pianoforte, Op. 117, and it may be +surmised that the book contains the secret key to the composer's +thoughts during the writing of more than one other of the short pieces +for pianoforte designated by the general name of 'Intermezzo' or +'Capriccio.' + +Brahms and Allgeyer remained intimate, though with intervals of some +estrangement--if this be not too strong a term to express a temporary +cessation of intercourse without alleged cause--until Brahms' death; and +Allgeyer, who was introduced by Johannes to Frau Schumann, came to be +regarded by her as belonging to the circle of her valued friends.[51] + +Schumann's desire that his young protégé should apply his powerful ideal +gifts and his skill in the handling of form to the composition of an +orchestral work had not been disregarded by Brahms. He had tried his +hand at an overture early in the year, and had worked through the spring +and summer at a symphony, making his first attempts at instrumentation +with the help of Grimm. It could not be otherwise than that the rapid +succession of extraordinary events and vivid emotions which had agitated +his spirit should prove a strong stimulus to his imagination; and it is +not surprising to find that they moved him to the composition of a +series of movements, two of which remain amongst the most powerful +produced by him, one having been accepted by thousands of mourners all +the world over as the most fitting musical expression known to them in +the presence of profound grief. The symphony, as such, was never +completed, but the work was thrown into the form of a sonata for two +pianofortes, of which the first two movements have become known to the +world as the first and second of the Pianoforte Concerto in D minor, and +the third is immortalized in the 'Behold all Flesh,' the wonderful march +movement in three-four time of the German Requiem. Brahms frequently +played the sonata in private at this period with Frau Schumann or Grimm. + +The two sets of Variations on Schumann's theme were published +simultaneously, by Brahms' desire, in the autumn, with his Songs, Op. 7, +dedicated to Dietrich, and the B major Trio; the variations by Johannes +appearing as his Op. 9. The song 'Mondnacht' also appeared this year, +without opus number, in a book of 'Album-Blätter' published at +Göttingen. + +The improvement in Schumann's condition went on so steadily that on +September 13, the thirty-fifth anniversary of his wife's birthday, he +was permitted to receive a letter from her. It contains no allusion to +Brahms, but brings Schumann's tenderness in his home relationships so +vividly before the mind that a short extract from it will, we think, be +welcomed by the reader:[52] + + 'ENDENICH, _Sept. 14, 1854_. + + 'How I rejoiced, beloved Clara, to see your handwriting. High + thanks for having written to me on such a day, and that you and the + dear children still remember me. Greet and kiss the little ones! + Oh, if I could see you and speak to you again, but the way is too + far. So much I should like to know; how your life is going on; + where you are living and if you still play as gloriously as + formerly; if Marie and Elise continue to make progress, if they + still sing also--if you still have the Klems pianoforte [a present + from Schumann to his wife], where my collection of scores is (the + printed ones) and what has become of the manuscripts (such as the + Requiem, the Sänger's Fluch); where our album is, containing + autographs of Goethe, Jean Paul, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and many + letters addressed to you and me.' + +On the 18th he writes: + + 'What joyful news you have again sent me ... that Brahms, to whom + you will give my kind and admiring greetings, has come to live in + Düsseldorf; what friendship! If you would like to know whose is my + favourite name, you will no doubt guess his, the unforgettable + one!... If you write to Joachim, greet him. What have Brahms and + Joachim been composing? Is the overture to Hamlet published? Has he + finished anything else? You write that you are giving your lessons + in the pianoforte-room. Who are the present pupils? Who the best? + Are you not doing too much, dear Clara?' + +He goes on to recall the happiness of the journeys made in his wife's +company, begs that their double portrait may be sent him, would like +some money, in order to be able to give to the poor people whom he +meets in his walks, wants a list of his children's birthdays. + +A week later, September 26, he says: + + 'What you write about ... has given me the greatest pleasure. So + also about Brahms and Joachim and their compositions. I am + surprised that Brahms is working at counterpoint which does not + seem like him. I should like to make acquaintance with Joachim's + three pieces for pianoforte and viola. I can remember de Laurens' + portrait of Brahms, but not the one of me. Thank you for the + children's birthday dates. Who are to be sponsors for the little + one, and in what church is he to be baptized?...' + +In October he acknowledges the arrival of Brahms' variations, sent him +by his wife: + + 'DEAREST CLARA, + + 'What pleasure you have again given me! Your letter and Julie's, + Brahms' variations on the theme which you have varied, the three + volumes of Arnim Brentano's Wunherhorn.... I remember Herr Grimm + very well, we used to be together with Brahms and Joachim at the + railway-station [in Hanover]; greet him and above all Fräulein + Leser. I shall write to Brahms myself....' + +That this renewal of intercourse with her husband cheered and encouraged +Frau Schumann for the performance of her arduous public duties during +the autumn season will be readily believed. Under the necessity of a +heavily increased weight of responsibility to her young children, she +had bound herself to the fulfilment of a long list of concert +engagements, which scarcely allowed her an interval of rest. Happily, +the reports from Endenich continued favourable. Joachim, writing to +Liszt on November 16, says: + + 'What a happiness it is that Schumann's condition is distinctly + improved. I had a letter from him from Endenich lately. He relates + some of our common experiences quite clearly, expressing himself in + a kind, gentle way as though he had just awakened from a dream. + Everything seems new to him, and he would like to participate in + what is going on; asks about compositions, about friends; one may + certainly hope for the best.' + +On November 27, having had time to study Brahms' variations, he writes, +in the course of a letter to his wife: + + 'The variations of Johannes delighted me at first sight and do so + still more on deeper acquaintance. I shall myself write also to + Brahms; does his portrait by de Laurens still hang in my study? He + is the most attractive and gifted young fellow. I recall with + delight the splendid impression he made that first time with his C + major Sonata, and afterwards with the F sharp minor Sonata and the + Scherzo in E flat minor. Oh, if I could only hear him again! I + should like his ballades also.' + +To Brahms, enclosed in the above: + + 'Could I but come to you myself, to see you again and to hear your + splendid variations, or [to hear them] from my Clara of whose + wonderful interpretation Joachim has written to me. How + incomparably the whole is rounded off, how one recognises you in + the rich brightness of the imagination and again in the profound + art, united as I have not yet known them. The theme emerging here + and there, but very secretly, then so vehement and tender. The + theme then quite vanishing, and at the end, after the fourteenth + [variation], so ingeniously written in canon in the second; how + splendid is the fifteenth in G flat major, and the last. And I have + to thank you, dear Johannes, for all your kindness and goodness to + my Clara; she always writes to me about it. She sent me yesterday + to my pleasure, as you perhaps know, volumes of my compositions and + Jean Paul's Flegeljahre. Now I hope soon to see your handwriting, + however great a treasure it is to me, in another form also. The + winter is fairly mild. You know the Bonn neighbourhood. I enjoy + Beethoven's statue and the beautiful view of the Siebengebirge. We + saw each other last in Hanover. Only write soon to + + 'Your affectionate and appreciative + 'R. SCHUMANN.' + +Brahms' answer speaks for itself: + + 'HAMBURG, _2 December 1854_. + + 'MOST BELOVED FRIEND, + + 'How can I describe to you my pleasure at your dear letter! You + have already so often made me happy when you have remembered me so + affectionately in the letters to your wife, and now I have a + letter belonging entirely to myself. It is the first I have had + from you; I value it beyond measure. Unfortunately I received it in + Hamburg, where I had come to visit my parents; I would much rather + have received it from the hand of your wife. + + 'I expect to return to Düsseldorf in a few days; I long to be + there. + + 'The overmuch praise which you bestow on my variations fills me + with happiness. I have been studying your works industriously since + the spring; how much I should like to hear your praise of them + also! I have passed this year since springtime at Düsseldorf; I + shall never forget it, I have learned all the time to love you and + your glorious wife more and more. + + 'I have never yet looked forward so cheerfully and confidently, + never believed so firmly in a splendid future as now. How I wish it + were near, and nearer still the happy time when you will be quite + restored to us. + + 'I cannot then leave you any more; I shall try to earn more and + more of your dear friendship. + + 'Good-bye, and think of me with affection. + + 'Your warmly venerating JOHANNES BRAHMS. + + 'My parents and your friends here think of you with the greatest + veneration and love. The parents, Herr Marxsen, Otten, and Avé, + particularly beg me to give you their most cordial greetings.'[53] + +About the middle of the month Schumann wrote again to Johannes: + + 'ENDENICH, _December 1854_. + + 'DEAR FRIEND, + + 'If I could but come to you at Christmas! Meanwhile I have received + your portrait from my dear wife, your familiar portrait, and I know + the place in my room quite well, quite well--under the mirror. I am + still refreshing myself with your variations; I should like to hear + several of them from you and my Clara; I am not completely master + of them; especially the second, the fourth not up to time and the + fifth not; but the eighth (and the slower ones) and the ninth--A + reminiscence of which Clara wrote to me is probably on p. 14; what + is it from? a song?[54]--and the twelfth----Oh, if I could only + hear you!' + +The andante and scherzo from Brahms' F minor Sonata, Op. 5, were +included by Frau Schumann in several of her programmes of the season, +and, though received with indifference by the general public, were, on +the whole, noticed encouragingly by the press. The _Vossische Zeitung_ +of Berlin dismissed the movements as wanting in clearness and +simplicity, but the _National Zeitung_ of the same city pronounced that +the sonata, associating itself with the school of Schumann, gave +evidence of eminent creative power, and a Frankfurt critic wrote: + + 'Frau Schumann deserves high commendation for introducing Brahms' + compositions to the public with her master-hand, and thereby + preparing the way for their general acceptance.' + +Joachim, who was frequently Frau Schumann's artistic colleague during +the season, giving concerts with her in various parts of Germany, spent +the Christmas festival with his friends in Düsseldorf, making time on +his way thither to call at Bonn to get news of Schumann. To his joy, he +was admitted to the first interview with a personal friend allowed to +the patient since his residence at Endenich. The impression he derived +was reassuring to a certain extent, and there was comfort in the mere +fact that he had seen and conversed with Schumann. A touching picture of +the little gathering in Düsseldorf of those who stood first in the +affections of the great composer is given in Brahms' next letter to him: + + 'MOST HONOURED FRIEND, + + 'I should like to write a great deal about the Christmas evening, + which was made so happy to us by Joachim's news; how he told us + about you the whole evening and your wife wept so quietly. We were + filled with joyful hope that we may soon be able to see you again. + + 'You always turn the days which would otherwise be days of mourning + for us, into high festivals. On her birthday your wife was allowed + to write you the first letter. At Christmas a friend first talked + with you, the only one to whom we should not grudge this happiness, + but only desire for ourselves to be allowed to succeed him soon. + + 'On the first day of the festival your wife gave her presents. She + will now be writing to tell you about it; how well Marie played + your A minor Sonata with Joachim, and Elise the Kinderscenen, and + how she delighted me with Jean Paul's complete works. I had not + hoped to be able to call them my own for many years. Joachim got + the scores of your symphonies, which your wife had already given + me. + + 'I returned here the evening before Christmas; how long the + separation from your wife seemed to me! I had so accustomed myself + to her inspiring society, I had lived near her so delightfully all + the summer and learned to admire and love her so much, that + everything seemed flat to me, and I could only long to see her + again. What nice things I have brought back with me from Hamburg, + however! The score of Gluck's Alcestis (the Italian edition, 1776) + from Herr Avé, your first dear letter to me and several from your + beloved wife. I must thank you most warmly for a pleasant word in + your last letter, for the affectionate "thou"; your kind wife also + makes me happy now by using the nice, intimate word; it is the + highest proof to me of her favour; I will try always to deserve it + more. + + 'I had a great deal to write to you, dearest friend, but it would + probably only be a repetition of what your wife is writing, + therefore I conclude with the warmest handshake and greeting. Your + + 'JOHANNES. + + 'DÜSSELDORF, _30 December, 1854_.' + +Frau Schumann, having before her the fatigues of a concert-journey in +Holland, allowed herself a brief rest during the early part of January, +and was cheered by the most encouraging letters from her husband. He +wrote on the 6th: + + '... I wish also to thank you most particularly, my Clara, for the + artist letters and Johannes for the sonata and ballades.[55] I know + them now. The sonata--I remember to have heard it once from + him--so profoundly grasped; living, deep, and warm throughout, and + so closely woven together. And the ballades--the first wonderful, + quite new; only I do not understand the _doppio movimento_ either + in this or the second, is it not too fast?[56] The close + beautiful--original! The second how different, how diversified, how + suggestive to the imagination; magical tones are in it. The bass F + sharp at the end seems to lead to the third ballade. What shall we + call this? Demoniacal--quite splendid, and becoming more and more + mysterious after the _pp_ in the trio. And the return and close! + Has this ballade made a similar impression on you, my Clara? In the + fourth ballade how beautifully the strange melody vacillates at the + close between minor and major, and remains mournfully in the major. + Now on to overtures and symphonies! Do you not like this, my Clara, + better than organ? A symphony or opera, which arouses enthusiasm + and makes a great sensation, brings everything else more quickly + forward. He must. Now greet Johannes warmly and the children, and + you, my dearest heart, remember your, as of old, loving + + 'ROBERT.' + +Brahms was permitted to follow Joachim, and paid the master a visit of +several hours' duration, in the course of which he played both to and +with him. At its close Schumann walked back to Bonn with his dear young +friend, and could not make up his mind to part with him. Johannes tore +himself away just in time to catch his train, and wrote a few days +afterwards: + + 'DEAR HONOURED FRIEND, + + 'I must thank you myself for the great pleasure you give me by the + dedication of your splendid concertstück.[57] How I rejoice to see + my name thus printed! Especially, too, that I, like Joachim, have a + concerto of my own.[58] We have often talked of the two works and + which we like best--we have not been able to decide. + + 'I think with joy of the short hours that I was allowed to spend + with you, they were so delightful--but passed so quickly. I cannot + tell your wife enough about them; it makes me doubly glad that you + received me with such friendship and kindness, and that you still + think of the hour with so much affection. + + 'We shall be able to see you thus more and more frequently and + pleasantly till we possess you again. + + 'I have taken the catalogue (chronological), as you wished, to your + copyist (Fuchs). + + 'I expect you would like the original of Jenny Lind's letter. It is + probably the handwriting that you want. I need not write out the + contents for you. + + 'We are sending Bargiel's new work, it will give you great + pleasure, as it does us; Op. 8 is a great advance upon Op. 9. Both + are dedicated to your wife; that is what I should like to do + always. I should like to take turns with the names Joachim and + Clara Schumann till I had courage to add your name. That, probably, + will not soon come to me. + + 'Now good-bye, dear man, and think sometimes with affection of your + + 'JOHANNES. + + 'DÜSSELDORF, _in January 1855_.' + + 'Do you remember that you encouraged me last winter to write an + overture to "Romeo"? For the rest, I have been trying my hand at a + symphony during the past summer, have even instrumented the first + movement and composed the second and third.' + +During the entire winter, the devotion to Frau Schumann, through which +Joachim and Brahms were alike eager to express their veneration for the +beloved master in his awful trial, was shared between them in the most +practical way. Joachim remained her constant artistic companion after +her return from Holland, and the success achieved by the two great +musicians on the innumerable occasions of their giving concerts +together, during this and the following season, was extraordinary and +unvarying. Johannes remained at Düsseldorf to attend to Schumann's +little requirements, and to send cheery news of all that was going on +at home to the anxious wife and mother. In February he writes to +Endenich: + + 'DEAR HONOURED FRIEND, + + 'Herewith I send you the things you wished for; a necktie and the + _Signale_. I must be responsible for the first; as your wife is in + Berlin, I had to decide. I only hope you will like it, and that it + is not too high? + + 'I also send you the _Signale_; some of the numbers are missing, we + have not been careful enough about them. From this time forward you + shall have them regularly. + + 'I can now already give you the most positive assurance that Herr + Arnold has had your proof of the "Gesänge der Frühe." There must be + some other reason for his having delayed the publication so long. + + 'I wonder if the long walk with me did you good? I expect so. With + what pleasure I think of the delightful day; I have seldom been so + perfectly happy! Your dear wife was very much calmed and pacified + by my blissful letter. + + 'I am entrusted with many greetings to you from all your friends + here. I will particularly mention those from your children and + Fräulein Bertha.[59] + + 'May all go well with you, and may you often think with affection + of your + + 'JOHANNES. + + 'DÜSSELDORF, _in February 1855_.' + +Another letter follows early in March: + + 'HONOURED MASTER, + + 'You will have wondered very much that I wrote of an F sharp minor + Sonata which was to be sent you with the other things, and none was + there. I quite forgot to put it up this morning. I send it you now + with the songs and choruses from "Maria Stuart." I think you will + like to have them; you have often mentioned them. + + 'Your wife just writes to me, quite delighted with your letter. + She is going to send you some beautiful music-paper. I was + certainly quick, but not so particular. Only women do everything + quickly and well at the same time. + + 'With warmest greetings, Your + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS. + + 'DÜSSELDORF, _March, 1855_.' + +Of the F sharp minor Sonata, Op. 2, Schumann answers: + + 'Your second sonata, my dear, has brought me much nearer to you. It + was quite new to me; I live in your music, so that I can half play + it at sight, one movement after the other. I am thankful for this. + The beginning, the _pp_, the whole movement--there has never been + one like it. Andante and the variations and the scherzo following + them, quite different from those in the others; and the finale, the + sostenuto, the music at the beginning of the second part, the + animato and the close--in short, a laurel wreath for the + from-elsewhere-coming Johannes. And the songs, the first one; I + seemed to know the second; but the third--it has (at the beginning) + a melody in which there are many good girls, and the splendid + close. The fourth quite original. In the fifth such beautiful + music--like the poem. The sixth quite different from the others. + The rushing, rustling melody-harmony pleases me.' + +To Joachim, Schumann writes on March 10: + + 'Your letter has put me into quite a happy mood. The great gaps in + your artistic cultivation, and the so-called violinist's eye and + the address; nothing could have amused me more. Then I recalled the + Hamlet overture, Henry overture, Lindenrauschen, Abendglocken, + Ballade--books for viola and pianoforte--the remarkable pieces + which you played with Clara one evening at the hotel in + Hanover;[60] and as I went on thinking I began this letter.... + Johannes has sent me last year's _Signale_, to my great pleasure, + for everything that has happened since February 20 was new to me. + There has never been such a musical winter [1853-54] as that and + the following; such travelling and flying from town to town, Frau + Schroeder-Devrient, Jenny Lind, Clara, Wilhelmine Claus....' + +Thus the months passed on. At the close of Frau Schumann's +concert-season Johannes travelled with her to Hamburg, in response to +an invitation from Capellmeister Otten, a well-known musician of the +city, to be present at a performance of Schumann's 'Manfred' at his +subscription concert of April 21. They passed a day at Hanover on their +return journey, and on May 7, Brahms' twenty-second birthday +anniversary, were joined at Düsseldorf by Joachim, who had promised to +make his headquarters near them this season during the period of his +'free time'--free from the fixed duties of his post in Hanover--which, +according to his contract, extended till the month of October. + +Brahms' birthday-presents included the manuscript of a romance for the +pianoforte composed for him by Frau Schumann, and from the master the +score of his overture to 'The Bride of Messina,' both with affectionate +inscriptions. The following letter of thanks was the last written by him +to Endenich: + + 'BELOVED, HONOURED FRIEND, + + 'I must send you most heartfelt thanks for having remembered me so + affectionately on May 7. How surprised and delighted I was by the + beautiful present and the loving words in the book! + + 'The day was altogether such a delightful one as one does not often + experience. Your dear wife understands how to give happiness. You, + however, know this better than anyone. + + 'A portrait of my mother and sister surprised me. In the afternoon + Joachim came, we hope for a very long time. + + 'I heard the overture to "The Bride of Messina" the other day in + Hamburg, as you know. How much the deeply-earnest work took hold of + me, and after "Manfred"! I was wishing all the time that you were + there to hear and see what joy you give by your splendid works. + + 'I have been longing for some time past to hear especially + "Manfred" or "Faust." I hope we shall hear the last, greatest, + together some time. + + 'Only your long silence, which made us uneasy, could have kept me + from sending you my thanks sooner; accept now the heartiest thanks + for your dear remembrance on May 7, 1855. + + 'In hearty love and veneration, + 'Your JOHANNES.' + +[44] Bülow's 'Briefe und Schriften.' Edited by Marie von Bülow. + +[45] Two overtures on which Joachim was working. + +[46] This and all other extracts from Dietrich are taken from his +well-known 'Recollections of Brahms.' + +[47] From the original letter, presented by Dr. Joachim to the author. + +[48] _Cf._ Schumann's great variations: the 'Etudes Symphoniques.' + +[49] Sittard's 'Künstler-Charakteristiken.' + +[50] See footnote on p. 117. + +[51] Professor Carl Neumann's introduction to the second edition (1904) +of Allgeyer's 'Life of Anselm Feuerbach.' + +[52] This and the following letters written by Schumann at Endenich were +first published by Edward Hanslick in the _Neue Freie Presse_ of October +27 and 29, 1896, and afterwards republished in Hanslick's 'Am Ende des +Jahrhunderts' (Robert Schumann in Endenich). + +[53] See footnote on p. 131. + +[54] The introduction by diminution of Clara Wieck's theme mentioned on +p. 160. + +[55] In manuscript: Ballades for Pianoforte, Op. 10. + +[56] The _doppio movimento_ marked in the manuscript of the first +ballade was changed before publication to _allegro ma non troppo_, no +doubt in deference to Schumann's suggestion. + +[57] Concert-allegro with Introduction for Pianoforte and Orchestra, Op. +134. + +[58] Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 131, dedicated to Joachim. + +[59] Fräulein Bertha Bölling, a young lady who was resident for some +years in the Schumanns' house as domestic help to Frau Schumann, to whom +she was greatly attached, and in whose confidence she stood high. During +the first few days of Schumann's illness, before his removal to +Endenich, she was allowed by the doctors to go in and out of the +sick-room, and her presence had a tranquillizing effect on the patient. + +[60] Joachim's compositions. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + 1855-1856 + + Lower Rhine Festival--Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt--Edward + Hanslick--Brahms as a concert-player--Retirement and study--Frau + Schumann in Vienna and London--Julius Stockhausen--Schumann's + death. + + +Extraordinary interest was lent to this year's Festival of the Lower +Rhine, again held at Düsseldorf (May 27-29), by the appearance at each +of its three concerts of Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt. According to +traditional custom, and, indeed, by the _raison d'être_ of these great +Whitsuntide gatherings, the programmes of the first two days each +included a large work for chorus and orchestra, and on this special +occasion the combined singing societies of about a dozen towns furnished +over 650 voices, perfected by many weeks' previous practice, for the +performance of Haydn's 'Creation' and Schumann's 'Paradise and the +Peri.' That the selection of Schumann's beautiful work was due, in the +first place, to a desire expressed by Madame Lind-Goldschmidt is, under +the circumstances of the time, a specially interesting detail. The +direction of the concerts was in the experienced hands of Ferdinand +Hiller, and Concertmeister David of Leipzig had been invited to lead the +splendid body of strings. + +It hardly needs telling that Madame Goldschmidt's performance of the +soprano solos in the two works mentioned created the usual extraordinary +impression. The name 'Jenny Lind' is almost synonymous with triumph. + + 'The most perfect purity and certainty of intonation,' says Otto + Jahn, 'the most strictly correct interpretation, the distinctness + and clearness of accent, the extraordinary virtuosity in everything + that belongs to vocal technique--all this would suggest a great + singer, and that she unquestionably is; but her peculiar + characteristic lies in something beyond such qualities. Her + phenomenal power is to be traced to the genius which, without + disturbing the composer's intention, makes everything she sings + literally her own--the mystery of artistic reproduction in its + highest perfection, which is as inexplicable as production itself, + and cannot be described by ordinary expressions.'[61] + +At the third and so-called 'artists' concert,' chiefly devoted to solos, +Madame Lind was heard in trios from Mozart's 'Nozze' and Bellini's +'Beatrice di Tenda,' and in Mendelssohn's song 'Die Sterne schaun in +stiller Nacht.' The stormy applause, recalls, orchestra flourishes, +flowers, and poems, in which the enthusiasm of her audience found +expression were duly chronicled by the critics of the day. The +instrumental solos of this final programme were in the hands of Otto +Goldschmidt and Concertmeister David, who performed respectively +Beethoven's G major Pianoforte Concerto and a violin concerto by Julius +Rietz, conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus. + +The festival is remembered as one of the most brilliant on record. The +immense audience brought together by the magic of one name was as +remarkable for its character as its numbers. + + 'To give a list of the celebrities is impossible,' continues Jahn. + 'Who could count them? To mention a few of the foremost: critics + were there, from Chorley of London to Hanslick of Vienna; pianists, + from Stephen Heller of Paris to Stein of Reval; composers, from + Gouvy to Verhulst; conductors, from Franz Lachner to Franz Liszt. + The music-directors were almost more numerous than the privy + councillors in Berlin.' + + 'In Jacobi's garden,' says Hanslick,[62] 'a spot hallowed to me by + its associations with Goethe, I met Brahms and Joachim one morning. + Brahms resembled a young ideal hero of Jean Paul, with his + forget-me-not eyes and his long fair hair. From him and from Clara + Schumann I heard the news that Robert was completely restored, + reading, writing, and composing by turns with a clear mind.' + +This was Brahms' first meeting with the man who was to be one of his +most intimate friends and appreciative critics during more than thirty +years of his later career. + +At a matinée given by Frau Schumann in honour of a few of the famous +musicians assembled at Düsseldorf, Johannes again renewed his +acquaintance with Liszt, in whom equal ennui seems to have been produced +by the works of Haydn and of Schumann to which he had listened on the +two first concert days, and it may be accepted as certain that the +meeting did not further a rapprochement between the leader of Weimar and +Schumann's ardent young friend. Our musician was introduced the same +afternoon to Madame Lind-Goldschmidt, meeting her on speaking terms for +the only time in his life. No especial feeling of personal interest was +awakened between the two artists. Johannes' large capacity for the +sentiment of particular enthusiasm was already absorbed by his devotion +to Frau Schumann, and it is not surprising, on the other hand, that his +lack of training in social conventionalities, which allowed him on this +and other occasions to perpetuate some innocuous but decidedly pointless +jokes, should have somewhat offended the taste of the fastidious lady +who had had the élite of Europe and America at her feet. Madame +Goldschmidt's first personal impression was strengthened by an +occurrence shortly to be related, nor did she ever develop any great +sympathy for Brahms' music. Special circumstances, however, placed her, +in later years, in a certain association with it which has an interest +of its own, and particularly to the music-lovers of England. On the +occasions of the fine performances of the composer's Schicksalslied +(April 29, 1878), and of his German Requiem (March 16, 1880, and April +6, 1881), given in St. James's Hall, London, by the Bach Choir under the +direction of its then conductor, Otto Goldschmidt, the great +songstress, long since retired from public life, was to be found amongst +her husband's forces as leader of the sopranos; and the inspiration has +not yet been forgotten which was lent to the choir by the co-operation +of one, peculiarly fitted by her exalted temperament to appreciate, at +all events, the penetrating earnestness of the master's art. + +Joachim's prolonged sojourn at Düsseldorf brought with it, through the +private quartet evenings which he held regularly twice a week, an +important addition to his friend's musical experience. Brahms' +opportunities of hearing the great examples of chamber music for strings +had not been frequent, and he was, at this time, not only enabled to +extend his acquaintance with this form of art by delightful means, but +often had the chance of taking part in the performance of some work for +pianoforte and strings included in the evening's selection. In spite of +the melancholy circumstances that kept them at Düsseldorf--and anxiety +about Schumann was again increasing--the time was a happy one to the two +young men, who passed many hours of the day in each other's society. +Johannes lodged in a flat above Frau Schumann's dwelling; Joachim lived +close by. The mornings were devoted by each to his particular +avocations, but these frequently brought them together, and they always +made part of Frau Schumann's family party at her mid-day dinner during +the few weeks she was able to remain at home. The afternoons and +evenings were often spent in long walks and excursions. Joachim had +forgotten his loneliness, and Johannes' affection for his dearest Joseph +had become one of the mainsprings of his life. + +The greater part of June was spent by Frau Schumann at Detmold, capital +of the small principality of Lippe-Detmold, which, during the fifties +and sixties, possessed a very flourishing and enterprising musical life. +The reigning Prince, Leopold III., had inherited from his mother, a +Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, a fine taste for music that was +shared by his brothers and sisters, and soon after his accession he +established a private orchestra, consisting of thirty-three, soon +augmented to forty-five members, under the conductorship of the +violinist Kiel, a pupil of Spohr. A certain number of court concerts +were given every year, the programmes consisting of a symphony, two +overtures, and several solos, selected from the works of the best +classical and modern composers. The Prince was not without interest in +the New-German school, and compositions by Wagner and Berlioz were given +from time to time. Now and then there was a performance of the whole or +part of some large choral work. + +Prince Leopold's mother, the Dowager Princess, resided with her +daughters, the Princesses Luise, Friederike, and Pauline, in the old +castle not far from the palace, and it had been settled that the +talented Princess Friederike should enjoy the advantage of lessons from +Frau Schumann during the short interval at the disposal of the artist. +The arrangement proved a great success, and not only with regard to the +lessons. Frau Schumann delighted a circle of sympathetic listeners by +playing at several court soirées, was enthusiastically received at a +public concert, and, on the eve of her departure, played one of +Beethoven's pianoforte concertos at an orchestral court concert, which +was made further memorable by the presence of Joachim and his +performance of the same master's concerto for violin. + +Soon after the return of the two artists, the little party at Düsseldorf +dispersed for a time. Joachim started for a tour in the Tyrol, and Frau +Schumann, accompanied by Fräulein Bertha and Johannes, went to Ems, +where she had announced a concert for July 15, for which Madame +Lind-Goldschmidt had, during the week of the Düsseldorf festival, +proferred her services. The date decided upon was somewhat in advance of +the one originally selected, and Goldschmidt had been called to Sweden +meanwhile on affairs of importance. He interrupted his engagements, +however, and travelled to Ems, in order to put his services at Frau +Schumann's disposal by superintending the general business of the +concert and acting as his wife's accompanist; and it was in this +connection that a certain appearance of nonchalance in Brahms' +proceedings caused a feeling of irritation in Madame Goldschmidt and +himself. + +The concert was to take place in a room of the Kurhaus, and, owing to +the procrastination of some of the authorities, the arrangements to be +made on the spot, including those for receiving and seating the large +number of ticket-holders, could not be begun until within an hour or two +of the time appointed for the commencement of the music. The result was +hurry and confusion indescribable, and many last things had to be done +even during the assembling of the audience. The brunt of the +difficulties was borne by Goldschmidt, who successfully overcame them, +but who was annoyed that Brahms, on his arrival with Frau Schumann and +Fräulein Bertha, passed quietly to his seat amongst the audience without +offering to make himself useful. Perhaps he may have thought he could +help matters best by keeping out of the way. He added to his +delinquency, however, by disappearing after the concert, which was, of +course, a huge artistic and financial success, without even showing +himself in the artists' room, and was seen no more in Ems. Starting for +Braubach, he wandered about alone for a couple of days, until the +winding up of the concert business left Frau Schumann at leisure, when +he rejoined her at Coblenz. There is no question that on this occasion +it was his invincible dislike to a fashionable crowd which overcame his +judgment, but it is not to be wondered at that his real or apparent +indifference was commented on by those to whom it seemed inexplicable. + +Johannes passed ten happy days walking along the Rhine from Coblenz to +Mainz and visiting Frankfurt and Heidelberg in the society of Frau +Schumann and her companion, and, on their departure for a short stay at +Baden-Baden, to be followed by a month's rest at the seaside, he +returned to Düsseldorf to work hard at his pianoforte-playing. He had +not been unsuccessful in obtaining pupils there, but the means he +derived from his teaching were unreliable, and he had resolved to take +the advice of his two best friends to try his luck again as a +concert-player. He looked forward with dread to the ordeal, and shrank +from the partings it would involve, but kept to his plan; and in the +course of September a paragraph appeared in the _Signale_ announcing his +intention of making a concert-journey. He began, not at Leipzig, as he +had intended, but by joining Frau Clara and Joachim in giving two +concerts at Danzig on November 14 and 16, a change of plan which was of +benefit both to his spirits and his pocket. A picture of him on his +arrival in the town, given by Anton Door,[63] forms an amusing and +perhaps instructive sequel to the foregoing account of the occurrences +at Ems: + + 'I had hardly been a week in Danzig, when I saw great bills in the + streets announcing the coming concert of Clara Schumann, Joseph + Joachim, and Johannes Brahms. I at once called on Joachim, who + received me with cordiality, and we chatted, as old acquaintances, + of home and our experiences. + + 'During the whole time we were together, a slender young man with + long, fair hair paced continually to and fro in the background + smoking cigarettes, without troubling himself in the least about my + presence, or even showing by an inclination of the head that he + observed me; in a word, I was as empty air for him. This was my + first meeting with Johannes Brahms.' + +Door became, nevertheless, in later years, a cordial friend and admirer +of the composer. + +Complete equality amongst the three performers was observed in the +arrangement of the programmes. Each played solos, and both pianists +performed with the violinist at either concert. Brahms' contributions +included Bach's Chromatic Fantasia, which remained one of the _pièces de +résistance_ of his répertoire throughout his pianistic career, and two +manuscript pieces, Saraband and Gavotte, from amongst the 'Album-Leaves' +which he had contemplated publishing in 1854. + +The critical moment had now arrived when Johannes was obliged to bid +farewell to his friends and go his own way. He played with success at +one of the Bremen subscription concerts on November 20, contributing to +the programme Beethoven's G major Concerto and Schumann's great +Fantasia, Op. 17; and on the 24th, the date which he had anticipated +with ever-increasing anxiety as it drew nearer, made his first +appearance in Hamburg since the wonderful turn that had taken place in +his fortunes in 1853, at one of G. D. Otten's annual series of +orchestral subscription concerts. + +No doubt he was additionally weighted by nervousness--that _bête noire_ +of executive artists to which, from the rarity of his public +appearances, Brahms was peculiarly a prey--by feeling, not only that he +was on his trial before his fellow-citizens, but that there were, in the +audience, loving friends prepared to triumph on his behalf. He had +chosen for performance Beethoven's E flat Concerto and unaccompanied +solos by Schumann and Schubert, but achieved at most a _succès +d'estime_. + + 'The pianoforte part of the concerto,' said the critic of the + _Hamburger Nachrichten_, 'was played by Brahms with the modesty of + a young artist, and was kept throughout in subordination to the + whole musical effect of the symphonic concerto. In our opinion, he + carried his reserve too far. He might, without detriment to the + spirit of the work, have displayed rather more virtuosity. That he + possesses it was shown by his playing of a canon by Schumann, and a + march by Schubert for four hands, arranged by Brahms for two + hands.' + +It will not have escaped the reader's attention that Brahms introduced +no new important composition of his own on either of the occasions now +chronicled, and that no mention has been made of any fresh publication +from his pen since the autumn of 1854. The reason is not far to seek. +Neither the extraordinary praise bestowed on his works by Schumann, +Joachim, and their circle, nor the reserve with which they had been +received by many musicians whose good faith could not be doubted, nor +the acrimonious attacks of a portion, and especially the Rhenish +portion, of the musical press, could influence to any appreciable extent +the tribunal to which he had thus early in his career accustomed himself +to submit his works in the last instance--his own searching +self-criticism. He had, as has been seen, carried out Schumann's wish, +and had tried his hand on a symphony. The discovery that he had not +sufficiently mastered some of the fundamental technical qualifications +necessary for the successful fulfilment of such an attempt no doubt +prevented his carrying it to a conclusion. It will be remembered, also, +that he had withheld the string quartet recommended to Dr. Härtel for +publication by Schumann in 1853. By the middle of 1855, he had +sufficiently gauged both his strength and his weakness to have made the +resolve to apply himself to a fresh course of severe study--study which +should widen and strengthen and refine his capacity in every direction, +but which should have as its special aim the attainment of greater +facility and purity in part-writing in the strict style. From this time, +for a period of five or six years, he worked on without view to +immediate publication, but only with a set determination to become +worthy of Schumann's high hopes. He insisted before long that Joseph +should join him in his studies, though his friend's training in strict +counterpoint and part-writing under Moritz Hauptmann of Leipzig had been +much more thorough than his own under Marxsen; and an exchange of +exercises at fixed intervals, agreed upon between the two young +musicians, was kept up for some years. Joachim was inevitably much less +regular than Brahms in sending his papers, and Johannes by-and-by +instituted a system of fines, to be paid and spent in books in case of +unpunctuality on either side. The chief burden of the new rule certainly +fell upon the famous young concertmeister, whose great and increasing +popularity brought innumerable concert-journeys in its train. The +difference in the character of the two men is pleasantly illustrated by +this episode, which shows Johannes insisting on having his own way, and +Joachim, from whom no excuse was accepted, good-naturedly yielding, and +wishing to do more than he could possibly fulfil. Many interesting +memorials of Brahms' studies are in existence in the form of +music-books, printed or in manuscript, of which he possessed himself at +this period. Amongst them is an original edition of the first part of +Emanuel Bach's collection of his father's setting of German chorales +(1765), on the cover of which is Brahms' autograph and the date 1855, +and at the end of the book is an alphabetical index in Brahms' +writing.[64] There is also a very beautifully copied manuscript (not by +Brahms) of Sebastian Bach's 'Kunst der Fuge,' containing one or two +trifling pencil corrections in our musician's unmistakable hand. On the +fly-leaf is written 'Joh. Brahms, Nov. 1855, Hamburg,' also in pencil, +in large and bold penmanship, probably in one of the styles taught at +Hoffmann's school.[64] There are, too, a volume containing compositions +by Orlando di Lasso;[65] and manuscript copies of, amongst other works, +Palestrina's 'Missa Papæ Marcelli,' with Brahms' autograph and the date +1856; of Rovetta's 'Salve Regina'; and, in Frau Schumann's hand, of a +'Gloria' of Palestrina.[66] Still more valuable are the manuscripts of +several original Mass movements in four and six parts, presented later +on by the composer to his friend Grimm,[67] and these recall Dietrich's +mention of an entire Mass written in canon for two voices. This list +shows clearly enough the nature of Brahms' aims. He was determined to +become thoroughly acquainted with the historical development of his art, +to know the why and wherefore, as well as the how and when, of what he +had studied in the works of succeeding masters. The fascination +exercised over his mind by the clear, pure style of the great early +writers, whose learning is often used with such consummate ease as to be +unsuspected by the untrained hearer, is evident enough in many of the +choral works published by him later on. He exercised himself in the +acquisition of their technique until it had become an instrument in his +hand for the production of works which, like everything else that he +gave to the world, bear the impress of his own individuality. + +In the issue of the _Neue Zeitschrift für Musik_, of December 14 a long +article on Brahms appeared, the closing one of a series of three begun +in July. Until this date, since the very sympathetic notice written by +'Hoplit' after the young musician's début at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, not +a word had been printed in this paper about his compositions save the +bare announcements of publication, in spite of the fact that nine opus +numbers had been given to the world in the interval, five of them being +important instrumental works, and three consisting severally of six +songs. 'Hoplit' had now come forward to take upon himself entire blame +for the omission, which, he declared, must not be attributed to any +indifference of the editor. Brendel had not only sent him each work as +it appeared, but had urged him to write, asking repeatedly, 'Why nothing +about Brahms?' His own great interest in the young composer, his desire +to find himself in complete accord with Schumann's opinion, his +incapability of entirely agreeing with it, had, he said, always led him +to defer his criticism; and, indeed, the reluctant and hesitating tone +of the articles leads to the conviction that they were written in +complete good faith. + + 'That Brahms found many opponents on his first appearance was an + unusual distinction; it showed that he possessed a very significant + artistic individuality. When, however, enthusiastic friends saw in + him the prophet of a new time, and especially when they proclaimed + the completely developed, ripe artist, we can only regard it as an + amiable excess of enthusiasm.' + + 'Brahms,' says the third and most interesting article, 'has + sometimes been described as the most talented and pronounced of the + Schumannites. So far as this is true, we regret it.... Schumann + cannot be carried further.... His very important individuality + quite unquestionably possesses a high value, but only in its + originality. Brahms is, however, no imitator of Schumann. He + displays, in the whole bent of his nature and creative activity, an + inner affinity with him which is more than mere sympathy, and has + about it nothing forced or borrowed; but he possesses an element + not in Schumann which makes us believe that, if it is only given to + him to attain to full development, he will find his own paths. The + more he succeeds in freeing himself from the characteristic + Schumann nature, the more may be looked for from his future.... + + 'Brahms is not free from Schumann's danger; he, also, has the + subtle habit of mind, the tendency to the indefinite and misty, + which characterize the romanticists. He shares Schumann's strong + faith, moreover, in impulses of genius and inspirations of the + moment, to be followed without discrimination or resistance. He + sometimes introduces passages which have neither presupposition nor + consequence, but which are not therefore heaven-bestowed. His work + is inconsistent and defective in style. He should have been + regarded as an artist not yet mature. When all is said, however, it + was an unusually striking phenomenon that such a young composer + should exhibit in his first works a freedom in the handling of + form, a diversity of harmonic and rhythmic development, and an + abundance of ideas, such as are to be found in the works only of + those who are called to become one day masters. And yet who will + deny that much "lies in the air" to-day which had formerly to be + won by hard fighting, or to be developed entirely from within?' + +Dr. Pohl's doubt evidently overcomes him again in the last sentence, and +it would be quite unjust to refer his hesitation to the influence of +party spirit, or to say that he had no ground for his feeling of +uncertainty as to the destiny of our composer's genius. It is difficult +now to realize the position of the critic who, in 1855, wished to write +without bias of the Brahms of twenty-two; but the good faith of these +_Neue Zeitschrift_ articles is curiously confirmed by a few forcible +words written in 1893 by an intimate friend of the Brahms of past sixty. + + 'Brahms' first works,' says Hanslick,[68] 'had interested me in a + high degree--interested, however, rather than satisfied me. A young + Hercules at the parting of the ways. Will he turn to the left, to + the most extreme romanticism, or to the right, to the path of our + classics?' + +That Brahms himself had become aware of the problem that faced him is +conclusively shown by the future course of his development; and, with +the exception of the Ballades for pianoforte, Op. 10, dedicated to +Grimm, mentioned by Schumann in his letter of January, 1855, and +produced by Breitkopf and Härtel early in 1856, no work of his +composition succeeded the publications of 1854 until after a period of +six years. + +Johannes again passed Christmas with Frau Schumann, and on January 10 +played Beethoven's G major Concerto and unaccompanied solos by Schumann +at the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert. The impression generally created by +his performance is summed up by a few words in the _Signale_ which +suggest that he again rather overdid his artistic self-restraint: + + 'Many artists could certainly have displayed more technical + brilliancy, but few have the capacity for bringing out so + convincingly the intentions of the composer, or following as Brahms + does the flight of Beethoven's genius and disclosing its full + splendour.' + +The critic adds that the young artist, who thinks more of the work he +happens to be interpreting than of self-display, has already won many +friends in the art world by his compositions. + +Paying a flying visit to Hanover on his way back to Hamburg, which is, +just now, to be considered as his settled home, Johannes for the first +time heard Rubinstein, who had come to play at one of the subscription +concerts conducted by Joachim, and who shortly afterwards wrote to +Liszt: + + '... As regards Brahms, I hardly know how to describe the + impression he made on me. He is not graceful enough for the + drawing-room, not fiery enough for the concert-room, not simple + enough for the country, and not general enough for the town. I have + but little faith in this kind of nature.' + +It may be remarked here that Rubinstein never acquired a liking for +Brahms' art, and that, to the end of his life, he expressed the opinion +that the series of great masters had ceased with Schumann. Rubinstein +obtained a powerful following, not only as pianist, but as composer, at +Leipzig, and in later years his works were pitted against those of +Brahms by the large and influential set of musicians and amateurs of the +typical Gewandhaus circle. The generosity of Rubinstein's nature is too +well established to leave room for any suspicion of his having been +moved by paltry feelings of professional jealousy, and his repeated +asseverations that he could find no music in Brahms' works must be +accepted as genuine expressions of his sentiments. + +Many celebrations took place, during the opening month of 1856, of the +centenary of Mozart's birth (January 27, 1756), and Johannes, making his +second appearance at Otten's concerts on the 26th, contributed the D +minor Concerto to a programme selected from the great master's works. +Whilst practising for the occasion at the house of Messrs. Baumgarten +and Heins, he made the acquaintance of the critic and journalist E. +Krause, between whom and himself a permanent friendship was established. +Krause became one of the earliest and ablest supporters of his art. + +But two concerts of the season remain to be mentioned--one at Kiel, +given by Brahms in association with the composer Grädener, of Hamburg, +and the violinist John Böie, when his solos were Beethoven's E flat +Sonata, Op. 27, No. 1, and C minor Variations; the other at Altona, +where he played Bach's Organ Toccata in F major, Beethoven's 'Eroica' +Variations, and, with Böie and Breyther, Schumann's trio movements +'Märchen Erzählungen' and Beethoven's Sonata for pianoforte and violin, +Op. 96. He passed February and March quietly with his parents, making as +much money as he could by teaching. Mention may be made of a pupil in +whom he was interested at this time--Fräulein Friedchen Wagner, a cousin +of Otten's, and herself a pianoforte-teacher. Brahms' acquaintance with +her has an association, to which we shall presently refer, with some of +the works published by him in the early sixties. + +Frau Schumann, who travelled without break, save for a short interval +in December, during the season 1855-56, spent more than two months of +the early part of the year in Vienna, where Schumann's works were as yet +but little known to the general public. Appearing as the inspired +missionary of her husband's art, she succeeded in arousing interest in +his compositions, whilst her personal achievements as an executant +excited extraordinary enthusiasm. She gave six recitals, and introduced +into two of her programmes respectively Brahms' Saraband and Gavotte and +the andante and scherzo from his F minor Sonata. The critic of the +_Wiener Zeitung_ of that date, Carl Debrois van Bruyck, speaks of them +as 'pieces of special beauty, which confirm the impression of the young +composer's exceptional talent' already formed by him from the study of +other works, especially of a set of variations [Op. 9] and a book of +songs. The successful début of Brahms' name in a concert-programme and a +prominent journal of the city to which he was to belong during the +second half of his life is an interesting point in his history. + +It will be convenient to refer at once to a detailed review of our +composer's early works contributed to his journal by van Bruyck on +September 25, 1857. At this date, as the reader is aware, Brahms' +publications had not increased beyond the ten numbers already mentioned, +and consisted of the three sonatas, scherzo, variations, and ballades +for pianoforte, the B major Trio, and the three first books of songs. +The similarity of the remarks of the Vienna critic with those contained +in 'Hoplit's' _Neue Zeitschrift_ articles, already referred to, is the +more striking since van Bruyck did not concern himself with the party +conflicts of Germany. He was, however, a very great lover of Schumann's +art, and if he had any bias in regard to that of Brahms, it inclined in +favour of Schumann's young prophet. + +He regards the variations as decidedly pre-eminent amongst the ten +works. They convince him that Brahms has + + 'a genuine and entirely original talent, a finely-endowed artist + nature.... Some of them are quite magic and ethereal, although the + finest of all recalls Schumann, perhaps intentionally; and in + others, especially the last, the young composer's tendency to the + vague and mystical is rather unpleasantly and dangerously apparent. + Next to the variations I should place the songs, which contain + tones of penetrating depth and sweetness.... Brahms certainly + stands within the sacred circle, and has already acquired a very + definite power of achievement, though it may not at present be + sufficient for his purpose; and it is the duty of serious, + unbiassed criticism to protect him against the derision which the + more highly gifted men have never escaped, especially when their + endowment has been peculiarly individual. As we have said, Brahms' + natural power seems to be lofty beyond all question, and the danger + and doubt as regards his development lies, we think, in his partly + instinctive, partly conscious striving after over-refinement; in + his excessive bent to the dæmoniacal, the fantastic. Should he + succeed in restraining this inclination, we may await with + confidence many riper, more perfect fruits whether in the nearer or + farther future.' + +The derision from which van Bruyck desired to protect Johannes emanated +chiefly or entirely at this period from the Rhenish press. As it +consisted chiefly of the vulgar commonplaces of the journalist--familiar +at all times and in all countries--who has neither knowledge of his +subject nor instinct to avoid displaying his ignorance, no example will +be given of it in these pages. + +Whilst Frau Schumann was achieving a series of unbroken successes in +Vienna, her private anxieties pressed upon her with ever-increasing +severity. The apparent improvement in Schumann's health had been but +transitory. He had steadily lost ground since the spring of 1855, and +before the winter had well come to an end the physicians were unable to +conceal from themselves that his case was hopeless. The afflicted wife +was sustained for the fulfilment of her duties by the best accounts that +the situation admitted of, but she was obliged, on her return from +Vienna, to relinquish all immediate hope of an interview with her +husband, whom she had not seen since the hour before the catastrophe of +1854. Nor could she allow herself the solace of remaining near him. She +was now sole bread-winner for the family, and a group of young children +depended on her exertions. She had entered into engagements for the +London season, and, after a very short interval of rest, started on +April 7 for England. + +For Brahms, bound as he was by the closest ties of affection and +gratitude to Schumann and his family, it was impossible, under the +melancholy trend of events, to remain quietly at his studies in Hamburg. +There was some idea of removing the patient from Endenich; at all +events, it would be a satisfaction to obtain the opinion of fresh +experts on brain disease; and Johannes undertook to make personal +inquiries of certain eminent doctors, and to send his report as soon as +possible to England. On April 15 Frau Schumann wrote from London to +Dietrich, who had in the summer been appointed Wasielewsky's successor +as music-director at Bonn: + + 'DEAR HERR DIETRICH, + + 'I enclose a long letter from Gisela von Arnim. Will you give it to + Johannes on his return? I must again thank you and Professor Jahn + very fervently for the sympathy which you show Johannes in his + undertaking; it is a comfort to me that he does not stand alone, it + would be too hard for him. Of myself I have little satisfactory to + relate. In spirit I am always in Germany. I played yesterday at the + Philharmonic with a bleeding heart. I had a letter from Johannes in + the morning, in which I read hopelessness between the lines as + regards my beloved husband, although he had tried in all affection + to tell me everything as gently as possible. Whence the power to + play came to me I do not know; I could do nothing at home, and yet + in the evening things went. + + 'Think sometimes kindly of your + 'CLARA SCHUMANN. + + 'I really think the enclosed letter is worth consideration. + Johannes will certainly show it to you and Professor Jahn. I have + just heard something about cold-water treatment for brain disease, + which makes me very anxious to try it for my husband. Please tell + Johannes I will write about it to-morrow.' + +All was in vain, however. Schumann was already in an advanced stage of +the disease which, technically described under different learned names, +according to its many varieties, is known to the layman as softening of +the brain. Anyone who has watched the powers of friend or acquaintance +gradually succumbing to this most cruel of all maladies is familiar with +the general course of the symptoms. Minute particulars need not be +described. Enough that Johannes, permitted to see Schumann again after +an interval of more than a year, had been unutterably shocked, and had +felt that the time had arrived when it was his duty to prepare Frau +Schumann for the worst. As gently as possible he allowed her, as she +expresses it, to read between the lines that no change of treatment +could alter the inevitable. All the doctors were agreed in opinion; +none, therefore, was attempted. + +The concert so pathetically referred to in the letter quoted above was +the Philharmonic concert at the Hanover Square Rooms of April 14, the +occasion of Frau Schumann's first appearance in England. Could any +incident of fiction be more heart-rending in its pathos than this +occurrence of real life--this picture of the sensitive, highly-strung +woman, whose nerves were habitually in a state of strained tension, +obliged to force herself, for the sake of her children's existence, to +step for the first time on to a London concert platform, a sea of +unknown faces before her, her kith and kin far away, a few hours after +she had accepted the certainty of her passionately loved husband's +tragic doom? No wonder she could 'do nothing' before the concert. Those +who knew her best can understand how it was that, after all, 'things +went.' Her début in England was made with Beethoven's E flat Concerto +and Mendelssohn's Variations Sérieuses, and things went with such +brilliant success that she was re-engaged for the next Philharmonic +concert. + +Through the remainder of April, through May, June, and part of July, did +this great artist work incessantly, going in desolation of spirit from +triumph to triumph; and some of Schumann's shorter compositions which +were encored by the public became something more than tolerated, even by +the conservative press, for the sake of her perfect playing of them. +Her numerous concert-journeys through the British Islands extended as +far as Dublin. Amongst the most important of her London appearances were +those at the Musical Union (John Ella's) concerts and at her own three +recitals. At the second of these, which took place on June 17, she +imitated her own precedent at Vienna, and introduced Brahms' name for +the first time to an English public. The entire selection belongs so +peculiarly to the events and period occupying our attention that it may +interest the reader to have the complete programme: + + Variations (Eroica) _Beethoven._ + Two Diversions, Op. 17, from Suite de + Pièces, Op. 24, No. 1 _Sterndale Bennett._ + Variations on a theme from the 'Bunten + Blättern' _Clara Schumann._ + (_a_) Saraband and Gavotte in the style of + Bach _Johannes Brahms._ + (_b_) Clavierstück in A major _Scarlatti._ + 'Carnaval' _Schumann._ + +The Brahms Gavotte was enthusiastically applauded, but Frau Schumann, +having regard to the performance of the 'Carnaval' before her, refused +the encore. At the close of the recital, however, she returned to the +piano in response to continued demonstrations, and repeated the +composition. Her performances were given on a pianoforte by Erard, whose +instruments were preferred at that date by all the great pianists of +Europe. A magnificent 'grand' was presented by the house to Frau +Schumann at the close of her London season, and despatched to her +residence in Düsseldorf. It continued to be her favourite instrument for +private use until 1867, when she reappeared in England after an absence +of ten years, and used a Broadwood pianoforte. On her departure a +Broadwood concert-grand was sent to her house near Baden-Baden by +Messrs. John Broadwood and Sons. Some years later, when the author was +intimate at Frau Schumann's residence, the Broadwood pianoforte stood in +the drawing-room, the Erard in the dining-room. On the former Frau +Schumann and Brahms often played duets after afternoon coffee; on the +latter Johannes--always 'Johannes' to his old friend--played one evening +after supper several numbers of the third and fourth books of the +Hungarian Dances, not yet published, not yet books, his eyes flashing +fire the while. + +Brahms gave up all idea of returning to Hamburg for the present. Duty +and inclination alike prompted him to remain in Schumann's +neighbourhood, and the fact of Dietrich's residence at Bonn gave him +additional satisfaction in resolving to pass the summer on the Rhine. It +was at this time that he made the personal acquaintance of the poet +Claus Groth, who was staying at Bonn to be near Otto Jahn; and the +musical festival of the year (May 11-13) marked the beginning of his +intimacy with the great singer Julius Stockhausen, who, making his first +appearance on the Rhine, was heard in the part of Elijah in +Mendelssohn's oratorio, in 'Alexander's Feast,' in an aria by Boieldieu, +and in songs by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. + +Stockhausen had been a pupil of Manuel Garcia in Paris and London, and +was well known to the musical public and the private artistic circles of +both cities before he became a celebrity in Austria and Germany. + + 'His delivery of opera and oratorio music,' says Sir George + Grove[69]--'his favourite pieces from "Euryanthe," "Jean de Paris," + "Le Chaperon Rouge," and "Le Philtre"; or the part of Elijah, or + certain special airs of Bach--was superb in taste, feeling, and + execution; but it was the Lieder of Schubert and Schumann that most + peculiarly suited him, and these he delivered in a truly remarkable + way. The rich beauty of the voice, the nobility of the style, the + perfect phrasing, the intimate sympathy, not least, the + intelligible way in which the words were given--in itself one of + his greatest claims to distinction--all combined to make his + singing of songs a wonderful event. Those who have heard him sing + Schubert's "Nachtstück," "Wanderer," "Memnon," or the "Harper's + Songs," or Schumann's "Frühlingsnacht" or "Fluthenreicher Ebro," or + the "Löwenbraut," will corroborate all that has been said. But + perhaps his highest achievement was the part of Dr. Marianus in + the third part of Schumann's "Faust," in which his delivery of the + "Drei Himmelskönigin" ("Hier ist die Aussicht frei"), with just as + much of acting as the concert-room will admit, and no more, was one + of the most touching and remarkable things ever witnessed.' + +Cordial relations were so quickly established between Stockhausen and +Brahms that before the close of the month they had given two concerts +together--one on the 27th, in the 'yellow room of the casino' at +Cologne; the other on the 29th, in the hall of the Lesegesellschaft at +Bonn. Stockhausen's performances, accompanied in each instance by +Brahms, created a furore on both occasions. Brahms' solos--consisting on +the 27th of Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Beethoven's C minor +Variations, and on the 29th of Beethoven's E flat Variations, Clara +Schumann's Romance, a Schubert Impromptu, and the great Bach Fugue in A +minor, to be found in vol. iii. of the Leipzig Society's edition--were +coldly received. This is not to be wondered at. During the half-century +which has elapsed since these concerts took place musical taste has +passed through more than one revolution; it is, however, questionable +whether at any time within the interval a pianist, of whatever +qualifications, not already accepted into the prime affections of the +public, could have successfully courted its favour beside the attraction +of a really great singer in full possession of his powers, whose +selections included a number of the most fascinating lyrics of Schubert, +Mendelssohn, and Schumann. One of the Cologne critics, at all events, +was satisfied with the pianist. It is rather surprising to read, in the +_Niederrheinische Musik Zeitung_, that Herr Johannes Brahms played his +two solos on the 27th 'with such purity, clearness, musical ripeness, +and artistic repose, that his performances gave true pleasure.' + +Brahms' temperament was not really suited, however, to the career of a +virtuoso, nor had the obscure circumstances of his youth fitted him for +it. He generally felt too nervously self-conscious when before the +public to have a chance of gaining its entire confidence, and was too +dependent on his mood to be able to throw himself at all times +completely out upon his audience and compel their sympathy. The +achievement of striking and lasting success as a performer involves a +concentration of the best energies of body and mind upon this career, +whilst the attainment of real greatness as a composer means the devotion +of a life to the end. No illustration of these truths could be more apt +than the contrasted careers of Brahms and Joachim. Whatever Joachim's +natural creative faculty may have been, his boundless success as an +interpreter was fatal to its development. The divergence of the paths +pursued by the two friends resulted not altogether, or perhaps chiefly, +from variety of musical endowment, but largely from the radical +differences in their characters and circumstances. From early childhood +Joachim has never appeared on a platform without exciting, not only the +admiration, but the personal love of his audience. His successes have +been their delight. They have rejoiced to see him, to applaud him, +recall him, shout at him. The scenes familiar to the memory of three +generations of London concert-goers have been samples of the everyday +incidents of his life in all countries and towns where he has appeared. +Why? It is impossible altogether to explain such phenomena, even by the +word 'genius.' Joachim followed his destiny. His career is unparalleled +in the history of musical executive art. It began when he was eight; it +is not closed now that he is seventy-four. All possibility of his +achieving greatness as a composer--notwithstanding that he has produced +one or two great works--was excluded by the time he had reached the age +of fourteen. + +The mistress of Brahms' absorbing passion, on the other hand, was from +first to last his creative art, to which all else remained secondary. He +never swerved by a hair's-breadth from his devotion, but accepted +poverty, disappointment, loneliness, and failure in the eyes of the +world, with all the strong faith that was in him, for the sake of this, +his true love. He was never drawn by inclination to his virtuoso career, +to which he submitted only as a necessity, discarding it as soon as +circumstances allowed. He was seldom able to disclose the infinite +possibilities of his playing under circumstances in which he was not at +ease; and though he possessed a great technique which he could easily +have developed into something phenomenal, and which, as it was, enabled +him to excite an audience now and again by sounding and dramatic +performances of Bach's organ compositions and other imposing works, yet +the more distinctive beauties of his style were too subtle for the +appreciation of a mixed body of listeners. His imagination of effects of +tone was, to quote Schumann's article, quite original, and this was even +more strikingly displayed in later years, when he conducted one or other +of his orchestral works. His playing even of such a trifle as Gluck's +Gavotte in A, arranged for Frau Schumann in 1871, which the author more +than once heard, was full of unsought graces that were the immediate +reflection of his delicate spirit. His performance of this little piece, +and his conception of many works of the great masters, together with his +whole style of playing, differed _in toto_ from Frau Schumann's. The two +artists admired each other's qualities. Frau Schumann courted Brahms' +criticisms, and has, on some occasions, quoted to the author his sayings +as to the reading of certain of Beethoven's sonatas, declaring she felt +them to be right. Nevertheless, her temperament would never have allowed +her to carry out these suggestions in actual public performance, and she +was better fitted by temperament than Brahms for the interpretation, to +the large public, of the masterpieces of musical art. + +The author has been carried by this digression, which is the result of +her personal intercourse with these great musicians, to a date many +years later than that reached by the narrative. Its insertion here may, +however, be of advantage to the reader by preparing him to expect that +Brahms' career as a pianist, though not without success, was attended by +few brilliant triumphs. + +On June 8, the forty-sixth anniversary of Schumann's birthday, Johannes +again went to Endenich, accompanied on the walk from Bonn by Jahn, +Dietrich, Groth, and Hermann Deiters, another notable acquaintance of +this summer. He looked very serious on rejoining his companions, though +he said that Schumann had recognised and seemed pleased to see him. The +end was, indeed, not far off. The mists that had so long been gathering +around the lofty spirit of the master continued to close him into +ever-increasing darkness. Bad news attended Frau Schumann's return from +England towards the middle of July, and on the 23rd of the month she was +summoned by a telegraphic despatch to Endenich. Even now the longed-for +interview had to be deferred. Fresh symptoms appeared before her +arrival, and she was obliged to return to Düsseldorf to live through +three more days of agonizing suspense. She returned to Bonn on the +evening of the 26th, there to await the end, and at length, on Sunday +morning, July 27th, passed with Johannes into the solemn chamber of +death. Schumann was lying quietly with closed eyes as she entered, but +opened them presently on the figure kneeling at his bedside, and it +became evident after a few moments that he knew his wife. His power of +speech was almost gone, but a look of recognition passed over his +countenance. He received with satisfaction a few drops of wine with +which she tenderly moistened his lips, and suddenly, with a last +accession of strength, was able to place one of his arms round her. +Those faint looks of love, that last embrace, dwelt in Frau Schumann's +memory as an ever-present solace through the forty years of her +widowhood, and, in spite of her many sorrows, the radiance was never +dimmed that had been shed over her spirit once and for all by the +enchantment of an early ideal happiness. + +Schumann lingered yet a day or two, growing weaker hour by hour as his +wife and his young friend watched at his side. He passed quietly away at +four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, July 29; and Frau Schumann, returning +from a short interval of repose at her hotel, accompanied by Brahms and +Joachim, who had taken immediate train to Bonn on receiving a hopeless +report, learned that her husband's sufferings were over for ever. + +Two days more, and on Thursday, July 31, in the stillness of a balmy +summer evening, the mortal remains of the master were laid to rest in +the cemetery of Bonn. The funeral was arranged with touching simplicity. +A pleasant spot had been chosen by the city, some plantain-trees planted +by the grave. The coffin, borne from Endenich by the choristers of the +Concordia, was immediately followed by the three chief mourners--Brahms, +who carried a laurel wreath, Joachim, and Dietrich. Next came the +clergyman, Pastor Wiesemann, and the Mayor of Bonn, and at an appointed +spot in the city a long string of friends and musicians joined the +procession, which passed on foot through the streets accompanied by a +band of brass instruments playing one and another of the most solemnly +beautiful of the old German chorales. At the graveside Brahms stepped +forward and placed the wife's wreath upon the coffin, bare of other +floral decorations. A short address was delivered by Pastor Wiesemann, +then came a sacred part-song by the choristers, a chorale, a few simple +words spoken by Ferdinand Hiller, the last farewell of friends throwing +earth upon the coffin, and all was over.[70] + +On the anguish of the widow looking out despairingly to the future of +her lonely life, who yet might not despair because of the little ones +clinging to her side, on the steadfast loyalty of the affectionate +friends in whose sympathy she had found, and continued to find, support, +it is unnecessary to dwell; they are matter of history. Rather let the +chapter be closed in silent remembrance of the departed master and of +the group of his loved ones who lamented together in the sacred presence +of an irreparable grief. + +[61] 'Gesammelte Aufsätze über Musik.' + +[62] 'Aus meinem Leben.' + +[63] _Die Musik_, first May number, 1903. + +[64] In the author's possession. + +[65] In the possession of Professor Julius Spengel. + +[66] In the library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna. + +[67] In the possession of Fräulein Marie Grimm. + +[68] 'Aus meinem Leben.' + +[69] Grove's 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians.' + +[70] Chiefly taken from the account written at the time for the _Neue +Zeitschrift_, by Ferdinand Hiller. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + 1856-1858 + + Joachim and Brahms in Düsseldorf--Grimm in Göttingen--Brahms' visit + to Detmold--Carl von Meysenbug--Court Concertmeister + Bargheer--Joachim and Liszt--Brahms' return to Detmold--Summer at + Göttingen--Pianoforte Concerto in D minor and Orchestral Serenade + in D major tried privately in Hanover. + + +Frau Schumann returned to Düsseldorf the day after the funeral, +accompanied by Brahms and Joachim. There were certain things to be done, +the performance of which she desired to entrust to the two young +musicians who had been so near the master's heart. Together they set in +order the papers left by the deceased composer, wrote necessary letters, +and made plans for the immediate future. Joachim writes on August 2 to +Liszt: + + 'Frau Schumann returned here yesterday; the presence of her + children and of Brahms, whom Schumann loved like a son, comforts + the noble lady, who appears to me, in her deep grief, a lofty + example of God-given strength. I shall remain here for some days.' + +Johannes had taken over some lessons which Frau Schumann had arranged to +give, on her return from England, to Fräulein von Meysenbug, daughter of +the late Minister and sister of the then Hofmarschall at the Court of +Lippe-Detmold, and by so doing had added four people to the list of his +friends: his pupil, her mother and sister--all settled for a few weeks +in Düsseldorf--and her young nephew Carl, who came from Detmold to visit +his relations. + + 'On the occasion of one of the lessons,' says Freiherr von + Meysenbug,[71] 'I first saw and heard the almost boyish-looking, + shy, and socially awkward young artist, who played to us Schubert's + "Moment Musical" in F minor. His rendering of the piece made an + indelible impression on me.' + +The boy's admiration led later on to a fast alliance between Brahms and +Carl. The ladies, on their part, became enthusiastic in their admiration +of the young musician, and on the termination of the lessons, which +could not long be continued on account of the sad circumstances of the +moment, they invited him to stay with them in the spring at Detmold, +with a view to his appearance at Court. + +It was felt that the all-important necessaries for Frau Schumann were +rest and good air. Since the crisis of her husband's malady in February, +1854, followed after a few months by the birth of her youngest son, she +had enjoyed but little repose, and since the autumn of 1855 practically +none. During November and December of that year she travelled, as we +have seen, in Germany, giving concerts with Joachim in Leipzig, Berlin, +Danzig, Berlin again, Rostock, and many other towns. At home for +Christmas, she gave her first concert in Vienna on January 7, which was +followed by five others, the last taking place on March 3. Travelling +meanwhile, she combined her engagements in the Austrian capital with +performances at Prague and other cities. Returning early in March by way +of Leipzig, she was at home about a fortnight, and on April 7 started +for England, to remain until the second week of July. We have seen to +what she returned, and may well understand that she seemed to Joachim +and Brahms 'an example of God-given strength.' It was now decided that +she should go to Switzerland, and that Johannes' sister, whom she knew +and liked, should accompany her. Elise Brahms was not artistic, and had +little education. She had suffered all her life from bad headaches, and +the constitutional tendency had been aggravated by her employment of +plain sewing, carried on at home or in the houses of her clients. She +was not pretty, her single personal attraction being an abundance of +light-brown hair which grew to a great length, but she was simple, +unselfish, and kind; she was the sister of Johannes; and Frau Schumann +hoped that a respite from her confined life, in fine air and scenery, +might do her good. The whole party--Frau Schumann with some of her +children, Elise, and Johannes--set off together as soon as the necessary +arrangements could be made, accompanied on the first part of their +journey by Joachim, and proceeded by short stages to Gersau, on the Lake +of Lucerne, where they settled down for several weeks. The time was +spent in quiet walks and excursions, with some amount of music and a few +meetings with close friends, and the return was made in the same +leisurely way, with ten days' stay at Heidelberg. The holiday had its +effect, and the beginning of October found the three musicians prepared +to take up the ordinary duties of life. Frau Schumann began to practise +for her concert-season, Joachim was at his post at Hanover, and Johannes +about to return to his home in Hamburg, to apply himself to the +occupations which had been interrupted by the events of the past six +months. He appeared at Otten's concert of the 25th of the month with +Beethoven's G major Concerto, and this time with immense success. 'The +concerto was played with such fire and élan as to excite enthusiastic +demonstration.' Some special outward circumstance or inner mood probably +stirred him on this occasion. His performance was so powerful that it is +still vividly remembered, with its effect upon the audience. His +appearance on November 22 at a Philharmonic concert chiefly devoted to +Schumann's works awakened no enthusiasm. He played the master's +Pianoforte Concerto, and the indifference with which his performance was +received was the more marked by contrast with the stormy applause that +followed Joachim's playing of Schumann's Violin Fantasia and of Bach's +Chaconne. + +It was, however, a joy to Brahms to have his friend with him for a day +or two. Kalbeck speaks[72] of a quartet which he had ready to show +Joachim, and which was tried in private at one or other friendly +house--Grädener's or Avé Lallement's (a well-known Hamburg musician). +Internal evidence points to the probability of its having been the +Pianoforte Quartet in C minor, now known amongst its companion works as +No. 3, or some of its movements. There is a great deal in this +composition which is suggestive of Brahms' early period, and the scherzo +is unmistakably founded on, though it is not identical with, the +movement contributed by Johannes to the sonata of welcome written for +Joachim in October, 1853, by Schumann, Dietrich, and Brahms. + +The season 1856-57 was passed uneventfully by Brahms in the studies and +other occupations already described, varied by occasional journeys. He +may at this time be said to have had three if not four homes, in +addition to that of his parents at Hamburg. In Düsseldorf, Hanover, +Göttingen, and Bonn he was alike welcome. Grimm had married in the +spring of 1856, choosing for his wife Fräulein Philippine Ritmüller, +daughter of the head of the Göttingen pianoforte firm of that name. +There was a large room in Ritmüller's establishment available for +private performances, and in it the idea originated which has enriched +the world with Brahms' first pianoforte concerto. + +One day after a performance of the symphony movements of 1854 for which +Grimm cherished an enthusiastic affection, in their arrangement for two +pianofortes, the young musician again urged upon the composer his +frequently expressed opinion of the inadequacy of this form for the +expression of the great ideas of the work. Johannes, however, had quite +convinced himself that he was not yet ripe for the writing of a +symphony, and it occurred to Grimm that they might be rearranged as a +pianoforte concerto. This proposal was entertained by Brahms, who +accepted the first and second movements as suitable in essentials for +this form. The changes of structure involved in the plan, however, +proved far from easy of successful accomplishment, and occupied much of +the composer's time during two years. The movements were repeatedly sent +to Hanover for Joachim's inspection, and returned with his suggestions; +for his time, sympathy, musicianship, and knowledge of the orchestra, +were placed, with unfailing generosity, at Brahms' disposal during all +the years of ripening experience that led up to the composer's maturity. +The immediate fortunes of the work after it was at length completed will +be related in due course. + +The invitation of the von Meysenbugs having been duly renewed and +accepted, the young musician paid a short visit to Detmold at +Whitsuntide. Arriving at the little town one pleasant afternoon, the +last stage of his journey having been made by post, he was met by his +pupil and her nephew Carl, and brought by them to Frau von Meysenbug's +house. The article of the Vienna _Neues Tagblatt_ already referred to, +by Freiherr von Meysenbug, the 'Carl,' or 'Charles,' as he was generally +called, of 1857, gives a pleasant account of the visit: + + 'I can still see the young fellow standing in silent embarrassment + in the old Excellency's drawing-room, not quite knowing how to + begin a conversation with the ladies, who were still practically + strangers to him. Just then--it was about four o'clock--a princely + carriage drove through the quiet street, in which were seated the + three sisters of the reigning Prince on their way to dine with + their brother at the palace. The ladies were accustomed to look up, + as they passed, to the windows of my relations, and my aunt, seeing + the carriage coming, said, "I will just nod to the Princess + (Friederike) that Herr Brahms is come." Upon this Brahms broke + silence with the words, "Do they live close by, then, like everyone + else?" evidently thinking that the sign was to be given to an + opposite window. This set the conversation going till I showed + Brahms his room.' + +The same evening Charles reappeared with his parents and Concertmeister +Bargheer, of the Detmold court orchestra, a fine player, pupil of Spohr +and Joachim, and already an acquaintance of Brahms. The Hofmarschall +wished to hear the new-comer as a preliminary to his appearance at +Court, and listened to most convincing performances of a thundering +prelude and fugue of Bach and of Beethoven's C sharp minor Sonata, Op. +27. An orchestral court concert was immediately arranged, at which +Johannes played his favourite Beethoven Concerto in G major and took +part in a performance of Schubert's 'Forellen' Quintet with +Concertmeister Bargheer, viola-player Schulze, violoncellist Julius +Schmidt, all soloists of the court orchestra, and a bassist, member of +the same body. His success was unequivocal, and he appeared with +Bargheer at an assembly of musicians and their friends held after the +concert at the chief confectioner's, in rollicking boyish spirits. +Capellmeister Kiel, on the other hand, who looked rather askance at a +probable future favourite at Court, assumed airs of even unusual +importance. He was at present, he said, setting one of the Psalms as a +chorus; he often composed Biblical texts, but was sometimes puzzled by +the Scriptural expressions. For instance, 'To the chief musician on the +Gittith.' 'Pray, can you inform me what a Gittith was?' solemnly to the +young hero of the evening. 'Probably a pretty Jewish girl,' returned +Brahms, with a serious air--an answer which procured him a suspicious +look over the spectacles of the old musician, and enraptured Charles, +who, supposed by his parents to be in bed, had found means of his own to +join the party. The entertainment having been prolonged until dawn, the +more ardent spirits of the gathering proposed a walk to a neighbouring +height to see the sun rise, and Brahms and Charles strode off together, +leading the way. Their enthusiasm survived that of their companions, who +gradually dropped off; and overcome by weariness as they reached the +beginning of the last steep climb, they turned into the garden of a +restaurant hard by, where Charles dropped on to the corner seat of an +arbour bench, and Brahms, stretching himself out at full length with his +head on his companion's knee, immediately went soundly to sleep. + + 'Just as I, too, was giving way to fatigue,' continues Freiherr von + Meysenbug, 'a fine brown spaniel came sniffing at Brahms' face, + and he suddenly jumped up, roused by the dog's cold nose. Meanwhile + the house had awakened, we drank some hastily-prepared coffee, + satisfied our healthy young appetites with delicious country black + bread and golden-yellow butter, and trotted back to the little + town. We both presented rather a questionable appearance in the + streets, which were already astir, especially so the small Brahms + in dress-coat, crumpled and disarranged white necktie, and + crush-hat on one side. Paying a passing visit to the faithless + Bargheer, whom we disturbed in his morning slumbers, we next set + out for my grandmother's dwelling. There--oh, horror!--we suddenly + came upon my aunt setting out for her morning walk. A distant look + of righteous indignation travelled up and down the two + night-enthusiasts, for Brahms' attire betrayed but too clearly that + he had not been back since the previous evening. A stormy + atmosphere prevailed during the day in the house of the hospitable + ladies, who were not only unused to visits from men, but could + never have imagined that the ideal artist would commit himself to + such extravagances. I was severely censured by grandmother and + aunts as the harebrained youth who had led the honoured guest + astray. Brahms left the next day, not having been very warmly + pressed to prolong his visit! He had, however, given such + satisfaction in high quarters that his return in the autumn for a + long stay in Detmold was definitely arranged. He was to give + lessons to the Princess, play at Court, and conduct an amateur + choral society, which, by invitation of the Prince, held its weekly + meetings at the castle, and to which His Serene Highness, together + with his brothers and sisters, belonged as regular members.' + +Brahms, who could now look forward to the autumn without anxiety as to +his finances, and who appreciated in anticipation the advantages he +would derive as a composer from his position as conductor of a choral +society and from constant association with a standing orchestra, met +Frau Schumann on her return from England, where she had again passed the +London season, in happy mood. Any regret he may have felt at resigning +his freedom of action for a few months by a binding engagement was +mitigated by the fact that his association with Düsseldorf must in any +case shortly be severed. Frau Schumann had made up her mind that she +would best serve her own happiness and the interests of her family by +settling near her mother in Berlin, and was to take up her residence +there in September, in readiness for the concert season and for the more +advantageous opportunity of working as a teacher in the Prussian +capital, by which she hoped to supplement her income. Born September 13, +1819, the great pianist, now not quite thirty-eight, was in the zenith +of her powers, and, with the probability of a long career before her, it +is not surprising that she should have resolved to begin a new chapter +of life away from the town that was chiefly associated in her mind with +painful recollections. A short summer vacation was passed by her on the +Rhine in the more or less constant society of Brahms, Joachim, and +Grimm, and a memorial of a few specially pleasant days spent at St. +Goarshausen is in existence in the shape of a copy, in her handwriting, +of Brahms' Variations, Op. 21, No. 2. On the outside page is written: + + 'Ungarische Variationen von Johannes. Herrn Julius Otto Grimm, zur + Erinnerung an die Tage in St. Goarshausen. August, 1857. Clara + Schumann.'[73] + +It was at this moment that Joachim resolved on a step which contributed +not a little to inflame the party feeling animating the younger +disciples of the New-German school. That they had felt increasingly +aggrieved by the position taken up by him since the crisis of Schumann's +illness, by his thoroughgoing association of his name and influence with +the art of the master and his wife, by his intimacy with Brahms, and by +his passive attitude towards Liszt's Symphonic Poems, may be read in +letters of the period. Bülow, whose correspondence up to the middle of +1854 contains repeated affectionate references to Joachim, to whom he +was immensely attached, wrote to Liszt in reference to the numerous +concert journeys of 1855 undertaken with Frau Schumann: + + 'Joachim and the statue of which he is making himself the pedestal + are not coming here till the beginning of next month. I am afraid + we shall have difficulty in recognising each other, for we are at + work in completely opposite directions.' + +Perhaps their secret conviction of Joachim's artistic sincerity added to +the disappointment of the Weimarites, which undoubtedly increased during +the two following years, though his dislike of the Symphonic Poems was +only to be guessed by his silence about them. On the publication of the +works in 1857, however, with a somewhat pretentious preface, the +embarrassment he felt from the consciousness that he would be unable to +live up to the desires of his quondam associates, stimulated beyond a +doubt by the sympathy of Johannes, who fully shared his sentiments, +induced him to pen a letter to Liszt in which he made full confession of +his apostasy. The intense pain which the writing of it caused him, +attached as he was to everything about Liszt excepting his compositions, +may be read in every line of the epistle, which is dated August 27, +1857. + + '... But of what use would it be if I were to delay any longer + saying plainly what I feel? My passivity towards your works could + not but reveal it to you, who are accustomed to be treated with + enthusiasm, and who regard me as capable of true, active + friendship. I will not, therefore, longer conceal what, as I + confess, your manly soul had the right to demand of me sooner. I am + entirely without sensibility for your music; it contradicts + everything upon which my powers have been nourished since early + youth from the spirits of our great ones. If it were conceivable + that I could ever be robbed, that I must renounce what I have + learned to love and reverence in their works, what I feel as music, + your tones would be no help to me in the vast, annihilating desert. + How, then, could I associate myself with the object of those who, + under the banner of your name and in the belief (I speak of the + conscientious among them) that they are bound to make themselves + responsible for contemporary justice towards artistic achievement, + make it the aim of life to spread the acceptance of your works by + every means at their command?...' + +These lines were written when Joachim was twenty-six. That they were +wrung from him by the strength of his artistic convictions is clear, and +it is certain that they were entirely characteristic of the writer at +the time. It is probable that Brahms, if he had been called upon to +compose the letter, would have expressed himself differently; but then, +he would not, under similar circumstances, have felt the same amount of +pain. An element in his great influence over his friends, and one which +he encouraged through life by deliberate training, was to accept the +inevitable with philosophy, and to look on the bright side of things; +and his natural elasticity of temperament would have enabled him, had +circumstances demanded of him the sacrifice of a friendship, to yield it +with little outward flinching. It is difficult for the present +generation, for whom the artistic party questions of half a century ago +have little beyond historic interest, to judge of the position of those +for whom they were a burning personal topic; but it is certain that +Joachim's letter to Liszt added fuel to a fire which raged violently +through the next succeeding years, and which occasioned the issue of a +mass of controversial pamphlets and articles almost unreadable at the +present day. + +Liszt himself accepted the young musician's confession with generous +dignity, and never allowed a disrespectful word to be uttered about +Joachim in his presence. His first and only reply to the letter of 1857 +was not made until nearly thirty years later. Joachim, arriving one year +early in the eighties at Budapest to perform his great Variations for +violin and orchestra, called on Liszt, who happened to be staying in the +same hotel with himself. The two artists had not met for many years, and +the pleasure felt by each at the accidental rencontre reminded them of +the tie of affection that had formerly united them. It turned out that +Liszt had already made himself acquainted with the variations, and he +proposed now to attend the rehearsal in order to hear the composer's +performance of them, saying: 'As you do not like my music, dear Joachim, +I feel that I must admire yours in double measure.' + +By the end of September Brahms found himself once more in Detmold. The +terms of his engagement, which extended through the three last months of +the year, included free rooms and living, and he was lodged in the +hotel Stadt Frankfurt, a comfortable inn, since enlarged and modernized, +exactly opposite the castle enclosure--close, therefore, to the scene of +his duties. The difficulty of procuring a piano in the little town was +got over by the loan of an old 'grand' belonging to the Frau +Hofmarschall that had been superseded in her drawing-room by one of +later construction; and Brahms, relieved at having succeeded in +obtaining something that had at least been good in its day, rewarded +Charles for his suggestion that the instrument should be sent to the +Stadt Frankfurt by promising him right of entrance to all practices and +performances that he might hold in his room with Bargheer, Schmidt, and +others. + +The daily life of our musician during the next three months was one very +much after his own heart. His mornings were sacred to work. Bargheer +joined him at the Stadt Frankfurt for early dinner, and the afternoons +were generally passed in exercise in the crisp autumn air of the +Teutoberger forest. There were games with Carl and his younger brother +Hermann; trials of strength with Bargheer, in which Brahms was +invariably defeated; Sunday excursions with Bargheer, Carl, and others, +which occupied the whole day and included an al-fresco luncheon carried +from Detmold, to which Brahms was proud to be able sometimes to +contribute an excellent bottle of Malvoisier. This he procured by +dispensing with the half-bottle of ordinary wine daily provided with his +dinner until he had covered the cost of the superior vintage to be +shared with his friends. 'He was as happy as a king at these times, he +loved beautiful nature so much,' says Julius Schmidt, who was +occasionally one of the party. + +His post as conductor of the choral society was at first particularly +welcome, not only as giving him experience in a branch of musical +activity which he had not practised since he stood, a boy of fifteen, at +the head of his little society of teachers at Winsen, but as affording +opportunity for the practical application and test of the studies to +which he had been devoting special attention. He began his duties as +conductor with the practice of short works by early and modern masters, +and arranged some of his favourite folk-songs expressly for the use of +the society, deriving from each rehearsal fresh insight into the art of +writing for voices. There were frequent informal musical soirées at +Court, which provided occasion for choral performances in the intervals +between the instrumental works that formed the bulk of the programmes. +These were played by Brahms, Bargheer, Schulze, Schmidt, and the +splendid hornist August Cordes, whose rich, mellow tone drew from Brahms +enthusiastic expressions of admiration. Almost the entire répertoire of +classical chamber music seems to have been gone through during this and +succeeding seasons; all the duet sonatas and pianoforte trios and +quartets, etc., of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann, were +played in turn. Brahms' Trio was performed several times, and it gave +the young musician particular pleasure to execute, not only Beethoven's +Horn Sonata with Cordes, but Mozart's and Beethoven's quintets for +pianoforte and wind with the soloists of the orchestra, who were one and +all artists. The powers of the flutist are said to have been hardly less +remarkable than those of Cordes. + +The court violoncellist, Julius Schmidt, who in 1857 was a man in the +early prime of life, has described to the author Brahms' appearance, on +his coming to Detmold, as so delicate and refined as to be almost +girlish; and this impression was strengthened by his voice, which was +still of the high quality that has been frequently mentioned. Impatient +of the remarks elicited by the peculiarity, he began at this time to +practise a series of vocal gymnastics for the purpose of forcing his +voice down, and was eventually successful in this aim. + +When engaged in the performance of his duties, he was always quiet and +serious, and would stand, before the commencement of a choir practice or +a court concert, at the extreme end of the long room in which the +functions took place, speaking to no one, perhaps looking through a +piece of music or a letter. His duties in connection with the +orchestral concerts were to play from time to time, and to conduct now +and then. In the course of the successive autumns passed by him at +Detmold, his performances included several of Mozart's and Beethoven's +concertos, which were heard with especial delight; Schumann's Concerto; +Mendelssohn's D minor Concerto and B minor Caprice; Moscheles' G minor +Concerto; and, with Bargheer and Schmidt, Beethoven's triple Concerto. +Occasionally, as time went on, the Princess Friederike played a +concerto, and on the occasion of a performance of Beethoven's Choral +Fantasia the Frau Hofmarschall von Meysenbug undertook the pianoforte +solo, whilst Brahms acted as conductor. + +The young musician soon became a favourite at Court, not only on account +of his musical genius, but also because of the general culture of his +mind. He invariably seemed at home on a topic of real interest, and able +to contribute something worth hearing to its discussion. 'Whoever wishes +to play well must not only practise a great deal, but read a great many +books,' was one of his favourite sayings, and the excellent public +library of Detmold afforded him good opportunity for indulging his +literary tastes. On the evenings that were free from duties, some of the +musicians often dropped into Brahms' room to play, and the performances +generally went on until late into the night. + + 'And how Brahms loved the great masters! how he played Haydn and + Mozart! with what beauty of interpretation and delicate shading of + tone! And then his transposing!' + +He would play a new composition by one or other of his Detmold friends +at sight in a transposed key without a mistake, taking it at any +interval suggested, and thinking nothing of the feat. He even liked to +play tricks on Court Concertmeister Bargheer, and to lead off Mozart's +duet sonatas, which Prince Leopold was fond of hearing in private, in +transposed keys, in which Bargheer was obliged, and luckily able, to +follow. + + 'His score playing, too, was marvellous. Bach, Handel, Haydn, + Mozart, all seemed to flow naturally under his fingers, and each + point to come out, as it were, of itself. Then, he was of such a + noble character, such a good, kind nature, and so loved + children....' + +It must be added, however, that Schmidt, like most of the Detmold +musicians, whilst enthusiastically admiring Brahms' gifts as an +executant, regarded his compositions with scepticism. The B major Trio +was by no means a favourite with himself or his colleagues--Bargheer +always excepted--and he thought the 'cello part most ungratefully +written for the instrument. + +Enough has been said to make it evident that Brahms' sojourn at Detmold +was an unmitigated success, and before his departure his re-engagement +the following season had come to be regarded as a matter of course. The +Christmas festival, passed by him in the midst of the Hofmarschall's +family party, was as bright and happy as can be imagined. Johannes +became for the evening a child of the house, entering eagerly with the +boys into the mystery of the hour preceding the great presentation of +Christmas gifts, and ready to laugh heartily at the practical jokes of +which he and others were made victims later in the evening. A few words +written in an album given to Hermann are still treasured by their owner: +'This was written in hearty friendship by your Johannes.' + +Two signs, contrasted one with the other, but both prophetic of things +to come, are to be noted in January newspaper issues of 1858. One, which +points to the swelling bitterness of feeling with which the Weimarites +contemplated the compact phalanx of friends who may conveniently be +termed the Schumann party, is contained in a reference to Rubinstein as +composer, penned by Bülow in the _Neue Berliner Musikzeitung_ of January +27: + + 'He [Rubinstein] knows his powers; he has tested his arms, and has + therefore attained to a higher stage than the brooding Brahms.' + +The other is the record, in a paragraph of the _Signale_, of what was +probably the début of Brahms' name in Italy. The distinguished pianist +Alfred Jaell had included one of his compositions in the programmes of a +lately-ended concert-tour through that country. + +On leaving Detmold, Johannes proceeded to Hamburg, where he remained +about half the year, occupied with his studies, compositions and pupils. +He paid a visit to Berlin towards the end of March to compensate himself +for the loss of Frau Schumann's society at Christmas, and passed much of +his time with her stepbrother, the composer Woldemar Bargiel, but +returned after a few weeks to his parents' house to stay till the middle +of July. The family moved again this year to a more commodious dwelling +at 74, Fuhlentwiethe, still in the old quarter of Hamburg, but with +good-sized rooms, which were always kept in beautiful order. The parlour +was comfortably though plainly furnished, and decorated with ivy after +the custom of the time. It had a large open fireplace with old-fashioned +hobs on either side, which occasionally served in the summer as a refuge +for cake-eating child-visitors, to the preservation of Fräulein Elise's +spotless floor. The room set apart for Johannes, who, now as always, was +responsible for a large share of the family expenses, afforded ample +space for a sleeping sofa, washing-stand, piano, writing-table, and +large bookcase, on the top of which stood a bust of Beethoven. Two or +three small prints from good pictures decorated the walls, one of them +being a representation of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last Supper.' There was +sufficient space in the dwelling for the accommodation of one or two +boarders--a means of income to which Jakob and his wife had had +recourse, as we have seen, in the early part of their married life. + +When Brahms quitted Hamburg in July, it was understood that his absence +would be a long one. He would not, at any rate, return before the +beginning of the next year, after the close of his Detmold season, and +there was great uncertainty as to what his future plans might be. It was +a sad time for Fräulein Friedchen Wagner, who had been his regular pupil +during all the months of his stay, and at her last lesson she begged her +master for some little souvenir, desiring that it should be of a serious +character to correspond with her mood. She was not at home when he +called to say good-bye, however, and he left Hamburg apparently without +a sign. Too melancholy for some days to feel that she could open her +piano, her delight was the greater when at length, resolving to go to +work again, she found under the lid of the instrument a manuscript in +Brahms' hand, which bore the inscription: 'To Fräulein Fr. Wagner, in +kind remembrance. July, 1858.' It was the organ prelude to the chorale, +'O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid,' which was published with a fugue, in 1881, +in a supplement of a number of the _Musikalisches Wochenblatt_.[74] + +Brahms passed nearly all the remainder of the summer at Göttingen. Frau +Schumann, after drinking the waters at Wiesbaden, took up her residence +with some of her children in the Grimms' house; Johannes found a lodging +close by, and some memorable weeks were passed by the circle in work and +play that were almost equally delightful. Grimm and his wife were +inexpressibly touched by the beautiful and rare relation in which +Johannes stood to Frau Schumann. 'He was to her as a careful friend, a +loving and protecting son.' She was, indeed, the centre of the party, +and the chief thought of all the younger musicians gathered about her. +Johannes was a famous playfellow for her little ones, proposing all +sorts of romping games for them, in which the elders willingly joined. +As for music, they had their own share in that, too. One can imagine +them cowering quiet in their hiding-places as they heard the approaching +voice of the seeker: + +[Music: + + Wil-le, wil-le, will, Der Mann ist kom-men; + Did-dle, did-dle dee, There's some-one com-ing; +] + +the demands of the four-year-old Felix for another ride on somebody's +knee, in spite of the answer: + +[Music: + + Ull Mann will ri-den, wull hat er kein Pferd; + He would go ri-ding, but no horse had he; +] + +the efforts of the small Eugénie to keep the dust out of her eyes just a +little longer, though + +[Music: + + Die Blü-me-lein sie schla-fen schon, + The flow-er-ets are sleep-ing, +] + +These and other songs which were sung by Johannes with and to Frau +Schumann's children at Göttingen this summer were published anonymously +by Rieter-Biedermann at the end of the year as 'Children's Folk-songs, +with added accompaniment, dedicated to the children of Robert and Clara +Schumann.' + +The Pianoforte Concerto in D minor was not the only large composition +with which Brahms had been busy. Until a comparatively late period of +his career, his method of working in some respects resembled that of +Beethoven. We have seen that he was in the habit, as a boy, of putting +his thoughts down as they occurred to him. Later on he was accustomed to +keep several large compositions on hand at once, allowing his ideas to +expand gradually; and he sometimes had a work by him for years before +completing it in its final shape. The cases of the D minor Concerto, the +C minor Pianoforte Quartet, and the C minor Symphony are +well-established instances in point, though Brahms took care that the +process by which his works were developed should not after his death +become public property, by destroying the vast majority of his +sketches.[75] This year, besides completing the concerto, he had +composed the work known as the Serenade in D for large orchestra. Not, +however, in its present form. Inspired by the delight with which he had +listened to the 'cassation music,' the serenades and divertimenti of +Mozart, as performed by the soloists of the Detmold orchestra, he had +set about writing something in the same style in the form of an octet, +bearing particularly in mind the exceptional qualifications of the wind +performers of Prince Leopold's band. This was completed before being +shown to Joachim, whose extraordinary English successes kept him in this +country from April until the autumn of the year; and it was not until +the Göttingen party had broken up--Frau Schumann proceeding on a visit +to Düsseldorf, and Johannes returning to his engagement at Detmold--that +our composer had an opportunity of talking over his newly-finished +manuscripts with his best friend. + +Joachim had reserved a day or two for Johannes on his way back to +Hanover, where he was due on October 1, and turned up unannounced one +day in the last week of September, to find that Brahms had gone for a +day's walk with his companions, and would not be back till evening. He +had to get through the hours as well as he could, and the pedestrians +did not find him in his happiest mood on their return. The best had to +be made of a bad matter, however, and there was wonderful music in +Brahms' room on that and the following evening. The two friends played, +amongst other things, all Bach's sonatas for clavier and violin, and, +more memorable still, the first performance took place of Joachim's +Hungarian Concerto. He had completed it in England, and wished to show +it to Johannes, who insisted on having out the manuscript and going +through it immediately, to the great satisfaction of the few listeners +present. Brahms was frequently wont to express his regret that Joachim +allowed so much of his time and energy to be swallowed up in +concert-journeys, and particularly disapproved of his long absences in +England. Regarding him as a tone-poet whose creative gifts contained +possibilities of exceptional fruition, he would have liked to see his +friend settle down into a life similar to his own, in which the first +object should be the development of his talent as a composer. We have +already referred to some of the reasons that militated against the +fulfilment of this desire. Brahms was captivated by the new concerto, +and his admiration of the splendid finale seems to have awakened in him +the desire to use some of his favourite Hungarian melodies in a +developed movement in sociable emulation of Joachim. With what result +will presently appear. + +Plans were now made for an immediate private rehearsal at Hanover of +Brahms' new compositions. In Joachim's words to the author, 'We were +naturally anxious to hear how they sounded, and I had the band at my +disposal.' Frau Schumann was invited to hear the trial of the two new +works, and perhaps her account of them may have been responsible for the +following paragraph, which appeared in the _Signale_ in the course of +October: + + 'We hear that since the arrival of J. Brahms in Detmold a few weeks + ago there has been an animated musical life there, of which the + young artist is the centre. Brahms will remain in Detmold until the + end of the year, and it is hoped that some of his new compositions + may be brought to a hearing. He has completed, amongst other + things, a pianoforte concerto, the great beauties of which have + been reported to us.' + +The same journal notices a concert given by Frau Schumann in Düsseldorf, +at which she played arrangements by Brahms for two hands on the +pianoforte, of a selection of Hungarian Dances, 'that called forth a +veritable storm of applause.' This unanswerable statement should +effectually dispose of the fable which still obtains considerable +credence amongst the musical laity, that the 'Hungarian Dance' +arrangements were the outcome of impressions derived during Brahms' +residence in Vienna. As has been shown in an earlier chapter, he owed +his first acquaintance with the melodies to the playing of Reményi. + +The hope expressed in the _Signale_, that the new works might be +performed at Detmold, was only partially fulfilled. As we have seen, +Brahms was not seriously accepted as a composer by the musicians +there--one of them only excepted--and Capellmeister Kiel regarded his +compositions with peculiar jealousy and mistrust. So far as can be +ascertained, the D minor Concerto was not even tried at Detmold. The +result of the rehearsal at Hanover was, however, that Joachim, in spite +of some official opposition, carried through his wish that it should be +put down for a first performance at one of the Hanover subscription +court concerts, choosing for date January 22, 1859, when Johannes would +be free from duties; and that through the influence of Court +Concertmeister David arrangements were made for its second performance a +few days later at the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert of January 27. + +As regards the serenade, Joachim formed the opinion that it should be +scored for orchestra, and Johannes, following his friend's advice, +presently effected the alteration. It was heard at one or more of the +Detmold court concerts. + +Carl von Meysenbug was not long able this season to enjoy the pleasures +of the evening music at the Stadt Frankfurt, which was more than ever of +an institution. He departed at the end of October to enter upon the life +of a University student at Göttingen, where he soon found himself at +home in the midst of the congenial musical friends of Grimm's circle. +'You will see,' Johannes said to him as they parted, 'how surprised you +will be, after your admiration of the stiff court ladies here, when you +become acquainted with the pretty, fresh, lively daughters of the +professors.' + +These words were significant. The age of twenty-five is suitable to +romance, and Brahms was at this time in love. That he had passed through +the earliest years of manhood without any _affaire de coeur_ is to be +explained by the circumstances in which he had been placed. The +prosecution of a noble ambition which involved unremitting application +to work occupied one half of his energies, whilst his affections had +been absorbed by family ties, by a dear companionship, and by his love +for two people to whom he looked up with unbounded reverence. A calmer +period had succeeded the exciting course of past events, and he now had +leisure to think of himself. His intercourse with the charming young +people who frequented the Grimms' house, and the contemplation of his +friend's great happiness in his wedded life, had awakened in him a +feeling of loneliness, and he thought much of Fräulein Agathe, daughter +of Professor S---- of Göttingen, and one of Frau Philippine's most +intimate friends. Agathe was handsome, cultivated, and very musical, and +she sang Brahms' songs with especial sympathy, particularly when he +played the accompaniments. The very confident rumour of an impending or +even of an accomplished betrothal between the pair, however, proved to +be a tale without an ending. Johannes seems, after a while, to have +suddenly faced the fact that he was bound to take a decided course one +way or the other, and no one who has grasped the key to his character +and aims can feel surprised that his decision led him away from +marriage. Now and afterwards he liked the society of charming girls, and +perhaps thought it no harm to enjoy the pleasure of a special friendship +without going beyond the consideration of the hour; but it may safely be +assumed that he would not, at the outset of his career, have risked the +sacrifice of his artistic aims by accepting binding responsibilities, +even had his worldly prospects been much more certain than they were. He +resolutely put away the visions of happiness with which he had dallied +for a time, and turned cheerfully to confront the future in undivided +allegiance to the Art that was to maintain supreme sway over his +affections to the end of his life. That the remembrance of Agathe +remained treasured somewhere in a corner of his heart as the years +rolled onward will seem certain to those who have had opportunity of +appreciating the tenacity of his memory for old friendships. + +[71] 'Aus Johannes Brahms' Jugendtagen,' by Carl, Freiherr von Meysenbug +(_Neues Wiener Tagblatt_, April 3 and 4, 1902). + +[72] 'Johannes Brahms,' p. 297. + +[73] In the possession of Fräulein Marie Grimm. + +[74] 'Brahms in Hamburg,' by Professor Walter Hübbe. + +[75] The few sketches Brahms allowed to survive him are preserved in the +library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde at Vienna. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + 1859 + + First public performances of the Pianoforte Concerto in Hanover, + Leipzig, and Hamburg--Brahms, Joachim, and Stockhausen appear + together in Hamburg--First public performance of the Serenade in D + major--Ladies' Choir--Fräulein Friedchen Wagner--Compositions for + women's chorus. + + +It is not difficult to realize something of the mingled feelings of hope +and anxiety that must have filled the mind of Johannes on his arrival in +Hanover in January, 1859. If the first chapter of his career had closed +in triumphant fashion with the extraordinary series of events that +followed his first little concert-journey, the second chapter can only +be regarded as an intermezzo which was spent in quiet preparation for +what was to succeed it. The prelude of his artistic life had been +successfully completed in 1853; the main action was to begin with the +performances in Hanover and Leipzig in the opening month of 1859. Brahms +was almost extravagantly self-critical, but he must have felt encouraged +when he remembered the substantial success of his début as a composer at +Leipzig immediately after the appearance of Schumann's famous article, +and he knew that he had now attained a much more advanced stage of +capacity. Such considerations, combined with the enthusiasm of his best +friends, may well have raised his hopes high. + +The concerto was heard at Hanover on January 22 under the most +favourable conditions. Joachim conducted the orchestra, Johannes played +the solo, and it would be hard to say which of the two young musicians +was the more interested in the occasion, but the result of the +performance was that the public was wearied and the musicians puzzled. + + 'The work had no great success with the public,' reported the + Hanover correspondent of the _Signale_ ten days later, 'but'--and + we seem to read the promptings of a Joachim in the following + words--'it aroused the decided respect and sympathy of the best + musicians for the gifted artist.' + + 'The work, with all its serious striving, its rejection of + triviality, its skilled instrumentation, seemed difficult to + understand, even dry, and in parts eminently fatiguing,' said + another critic;[76] 'nevertheless Brahms gave the impression of + being a really sterling musician, and it was conceded without + reservation that he is not merely a virtuoso, but a great artist of + pianoforte-playing.' + +Johannes had to leave immediately for Leipzig, and he started from +Hanover without knowing more about the impression produced there by his +concerto than could be gathered from the reserve of the audience and the +enthusiasm of his friend, but that his frame of mind was not despondent +may be inferred from a paragraph which appeared in the _Signale_ +immediately after his arrival. + + 'Herr Johannes Brahms is here, and will play his Concerto at the + Gewandhaus concert of the 27th. He thinks of remaining the rest of + the winter at Leipzig.' + +It is necessary to remind the reader what kind of audience it was for +whose acceptance our young composer was now about to submit his work. +Leipzig still occupied the position of musical capital of Europe to +which it had been raised by the genius of Mendelssohn. By the most +influential of its artistic circles, the premature death of this +fascinating master (1809-1847) was still deplored as an almost recent +event. Most of his old friends were living, and, in virtue of their +former personal association with him, looked upon themselves as +competent judges of all later aspirants to fame. It is matter of daily +experience that the uninformed satellites of a man of genius are +arrogant in proportion to their ignorance, and that even professional +adepts of sincerity are apt to allow their horizon to be limited by +their hero-worship. Musicians and amateurs, alike, of the Gewandhaus +circle associated the idea of a concerto with the clear melody of Mozart +and Beethoven, still, perhaps, regarding Beethoven as a little difficult +to understand, with the attractive sparkle of Mendelssohn and with the +opportunity for a display of the soloist's virtuosity afforded more or +less by the works of all three masters. If asked to listen to a novelty, +they expected that it should not be too unlike what they had heard +before to be difficult to follow. Bernsdorf, newly appointed to succeed +Brahms' friendly critic, Louis Köhler, on the staff of the conservative +_Signale_, was himself a conservative of the most obstinate type, in +some respects resembling the English J. W. Davison of the _Times_ and +the _Musical World_, who was honestly convinced that the series of great +masters had closed with Mendelssohn. + +On the other hand, the New-Germans had by this time made considerable +conquests in Leipzig, where they had established an important party +organization, and had, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, even been +admitted on trial to the platform of the Gewandhaus. The _Neue +Zeitschrift_ was their organ, but they had supporters also amongst the +journalists of the daily press, Ferdinand Gleich, of the _Leipziger +Tagblatt_, being one of the principal. They were on the look-out for +champions who would rally to their cause, and welcomed the unusual as +such, though reserving their heartiest approval for the piquant, +sounding, sensational, or even revolutionary. + +To these two bodies of extremists our Johannes, with his inexperience, +his ideal aims, his genius, and his dislike of the sensational, was now +to appeal. Had he been compelled at the moment to declare for either +party, he certainly would not have chosen the side of revolution. But he +was gifted with an imagination at once profound, original, and romantic. +This sealed his fate with the men who considered themselves the modern +representatives of classic art. The day after the concert he wrote to +Joachim to announce--'a brilliant and decided failure.' + + 'In the first place,' he says, 'it really went very well; I played + much better than in Hanover, and the orchestra capitally. The first + rehearsal aroused no feeling whatever, either in the musicians or + hearers. No hearers came, however, to the second, and not a muscle + moved on the countenance of either of the musicians. In the evening + Cherubini's Elisa overture was given, and then an Ave Maria of his + uninterestingly sung, so I hoped Pfund's (the drummer's) roll would + come at the right time.[77] The first movement and the second were + heard without a sign. At the end three hands attempted to fall + slowly one upon the other, upon which a quite audible hissing from + all sides forbade such demonstrations. There is nothing else to + write about the event, for no one has yet said a syllable to me + about the work, David excepted, who was very kind.... + + 'This failure has made no impression at all upon me, and the slight + feeling of disappointment and flatness disappeared when I heard + Haydn's C minor Symphony and the Ruins of Athens. In spite of all + this, the concerto will please some day when I have improved its + construction, and a second shall sound different. + + 'I believe it is the best thing that could happen to me; it makes + one pull one's thoughts together and raises one's spirit.... But + the hissing was too much?... + + 'The faces here looked dreadfully insipid when I came from Hanover, + and was accustomed to seeing yours. Monday (January 31) I am going + to Hamburg. There is interesting church music here on Sunday, and + in the evening Faust at Frau Frege's.'[78] + +The grimness of the young composer's disappointment may be read between +these Spartan lines. But perhaps he has exaggerated his failure. Let us +see what Bernsdorf has to say. + + 'It is sad, but true; new works do not succeed in Leipzig. Again at + the fourteenth Gewandhaus concert was a composition borne to the + grave. This work, however, cannot give pleasure. Save its serious + intention, it has nothing to offer but waste, barren dreariness + truly disconsolate. Its invention is neither attractive nor + agreeable.... And for more than three-quarters of an hour must one + endure this rooting and rummaging, this dragging and drawing, this + tearing and patching of phrases and flourishes! Not only must one + take in this fermenting mass; one must also swallow a dessert of + the shrillest dissonances and most unpleasant sounds. With + deliberate intention, Herr Brahms has made the pianoforte part of + his concerto as uninteresting as possible; it contains no effective + treatment of the instrument, no new and ingenious passages, and + wherever something appears which gives promise of effect, it is + immediately crushed and suffocated by a thick crust of orchestral + accompaniment. It must be observed, finally, that Herr Brahms' + pianoforte technique does not satisfy the demands we have a right + to make of a concert-player of the present day.' + +Nothing could be more representative than these lines, of the +conscientious bigotry which almost always opposes what is really +original, though it is expressed by Bernsdorf with exceptional +coarseness. The narrowly orthodox antagonists of Brahms' art resembled +those who had levelled their shafts against Beethoven and Schumann each +in their day. The young composer fared differently at the hands of the +progressists. The _Neue Zeitschrift_ wrote: + + 'The appearance of Johannes Brahms with a new concerto was bound to + attract our especial attention. In the first place, on account of + the hopes entertained of an artist who had been introduced in a + most exceptional manner, even before his first appearance, by the + enthusiastic words of a revered master; and secondly, from the + rarity of his subsequent public announcements and the retirement in + which he has lived. + + 'Notwithstanding its undeniable want of outward effect, we regard + the poetic contents of the concerto as an unmistakable sign of + significant and original creative power; and, in face of the + belittling criticisms of a certain portion of the public and press, + we consider it our duty to insist on the admirable sides of the + work, and to protest against the not very estimable manner in which + judgment has been passed upon it.' + +Ferdinand Gleich writes: + + 'Who would or could ignore in this new work the tokens of an + eminent creative endowment! We least of all who regard it as our + duty to encourage young talent. Many doubts, however, suggested + themselves as we listened to this concert-piece in large form. + This work again suggests a condition of indefiniteness and + fermentation, a wrestling for a method of expression commensurate + with the ideas of the composer, which has indeed broken through the + form of tradition, but has not yet constructed another sufficiently + definite and rounded to satisfy the demands of the æsthetics of + art.... The first movement, especially, gives us the impression of + monstrosity; this was less the case with the two others, although + even there we were not able, in spite of the beauties they contain, + to feel real artistic enjoyment. Brahms places the orchestra, as + far as is possible in a concert-piece, by the side of the obligato + instrument, and by so doing establishes himself as an artist who + understands the requirements of the new era. The treatment of the + orchestra shows a blooming fancy and the most vivid feeling for new + and beautiful tone effects, although the composer has not yet + sufficient command over his means to do justice to his intentions. + The work was received calmly, not to say coldly, by the public; we, + however, must acknowledge the eminent talent of the composer, of + whom, though he is still too much absorbed in his _Sturm und Drang_ + period, it is not difficult to predict the accomplishment of + something great.' + +Whether or not these two reviews were penned with a deliberate +purpose--and a desire on the part of the supporters of the New-German +school to identify Brahms with their cause can hardly be regarded as +either remarkable or dishonourable--no trace is to be found in either of +the insincerity attributed by Kalbeck, in his Life of Brahms, to the +journalistic partisans of the Weimarites, and especially to Brendel, +editor of the _Zeitschrift_ and friend of Liszt. Their honesty of +purpose, as well as their liberality of view, has been vindicated by the +fate which for many years attended the published concerto, and again we +may place the remarks of Hanslick, the avowed champion of classical art +and the enthusiastic admirer of the mature Brahms, beside those +published in the _Zeitschrift_ of the fifties. Writing in 1888, he +says:[79] + + 'Brahms began, like Schumann, in _Sturm und Drang_, but he was much + more daring and wild, more emancipated in respect to form and + modulation. The fermentation period of his genius, which is + generally supposed to have closed with his Op. 10 (Ballades for + pianoforte), should, perhaps, be extended ... does it not include + the D minor Concerto, with its wild genius?' + +It has, indeed, taken nearly half a century to establish the concerto in +a secure position of public acceptance, and the day, though now probably +not far distant, has not even yet arrived when it can be said to rank as +a prime favourite amongst compositions of its class with the large body +of music-lovers. + +Conceived as part of a symphony, the first movement of the work is +symphonic in character, though, as Spitta has pointed out, not in form. +The desire attributed to the composer by Ferdinand Gleich and by many +others since, to create a new form, to compose a symphonic work with a +pianoforte obligato, did not exist. Brahms simply wished to use what he +had already written, and did not feel that the time had come when he +could successfully complete a symphony. He rewrote his first two +movements, therefore, as we have noted, making room in them for a +pianoforte solo, put away the third movement, and composed a new finale. +How successfully he accomplished his task is to-day apparent to +accustomed ears, for which the first movement, though it contains slight +deviations from traditional concerto form, has no moment of obscurity. +The imagination of this portion of the work is colossal. It has +something Miltonic in its character, and seems to suggest to the mind +issues more tremendous and universal than the tragedy of Schumann's +fate, with which it must be associated. No one will assert that it +contains what are termed 'brilliant pianoforte passages,' the very +existence of which is unthinkable in a movement of such exalted poetic +grandeur; but that its performance brings due reward to capable +interpreters has been proved by the enthusiasm of many a latter-day +audience. After all that has been said, the reader will have no +difficulty in understanding the fervent intensity of mood which impelled +the composition of the slow movement, or in realizing something of the +emotions which suggested the motto, _Benedictus qui venit in nomine +Domini_, written above it in the original manuscript (in Joachim's +possession) by Brahms. In the finale, the difficult task of creating +something which should relieve the tension of feeling induced by the +preceding movements, without impairing the unity of the concerto as a +whole, has been well achieved. If it is somewhat more sombre in colour +than the usually accepted finale in rondo form, it is abundant in vigour +and impulse, whilst, on the other hand, though written with a view to +the concert-room, it never descends towards the trivialities of mere +outward glitter. + +Much more might be said in explanation of the dubious position so long +occupied in the world of art by this great work of genius. We may not, +however, linger longer over such interesting matters. It is enough to +say that the purpose expressed by Brahms in his letter to Joachim, of +'pulling his thoughts together,' was literally carried out, and that his +development proceeded in the direction it had already taken, which was +the very opposite of that pursued by the adherents of the New-German +school. It consisted in the still closer concentration of his powers +within the forms of tradition, and the rapidity with which he attained +to complete and free mastery over musical structure is marked by the +production--soon to be recorded--of the first of the great series of +chefs-d'oeuvre of chamber music which have set his name, in this +particular domain of art, as high as that of Beethoven himself. + +Unrecognised by the public and misunderstood by the academics of +Leipzig, whose sympathies he seems particularly, though for many years +vainly, to have desired to gain, our young musician had now no choice +but to return to his home and pupils at Hamburg. If, however, he himself +felt at all despondent at the failure of his hopes, his friends were +determined about the future of his work. Prompted and backed up by +Joachim, Avé Lallement, who was a member of the Philharmonic committee, +persuaded the directors to engage composer and concerto for their +concert of March 24. Joachim had written to Avé: + + 'DEAR FRIEND, + + 'Nearer acquaintance with Brahms' concerto inspires me with + increasing love and respect. The most intelligent people amongst + the public and the orchestra (of Leipzig) with whom I have spoken + express a high opinion of Brahms as a musician, and even those who + do not like the concerto are at one as to his eminent playing. I + have never expected anything else than that prejudice on the one + hand, and, on the other, astonishment at an individuality which + surrenders itself so unreservedly to the ideal as that of our + friend, should present some impediment to the brilliancy of his + success. A few places in the composition which, though good in + themselves, are too much spun out may also here and there disturb + one's enjoyment. Nevertheless, one may say that the concerto has + had a success honourable alike to artist and public; the same in + Hanover. Now let fault-finders and malicious detractors gossip as + they please--I don't mind; we have done right.... Now do as you + like in Hamburg, but if you give the concerto at the Philharmonic I + will come and conduct. That has long been settled.'[80] + +The concert was made into a musical event of unusual importance by the +engagement of Joachim and of Stockhausen--his first appearance in +Hamburg; and public interest was increased by the advertisement of a +concert in the joint names of Brahms, Joachim, and Stockhausen to take +place on the 28th, which was to be signalized by the first public +performance of the newly composed Serenade in D major. That Johannes had +taken heart again after his disappointments, and was looking forward +with pleasure to the visits of his friends, is evident from a letter +written by him a few days beforehand to the lady in waiting on the +Princess Friederike of Lippe-Detmold. + + 'VERY ESTEEMED, GRACIOUS FRÄULEIN, + + 'In the first place I beg you to express my most humble thanks to + Her Serene Highness the Princess Friederike for the despatch of the + new Bach work. + + 'How often this present will remind me in the most agreeable manner + of Her Highness's kindness. You know how I love the divine master, + and may imagine that his tones (so dreaded by you) will often be + heard here. + + 'I am glad that Her Serene Highness continues to work so + industriously at her music, and only wish I could help her in some + way. + + 'In the trio mentioned by you[81] the most simple way is that the + left hand (which ceases playing) should help the poor right. For + what embarrassment the mischievous arrogance of the composer is + responsible! + + 'The day after to-morrow I play my pianoforte concerto here, and a + few days later introduce other works at a concert of my own. + Joachim and Stockhausen, who are coming for it, will make the days + into real musical festivals. + + 'In spite of the great diversity of opinions expressed about my + works, I have reason to be quite satisfied with my first attempts + for orchestra, and I confidently hope that they will find friendly + hearers in Detmold also. + + 'And I may venture to hope, above all, for later ripening and + better swelling fruits....'[82] + +The Philharmonic committee had no reason to regret their arrangements. +The attraction of the two great names filled their concert-room to +suffocation. Every seat and every standing-place was occupied, and +crowds were turned from the doors. Those who have witnessed similar +scenes during--how many decades! can picture the excited expectancy that +followed the performance of a Cherubini overture, the thunder of welcome +at the first glimpse of Joachim, the never-ending applause and recalls +at the conclusion of his first solo, Spohr's 'Gesang-Scena,' the +sensation of Stockhausen's first appearance, the magnificent success of +his performance of a great aria from his oratorio répertoire. Then a +lull, the disappearance of Capellmeister Grund, the opening of the +piano, the reappearance of Joachim, this time to take his stand at the +conductor's desk, and the entrance of the slight, blonde young +Hamburger, pale and nervous, but calm and self-controlled, almost happy +in the support of his two friends. + +On such an evening of enthusiasm, what public could have refused its +tribute to the young fellow-citizen who came before them as a composer +practically for the first time, with two heroes at his side to champion +his cause? Johannes was really successful. 'The concerto created an +impression, and excited applause far beyond that of a mere _succès +d'estime_,' and the critic of the _Nachrichten_ records the fact with +the more satisfaction from its contrast with the result of the +performance at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. + +It would appear from the wording of the letter to Detmold quoted on a +foregoing page that the concert of the 28th, advertised in the three +names, had been arranged for Brahms' benefit. Ten years had elapsed +since his performance of the Variations on a favourite waltz had passed +unrecorded save in Marxsen's paper. Since that time he had given no +concert in Hamburg, and the change in his prospects is well measured by +the different circumstances of the occasions of 1849 and 1859. True that +at the age of twenty-six he had achieved no popular success, that his +concerto had effectually alienated from him the sympathies of the +Leipzigers, and that the Weimarites, whilst encouraging his efforts, +partially misunderstood his aims. Thorough-going belief in his art and +its promise was more firmly established than ever as a leading principle +of the inner Schumann circle, and this was itself gradually spreading. +We give the full programme of March 28, which is interesting for many +reasons: + + 1. Bach: Sonata for Clavier and Violin. + 2. Handel: Aria from 'The Messiah.' + 3. Tartini: 'Trillo del Diavolo.' + 4. Schubert: Song, 'Der Erlkönig.' + 5. Brahms: Serenade for Strings and Wind. + 6. Boieldieu: Cavatina, 'Fete du Village Voisin.' + 7. Schubert: Rondeau Brilliant for Pianoforte + and Violin. + 8. Schubert, Schumann, etc.: Songs (including 'Der Nussbaum,' + 'Mondnacht,' 'Widmung'). + +There was good reason to be delighted with the material result of the +undertaking. The large Wörmer hall was thronged. Brahms' artistic +success was also assured in regard to his playing of the duet sonata and +rondo with Joachim, and many of the musicians present appreciated his +wonderful accompaniment of Stockhausen's songs. The serenade, however, +now instrumented for small orchestra, and conducted by Joachim, was not +received with any decided favour, and the _Nachrichten_ expressed the +general sentiment of the time in the concluding sentence of its review: + + 'If Brahms will learn to say what is in his heart plainly and + straightforwardly, and not go out of his way to cut strange capers, + the public will endorse Schumann's hopes, and the laity be able to + understand what it is that professional musicians prize so highly + in his works.' + +Such contemporary criticism might well pass unnoticed if it were not +that, in spite of the wealth of beautiful material and the fine +workmanship contained in the serenade, only one or two of its movements +are occasionally heard in the concert-rooms of the present day, whilst +the composer's later and more difficult orchestral works grow every year +in the favour of the public. The circumstance is to be chiefly explained +by considerations similar to those we have already applied to the first +concerto. When Brahms wrote the work he had not quite passed from his +apprenticeship. Though within sight of mastery, he had not achieved it. +The Serenade in D is a serenade in the character of its ideas, but not +entirely so in the structure of its movements. The instrumental +'serenata' (fair weather), a form which flourished vigorously during the +latter half of the eighteenth century, and was exhibited in its +greatest perfection by Mozart, was especially cultivated in an age when +music was dependent on the patron--the prince or nobleman who kept his +private band, and who delighted himself and his friends by open-air +performances in his park on fine summer nights. It consisted of a longer +or shorter series of movements--a march, an allegro, rondo, one or two +andantes, a couple of minuets, none of them developed to any great +length, and was composed for more or less solo instruments according to +circumstances. Brahms, fascinated by the performances of the Detmold +wind players, probably began his work with the intention of composing a +serenade _pur et simple_; but his interest in the art of thematic +development outran his discretion, and, by over-elaborating one of its +movements, he injured the balance of his composition and introduced into +it a character of complexity foreign to the nature of its form. The +Serenade in D consists of an allegro molto, scherzo, adagio non troppo, +minuets 1 and 2, scherzo, rondo. Some of the six movements, irresistible +from their grace, daintiness, or romance, delight the public when +performed as separate numbers, but the length of the opening movement +and the somewhat mechanical development of its middle section may +perhaps prove in the future, as they have done in the past, obstacles to +the frequent performance of the entire work. Traces of the young +musician's studies are to be found in the well-known reminiscences of +Beethoven and Haydn in the second scherzo. + +The serenade, written as an octet and afterwards scored for small +orchestra, was probably rearranged for large orchestra, the form in +which it has become known to the world, in consequence of experience +obtained on this occasion of the first public performance of the work at +Hamburg. + +The few years immediately succeeding Brahms' second return from Detmold +must be regarded as forming another turning-point in his career. They +witnessed the close of his _Sturm und Drang_ period and his complete +transformation into a master. They are remarkable not only on account of +the appearance of a number of short choral works which, perfect in +themselves, lead directly to the splendid achievements of later years in +the same domain, to the German Requiem, the Schicksalslied, the +Triumphlied, but they form a period of actual magnificent fruition. To +them is to be referred the inauguration of those chamber-music works of +Brahms which stand in the forefront of the finest compositions of their +kind, and the appearance of a classic for pianoforte unsurpassed by any +other of its form, the Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel. This +portion of our composer's life belongs especially to his native city. +More than one consideration may have induced him, at the time, seriously +to contemplate the idea of settling permanently in Hamburg, and not the +least potent will have been furnished by his strong patriotic sentiment +and his deeply-rooted family affections. That he was not at once +accepted as a great composer by his fellow-citizens should not be matter +of surprise. It has too often been forgotten by Brahms' partisans that +his development as a creator was not precocious. The list of +Mendelssohn's compositions when he was a boy of sixteen is bewildering +in its length and variety; at the same age the most important of +Johannes' achievements was presumably the set of Variations on a +favourite waltz. Schubert's career was cut short in his thirty-second +year; Mozart died at thirty-five. Brahms at the age of twenty-six had +not completed any large work which can be regarded as entirely +representative of his mature powers, and had introduced but few +compositions either to the public or his friends. There were, however, +those among the musicians of Hamburg who, belonging to the increasing +circle of his personal acquaintances, believed in his creative genius +with the enthusiasm of absolute conviction, and as a pianist, though not +regarded as a phenomenal performer, he was generally accepted as an +artist of first rank. + +Brahms' regard for his pupil, Fräulein Friedchen Wagner, had led to his +becoming intimate at her father's house, and here he frequently had +opportunity of hearing some of the compositions and arrangements for +voices which engaged much of his attention. Fräulein Friedchen, her +sister Thusnelda, and the charming Fräulein Bertha Porubszky, from +Vienna, who arrived in Hamburg to stay for a year with her aunt, Frau +Auguste Brandt, were delighted to practise short works in two and three +parts under his direction. Probably he hoped gradually to obtain a +larger number of recruits for his purpose. Before long, however, +accident led to his becoming the conductor of a quite considerable +ladies' choir. + +On May 19 the wedding of Pastor Sengelmann and Fräulein Jenny von Ahsen +took place at St. Michael's Church. There was a large gathering of +friends to witness the ceremony. Grädener, already mentioned as a friend +of Brahms, who was an accomplished composer and the director of a +singing school, conducted his pupils in the performance of a motet for +female voices which he had written for the occasion, and Johannes, a +very old acquaintance of the bride, accompanied on the organ. Pleased +with the effect of Grädener's composition, Brahms expressed a wish to +hear his own 'Ave Maria' for female voices with accompaniment for organ, +composed during his second visit to Detmold, under similar conditions of +performance, and with the assistance of Fräulein Friedchen, who exerted +herself to procure the requisite number of voices, a rehearsal was +arranged. On Monday, June 6, twenty-eight ladies assembled at the +Wagners' house, and tried, not only the 'Ave Maria,' afterwards +published as Op. 12, but the 'O bone Jesu' and 'Adoramus,' now known as +Op. 37, Nos. 1 and 2. Brahms was seized with a fit of nervousness whilst +conducting, and Grädener, who was present amongst a few listeners, +stepped forward to the rescue; but a second rehearsal on the following +day went well, and the third trial in church with organ accompaniment +was in every respect highly successful. The practices had been so +enjoyable that, with the concurrence of Grädener, it was arranged that +the ladies, most of whom were pupils of the singing school, should +assemble every Monday morning to practise with Brahms; and the little +society thus founded became a source of delight to all who were +associated with it. The meetings were held during the first season at +the Wagners' house in the Pastorenstrasse; later on they took place at +several members' houses in turn. Each young lady used to sing from a +small oblong manuscript book, into which she copied her parts, and +several of these volumes are still in existence. After the business of +the morning was over, the conductor usually played to his young +disciples and admirers, who soon learned to look upon his performances +as not the least memorable part of the weekly programme. Writing in the +course of the summer to Fräulein von Meysenbug, Brahms says: + + '... I am here, and shall probably remain until I go to Detmold. + Some very pleasant pupils detain me, and, strangely enough, a + ladies' society that sings under my direction; till now only what I + compose for it. The clear silver tones please me exceedingly, and + in the church with the organ the ladies' voices sound quite + charming.'[83] + +The season closed on September 19 with a performance at St. Peter's +Church before an invited audience. Some of the 'Marienlieder' +(afterwards Op. 22) and the 13th Psalm (Op. 27) were included in the +programme. The members of the choir appeared attired in black to denote +their grief at the approaching departure of their conductor, and sent +him, afterwards, a silver inkstand buried beneath flowers as a mark of +their appreciation of his labours. This Brahms acknowledged from Detmold +in the following official letter to Fräulein Friedchen, his energetic +helper in the founding of the choir: + + 'DETMOLD, _end of Sept., 1859_. + + 'ESTEEMED FRÄULEIN, + + 'Nothing more agreeable than to be so pleasantly obliged to write a + letter as I am now. + + 'I think constantly of the glad surprise with which I perceived the + inkstand, the remembrance from the ladies' choir, under its + charming covering of flowers. + + 'I have done so little to deserve it that I should be ashamed were + it not that I hope to write much more for you; and I shall + certainly hear finer tones sounding around me as I look at the + valued and beautiful present on my writing-table. Pray express to + all whom you can reach my hearty greeting and thanks. + + 'I have seldom had a more agreeable pleasure, and our meetings will + remain one of my most welcome and favourite recollections. + + 'But not, I hope, till later years! + + 'With best greetings to you and yours, + + 'Your + 'heartily sincere + 'JOHS. BRAHMS.'[84] + +That the composer did not forget his maidens during his season at +Detmold appears from another letter to Fräulein Wagner written a couple +of months later: + + '_Dec., 1859._ + + 'ESTEEMED FRÄULEIN, + + 'Here are some new songs for your little singing republic. I hope + they may assist in keeping it together. If I can help towards this + end pray command me. + + 'Kindest greetings to you and yours. + + 'Most sincerely, + 'JOHS. BRAHMS.'[84] + +Acquaintance with the charming circumstances which stimulated Brahms to +the writing of most of his published choruses for women's voices gives +an additional interest to the study of these beautiful compositions, +which undoubtedly take their place amongst the most fascinating works of +their class. Those with sacred texts, all evident fruits of the +composer's studies in the strict style of part-writing, show, +nevertheless, considerable variety of character. The 'Ave Maria,' with +accompaniment for orchestra or organ, Op. 12, first sung by, though not +composed for, the ladies' choir, is animated by a gentle, childlike, +devotional spirit appropriate to a prayer addressed by a group of tender +girls to the Virgin Mother of Christ. The 13th Psalm, with accompaniment +for organ or pianoforte, Op. 27, strikes at once a more solemn note, +with its three opening cries to the Lord; and the mourning plaint of the +writer is reproduced in tones whose fervent pleading is not impaired by +the clear simplicity of style in which the music is conceived. The Three +Sacred Choruses, without accompaniment, Op. 37, are alike beautiful, +whilst varying in character. The 'Adoramus' and 'Regina Coeli' (Nos. 2 +and 3), written throughout in canon, are fine examples of learned +facility; and the last-named, the bright 'Regina Coeli,' for soprano and +alto soli and four-part women's chorus, is an entirely captivating +composition. + +The secular pieces--the Songs with accompaniment for horns and harp, Op. +17, and the Songs and Romances to be sung _a capella_, Op. 44--though +fairly well known, should be heard oftener than they are. The dainty +charm of such little works as the 'Minnelied' and the 'Barcarole,' to +name only two of the most effective from Op. 44, gives welcome +refreshment in a miscellaneous choral concert, and never fails to +captivate an audience. + +In our rapid survey of some of the works which are to be associated with +Brahms' Ladies' Choir, we have only taken account of those that were +actually published in the form required by the nature of the society. +Many settings and arrangements are to be found, in the little oblong +manuscript books, of songs which have become known to the world amongst +the composer's settings for a single voice or for mixed choir; and there +are some there which have never been published. The canons Nos. 1, 2, 8, +10, 11, 12 of Op. 113 were sung at the society's meetings. The 'Regina +Coeli,' on the other hand, was not included in the ladies' +répertoire.[85] + +[76] Dr. Georg Fischer's 'Opera und Concerte im Hoftheater zu Hannover +bis 1866.' + +[77] The concerto opens with a long-continued roll of drums. + +[78] From a letter first published in Max Kalbeck's 'Johannes Brahms,' +vol. i., p. 356. + +[79] 'Musikalisches und Literarisches': 'Neuer Brahms Katalog.' + +[80] Moser's 'Life of Joachim.' + +[81] Brahms' Trio in B major. + +[82] First published in Reimann's 'Johannes Brahms.' One of the Princess +Friederike's Christmas presents to Brahms whilst he was her teacher +consisted of the five volumes (1851-1855 inclusive) of the Leipzig +Society's edition of Bach's works issued before he became a subscriber, +and it would appear from the opening of the above-quoted letter that she +made herself responsible for his subscription during the consecutive +seasons of his visits to Detmold. It is interesting to read the traces +of his movements furnished by the subscription list placed at the +commencement of each volume. In 1856 his name appears as belonging to +Düsseldorf; 1857-1864 inclusive, to Hamburg; and from 1865 onwards, to +Vienna. + +[83] 'Aus Johannes Brahms' Jugendtagen,' by Hermann Freiherr von +Meysenbug (_Neues Wiener Tagblatt_, May, 1901). + +[84] First published, with an account of the Ladies' Choir, in Hübbe's +'Brahms in Hamburg.' + +[85] Hübbe. + + + + + CHAPTER X + 1859-1861 + + Third season at Detmold--'Ave Maria' and 'Begräbnissgesang' + performed in Hamburg and Göttingen--Second Serenade, first + performed in Hamburg--Lower Rhine Festival--Summer at Bonn--Music + at Herr Kyllmann's--Variations on an original theme first performed + in Leipzig by Frau Schumann--'Marienlieder'--First public + performance of Sextet in B flat in Hanover. + + +Brahms found himself more than ever in request amongst the general +circle of Detmold society during the autumn of 1859. He had become the +fashion. It was the thing to have lessons from him, and his presence +gave distinction to a gathering. The very circumstance of his +popularity, however, caused some friction between himself and his +acquaintances. He disliked to waste his time, as he considered it, in +mere society, and, when occasionally induced to attend a party against +his will, gave his hosts cause to regret their pertinacity. If not +silent the whole evening, he would amuse himself by exercising his +talent for caustic speech. Carl von Meysenbug, when at home, jealous for +his friend's credit, often called Johannes privately to account for his +perversity, but was always silenced by the unanswerable reply, 'Bah! +that is all humbug!' (Pimpkram). + +The young musician's relations with the princely family remained +unclouded, and his musical gifts were, on the whole, fairly appreciated +by the entire court circle, though he was not regarded personally with +unanimous favour by those who did not know him well. Carl's mother, the +Frau Hofmarschall, took a few lessons from him to please her friends at +the castle, and once accepted his offer to play duets with her; but no +subsequent invitation could induce her to repeat this performance. 'The +good fellow should not have behaved as he did that once; I cannot put up +with it,' she wrote to Carl. Something in Brahms' manner--independence, +artistic self-consciousness, or whatever else it may be called--repelled +her; and, in view of the fact that she was not the first person whom he +had offended in a similar way, since the time when he had visited as a +youth at the Japhas' house in Hamburg, it may fairly be assumed that Her +Excellency had justifiable grounds for the reserved attitude she +maintained towards him. + +It is, indeed, certain that Brahms, during his third season at Detmold, +began to grow impatient of his position there. His lessons to the +Princess, who was really musical and made rapid progress, continued to +give him genuine pleasure, but he chafed at the constant demands on his +time arising from his fixed duties, and the rigid etiquette observed at +the Court of a very small capital gave him a distaste for his work as +conductor of the choral society. The circle of Serene Highnesses, +Excellencies, and their friends, did not furnish sufficient voices for +the adequate rendering of two or three oratorios and cantatas by Handel +and Bach which he selected for practice during his second and third +seasons; and, with Prince Leopold's permission, he supplemented them by +persuading some of the towns-people to become members. His sense of the +ridiculous was strongly excited by the rules of conduct prescribed for +these not very willing assistants, who were not even permitted to make +an obeisance to the Serenities, and scarcely ventured to lift their eyes +from the music whilst in their august presence. There were some good +performances of great works, however, and Bach's cantata 'Ich hatte viel +Bekümmerniss' was given four times; but the difficulty of procuring +tenors continued serious, and the entire circumstances of the meetings +made Brahms feel increasing desire to be relieved from the necessity of +attending them. + +To this season is to be referred the first private performance of one of +those of Brahms' great works which have made his name not only famous, +but popular. The Quartet in G minor for pianoforte and strings, destined +to become one of the most familiar of the master's achievements, was +tried by the composer, Bargheer, Schulze, and Schmidt, though not +altogether as it now appears. The complaint made by the young composer's +colleagues at Detmold, that his string passages were often ungrateful +and sometimes unplayable, was not unfounded. Brahms, like everyone else, +had to buy exact technical knowledge with experience, and the quartet +was considerably altered before its final completion. Essentially, +however, the work dates from the Detmold period, and the conception of +the finale is to be associated with the sudden visit of Joachim, with +his Hungarian Concerto, in the autumn of 1858. Of this movement, the +magnificent 'Rondo alla Zingarese,' Joachim declared in generous +triumph, comparing it with the last movement of his own composition, +that Brahms had beaten him on his own ground. It is not the business of +our pages either to endorse or contradict this statement, but it may be +permissible once again to remind the reader that the increasing +perfection of Brahms' instrumental works of the period was in no small +degree furthered by the invaluable criticism and self-forgetting +sympathy of his friend. + +The programmes of the court concerts of the season included the D major +Serenade; the 'Ave Maria,' sung by the ladies of the choral society; and +the Begräbnissgesang, for mixed chorus and wind instruments (Op. 13). + +It is strange that this fine work, composed to a sixteenth-century text +by Michael Weisse, the editor of the earliest German church hymn-book, +is not more generally known. Like all Brahms' sacred compositions of the +time, it gives evidence of the strong impression he had derived from his +exhaustive study of the medieval church composers; and the music, +austere in its simplicity, is characterized by uncompromising fidelity +to the almost grimly severe spirit of the words. Too grave to be in +place in an ordinary miscellaneous programme, it is well adapted for +performance at a Good Friday concert or as a church anthem in Passion +Week. It was performed together with the 'Ave Maria,' both for the first +time in public, at Grädener's Academy concert of December 2, and Brahms, +who obtained leave to go to Hamburg for the occasion, appeared the same +evening with Schumann's Pianoforte Concerto. + +The manuscripts were sent immediately afterwards to Göttingen for +practice by Grimm's choral society, of which Carl von Meysenbug was an +enthusiastic member. + + 'As Grimm was distributing the parts of the "Ave Maria" and the + "Begräbnissgesang" at one of the practices,' says the Freiherr von + Meysenbug, 'my neighbour, a glib University student with the + experience of several terms behind him, said to me in a surprised + tone: "Brahms! who is that?" "Oh, some old ecclesiastic of + Palestrina's time," I replied--a piece of information which he + accepted and passed on.' + +The compositions were given under Grimm's direction at the society's +concert of January 19, 1860. There is little doubt that Philipp Spitta, +author of the exhaustive biography of Sebastian Bach, whose essay 'Zur +Musik' should be read by all earnest students of Brahms' music, took +part in the performance of the Begräbnissgesang. His friendship with our +composer dates from this period when he was a student of the Göttingen +University and one of the intimates of Grimm's circle. + +It will be convenient to add here that the invitation to revisit Detmold +on the same terms as before was finally refused by Brahms in a letter to +the Hofmarschall dated from Hamburg, August, 1860: + + 'After renewed consideration, I must beg to express to His Serene + Highness the Prince my regret that I shall not be able to visit + Detmold in the winter. I have to add to the causes of this decision + which I have already had the honour to communicate, that I shall be + much occupied this autumn with the publication of my works, with + revising the proofs of some, and preparing others for the engraver. + On this account alone, therefore, I must decide to stay here during + the winter. I particularly desire to express my regret to the + Princess Friederike that I shall be unable to enjoy her progress + in playing and her great sympathy for music....'[86] + +The post of conductor to the court orchestra, which became vacant on +Kiel's retirement with a pension in 1864, and which might probably under +other circumstances have been offered for the acceptance or refusal of +Brahms, passed to Bargheer, who retained it until 1876, when Prince +Leopold's death put an end to the musical activity of Detmold. + +Brahms' interest in the orchestra had been by no means even temporarily +satisfied by the writing of the works of which we have recorded the +performances. The first serenade was not completed before he had +sketched a second, the finished manuscript of which he carried with him +on his departure from Detmold early in January, 1860. Separated longer +than ever from Joachim, whose successes in England, Scotland, and +Ireland detained him until nearly the end of the year 1859, Johannes now +went to see his dearest friend, and during his stay at Hanover heard a +private trial of the new Serenade for small Orchestra (wind, violas, +'celli, and basses). The work was performed for the first time in public +at the Hamburg Philharmonic concert of February 10. On the same occasion +Joachim transported the audience by his performances of Beethoven's +Concerto and Tartini's 'Trillo del Diavolo,' and Johannes had a great +success as pianist with Schumann's Concerto. + +The second serenade was considered easier to understand than its elder +sister, and was received with comparative favour, though not with +enthusiasm. To the ears of the present generation the work appears +limpidly clear, and it is difficult to realize that it was ever +accounted otherwise. In it we have a chef-d'oeuvre which displays our +musician passed finally from his transition stage and standing out +clearly as a master in definite possession both of aim and method. +Unmistakably he has taken his footing on the basis of tradition, and +creates with the freedom of self-control within the forms consecrated by +the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, no longer betrayed by +immaturity into anything that could be misconstrued as the intentional +discursiveness of rhapsody. The work is impregnated with a breath as +fragrant as the spirit of Schubert's muse, and, though perhaps not fully +representative of the very powerful individuality now associated with +the name of Brahms, bears the distinct impress of his mind, and could +have been written by no other composer. Each of the five movements is a +gem of the first water. Each has a character of its own, which yet +combines with every other to make the serenade a perfect example of a +developed form of garden music, night music. Graceful romance, tender +playfulness, lively frolic, just the stirring of the deeper emotions, +all the gentler phases of poetic sentiment, are suggested in turn by its +lovely melodies. + +[Music: etc.] + +Why is this masterpiece so seldom heard? + +Appropriately called a serenade from the character of its ideas, and +even from the structure of its movements, which, whilst fully developed, +are all quite clear, balanced and symmetrical each in itself and as part +of a whole, and indicate the composer's perfect fulfilment of his +intention, the length of the work again approaches that of a symphony. +It must be borne in mind that to a general audience the name 'serenade' +as applied to instrumental music does not now suggest any particular +class of composition, the times and customs which produced this form +having long since passed away; whilst it is customary to associate with +the word 'symphony' a suggestion of the more strenuous emotions of human +existence. Thus, the ordinary concert-goer who listens to Brahms' work +is puzzled as to what he ought to expect, and his uncertainty interferes +with his enjoyment. + +Another drawback, under modern concert conditions, to the general +appreciation of the beautiful Serenade in A major is the absence of +violins from the score. It hardly needs pointing out that the, so to +say, muted tone of the combination of instruments employed by the +composer would be ideal in the surroundings proper to the performance of +the 'serenade' as originally so called--palpitating summer heat, +deep-blue, starlit sky, flitting to and fro of gallant and graceful +forms--but in the prosaic atmosphere of a modern concert-room the bright +tone of the violins cannot, perhaps, be safely dispensed with throughout +the length of so long a work. It consists of an allegro moderato, +scherzo, quasi minuetto with trio, rondo. It may still be hoped, +however, that the serenade may be revived, and may take its place in the +répertoire of our concert societies. + +We have lingered so long over the two serenades that a bare mention must +suffice of the performance of the first in D major--the first +performance in the second and final rearrangement of the score--at the +Hanover subscription concert of March 3 under Joachim's direction, nor +need we dwell upon the fact that it was received with indifference by +audience and critics. It is time to glance again at the party conflicts +of the day, and especially to note the activity of the disciples of +Weimar, whose partisanship, as the reader may remember, had been +stimulated to violence by the candid admissions of Joachim's letter to +Liszt quoted on p. 212. + + 'In the _Grenzboten_,' says Moser,[87] 'Otto Jahn, the biographer + of Mozart, led the cause of the conservative party and of those + musicians whose creative art was rooted in classical tradition. In + the opposite camp, Brendel, with a staff of like-minded colleagues, + represented in the _Neue Zeitschrift_ the principles of radical + progress, and extolled Liszt as the Mozart of his time, in whose + works were united the efforts and results of all art epochs from + the day of Palestrina. Liszt's cause and the Wagner question were + treated as almost inseparable, and from this time dates the + unfortunate influence of the "Wagnerians," who, in Raff's words, + damaged rather than helped their master's cause.' + +To put the matter, so far as our narrative is concerned with it, as +shortly as possible, Brahms, who had been longing to enter the fray as +an active combatant, now induced Joachim to join him in drawing up a +manifesto for signature by musicians of their way of thinking, and +subsequent publication. An obstacle to the fulfilment of the plan +presented itself in the impossibility of obtaining unanimity of opinion +as to the suitable wording of the document, and part of the difficulty +seems to have arisen from Brahms' desire to differentiate between the +works of Berlioz and Wagner on the one hand, and Liszt's 'productions' +on the other. Before these preliminaries had been satisfactorily +arranged, however, accident settled the matter. By a mischance that has +never been explained, a version of the manifesto which was presumably +going round for signature found its way, with only four names attached, +into the _Echo_, a journal of Berlin. It ran as follows: + + 'The undersigned have long followed with regret the proceedings of + a certain party whose organ is Brendel's _Zeitschrift für Musik_. + The said _Zeitschrift_ unceasingly promulgates the theory that the + most prominent striving musicians are in accord with the aims + represented in its pages, that they recognise in the compositions + of the leaders of the new school works of artistic value, and that + the contention for and against the so-called Music of the Future + has been finally fought out, especially in North Germany, and + decided in its favour. The undersigned regard it as their duty to + protest against such a distortion of fact, and declare, at least + for their own part, that they do not acknowledge the principles + avowed by the _Zeitschrift_, and that they can only lament and + condemn the productions of the leaders and pupils of the so-called + New-German school, which on the one hand apply those principles + practically, and on the other necessitate the constant setting up + of new and unheard-of theories which are contrary to the very + nature of music. + + 'JOHANNES BRAHMS. + 'JULIUS OTTO GRIMM. + 'JOSEPH JOACHIM. + 'BERNHARD SCHOLZ.' + +A few days later the answer appeared in the _Zeitschrift_ of May 4, in +the shape of a parody written, not in a very formidable style of wit, by +C. T. Weitzmann: + + 'DREAD MR. EDITOR, + + 'All is _out_!----I learn that a political coup has been carried + _out_, the entire new world rooted _out_ stump and branch, and + Weimar and Leipzig, especially, struck _out_ of the musical map of + the world. To compass this end, a widely _out_reaching letter was + thought _out_ and sent _out_ to the chosen-_out_ faithful of all + lands, in which strongly _out_spoken protest was made against the + increasing epidemic of the Music of the Future. Amongst the select + of the _out_-worthies [paragons] are to be reckoned several + _out_siders whose names, however, the modern historian of art has + not been able to find _out_. Nevertheless, should the avalanche of + signatures widen _out_ sufficiently, the storm will break _out_ + suddenly. Although the strictest secrecy has been enjoined upon the + chosen-_out_ by the hatchers-_out_ of this musico-tragic + _out_-and-_out_er, I have succeeded in obtaining sight of the + original, and I am glad, dread Mr. Editor, to be able to + communicate to you, in what follows, the contents of this aptly + conceived state paper--I remain, yours most truly, + + 'CROSSING-SWEEPER.' + + 'PUBLIC PROTEST. + + 'The undersigned desire to play first fiddle for once, and + therefore protest against everything which stands in the way of + their coming aloft, including, especially, the increasing influence + of the musical tendency described by Dr. Brendel as the New-German + school, and in short against the whole spirit of the new music. + After the annihilation of these, to them very unpleasant things, + they offer to all who are of their own mind the immediate prospect + of a brotherly association for the advancement of monotonous and + tiresome music. + + '(Signed) J. FIDDLER. + 'HANS NEWPATH. + 'SLIPPERMAN. + 'PACKE. + 'DICK TOM AND HARRY. + + 'Office of the Music of the Future.' + +Bülow, writing from Berlin to Dräseke, says: + + 'The manifesto of the Hanoverians has not made the least sensation + here. They have not even sufficient wit mixed with their malice to + have done the thing in good style, and to have launched it at a + well-chosen time, such as the beginning or end of the season.' + +It must be said here that Brendel was sincere in his views, whether or +not they commend themselves to us, and that he had an exceptional power +of appreciating the ideas put forth by the leaders of the new school. +Equally certain is it that the antipathy felt by Joachim and Brahms for +Liszt's compositions proceeded from no feeling of malice or personal +animosity, but from the most sincere conviction. Joachim's confession to +Liszt had been wrung from him by the necessity of escape from a false +position. The extraordinary importance attached by the musical parties +of the day to his alliance is well illustrated by Wagner's bitter words: + + 'With the defection of a hitherto warm friend, a great violinist, + the violent agitation broke out against the generous Franz Liszt + that prepared for him, at length, the disappointment and + embitterment which caused him to abandon his endeavours to + establish Weimar as a town devoted to the furtherance of + music.'[88] + +The baselessness, and even folly, of such a statement is self-evident. + +With regard to Brahms particularly, though such works as Liszt's +Symphonic Poems and Dante Symphony were abominations to him, he always +cherished a profound respect for the music of Wagner, even though the +principles underlying its composition were not those of his own artistic +faith. His allegiance, like that of Joachim, was wholly given to the +masters of classical art, to whom he had paid homage from childhood, and +it was one of the ironies of fate that he should have been widely +supposed, during many years, to belong to the New-German party, and that +he was handled more tenderly by the _Zeitschrift_ than the _Signale_. By +Brendel himself, indeed, who from the year 1859 onwards worked +earnestly to effect a reconciliation between the contending musical +parties, Schumann's young hero was treated fairly, and even generously, +and a steady Brahms propaganda was practised in years to come by the +fraternity of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein, a society founded +by Brendel in 1861 for the furtherance of his pacific aim. + +Our composer, who had been betrayed into polemic partly by loyalty to +his convictions and partly by his exuberant vitality, was not by +temperament a party man any more than his friend, and was to be removed +before very long from the immediate scene of party strife. For the +future he took the wiser course of holding himself aloof from the +contentions of the day, issuing no other manifestoes than such as were +constituted by his works, and never allowing himself to be tempted into +answering the many printed attacks that were levelled at him. Henceforth +he lived his life, and wrote his works, and followed his faith, leaving +the question of the false or the true to the decision of time. Who shall +yet say what will be the final judgment of this supreme arbiter of all +such matters? + +Johannes was again settled in his parents' home during the spring of +1860, but his thoughts were busy with many plans for the future. He +longed to extend his travels, and the desire to see Vienna was stirring +forcibly within him. He played his Concerto and some numbers of +Schumann's Kreisleriana at Otten's concert of April 20; but the concerto +was very badly accompanied, and once more proved a complete failure. The +critic of the _Nachrichten_ confesses his inability to understand the +work, 'which is recognised so warmly by the musicians of the newest +tendency,' and elects to say nothing about it. + +The young musician's greatest pleasure was derived from his singing +society of girls, who resumed with ardour their practices under his +direction. He placed it this season on a more formal footing by drawing +up a set of rules, signature to which was made a condition of +membership. The document, headed 'Avertimento,' is playfully worded in a +bygone style of formality, and after a short prelude, in which is set +forth, amongst other things, that the practices are to be held only +during spring and summer, five laws are laid down, the first two of +which enjoin punctual attendance. + + 'Pro primo, it is to be remarked that the members of the Ladies' + Choir must be _there_. + + 'By which is to be understood that they must oblige themselves to + be _there_. + + 'Pro secundo, it is to be observed that the members of the Ladies' + Choir must be there. + + 'By which is meant, they must be there precisely at the appointed + time....' + +Absentees and late-comers were to be fined in various amounts, according +to various degrees of delinquency, and the money collected given to +'begging people,' 'and it is to be desired that it may surfeit no one.' + +The fourth rule relates to the careful preservation of the music +entrusted to the care of the 'virtuous and honourable ladies,' which was +not to be used outside the society, and the fifth, to the admission of +listeners under conditions. The whole concludes: + + 'I remain in deepest devotion + and veneration of the Ladies' Choir their most assiduous + ready-writer and steady time-beater + 'JOHANNES KREISLER JUN. + (_alias_ BRAHMS). + + 'Given on Monday, + 'The 30th of the month of April, + A.D. 1860.' + +The signatures, or most of them, must have been added after this date, +for amongst them is that of Frau Schumann, who paid a visit to Hamburg +at about this time certainly, but not in April. She arrived on May 6 +with Fräulein Marie Schumann, who was from an early age her mother's +constant and devoted travelling companion, and, residing at the Hôtel +Petersburg, attended the practices of the choir during her nearly three +weeks' stay. We shall have occasion to mention the name of the great +artist more than once again in interesting connexion with the sisterhood +of singers, who were not a little proud of the right given them, by her +signature, to claim her as an honorary colleague.[89] + +Notwithstanding the stringent rules as to punctuality of attendance +inserted in this formal document, the meetings were seriously +interrupted during the season, and by the absence of no less a person +than the director himself. Johannes could in no case, especially in his +present restless mood, have remained away from the Rhine Festival of the +year (Düsseldorf, May 27-29). Schumann's B flat Symphony was to be +performed, Hiller to conduct, Joachim to play the Hungarian Concerto and +a Beethoven Romance, and Stockhausen to sing selections by Boieldieu, +Schubert, Schumann, and Hiller. Frau Schumann was to attend the +concerts, and expected to meet many intimate friends at Düsseldorf, +amongst them being Dietrich and his bride, a lady long known to the +circle as Clara Sohn, daughter of the painter and professor at the Art +Academy. Brahms therefore accompanied Frau Schumann and her daughter +when they left Hamburg for Düsseldorf on May 24, and the occasion of the +festival proved no less enjoyable than those similar ones which have +been referred to in our pages. A new feature at one or more of the +private reunions that took place in the intervals of the concerts was +the singing of quartets, under Brahms' direction, by four members of the +Ladies' Choir who had come to the Festival: the sisters Fräulein Betty +and Fräulein Marie Völckers, Fräulein Laura Garbe, and--Frau Schumann +herself. She, indeed, it was who proposed to her hostess, Fräulein +Leser, that the Dietrichs, Joachim, Stockhausen, and a few others, +should be invited to listen to what proved a delightful performance. + +Under the circumstances, it cannot be regarded as surprising that Brahms +did not immediately return to Hamburg after the festival, but made one +of a party that proceeded to Bonn, where he remained with his companions +till towards the middle of July. + + 'The spring had set in gloriously,' says Dietrich, who, as the + reader will remember, had been settled for some years in the city. + 'There is something enchanting in such a spring on the Rhine. The + pink blossoming woods of fruit-trees, the numerous whitethorn + hedges on the banks of the river, the voices of nightingales in the + light, warm nights, the fine outlines of the Siebengebirge in the + distance; what excursions we were induced to make! It was a happy, + sunny time, rich also in artistic enjoyment. + + 'For Brahms, after six years' long silence, had brought with him a + number of splendid compositions. There were the two serenades, the + Ave Maria, the Begräbnissgesang, Songs and Romances, and the + Concerto in D minor. + + 'He had employed his retirement in the most earnest studies; he had + composed, amongst other things, a Mass in canon form, which, + however, has not been printed. + + 'We met frequently at the Kyllmanns' hospitable and artistic house + for performances of chamber music and the enjoyment of + Stockhausen's splendid singing. + + 'The artists came also often and gladly to our young home, and + before we parted they were present with us at the baptism of our + first child. Brahms, Joachim, and Heinrich von Sahr were the + sponsors.'[90] + +Herr Kyllmann's house in Coblenzstrasse, with its beautiful garden +situated on the Rhine bank and commanding a view of the Siebengebirge, +was the scene of many noteworthy reunions that gave equal pleasure to +the famous guests and the art-loving, art-appreciating family, who were +proud to entertain them. One party which took place early in June, +during the week that Frau Schumann was able to remain amongst her +friends, must be recorded in detail, for the musical performances +included a string quartet played by Joachim, David, Otto von Königslow +(for many years concertmeister of the Gürzenich subscription concerts, +Cologne), and the excellent 'cellist Christian Reimers; Schumann's +Quintet, by the same artists, with Frau Schumann as pianist; and songs +sung by Stockhausen to Frau Schumann's accompaniment--amongst them +'Mondnacht' and 'Frühlingsnacht.' Otto Jahn, who was, of course, present +to enjoy the music, brought with him his friend Dr. Becker, just arrived +from England on his resignation of his post of private secretary to the +Prince Consort, and Brahms must be counted with them amongst the +listeners. He retired to the sofa of an inner drawing-room, and was not +to be induced to perform, though Frau Schumann herself came to request +him to do so, and Joachim followed with his persuasive 'Oh, Johannes, do +play!' Johannes, as is abundantly evident, was no diplomatist. He often +felt it easier to know himself misunderstood than to overcome his +nervous shrinking from the ordeal of sitting down to play before a mixed +party of listeners. + +The nearly two months passed at Bonn, during which Johannes and Joachim +lodged respectively at 29 and 27, Meckenheimerstrasse, proved of +importance in Brahms' career. It was at this time that he made the +acquaintance of Herr Fritz Simrock, a young man about his own age, +junior partner in the well-known publishing house of N. Simrock at Bonn, +and destined, as the later head of the firm after the removal to Berlin, +to usher into the world the great majority of the composer's works. +Between Fritz Simrock and Brahms a cordial understanding gradually +established itself; the publisher's dealings with the musician were from +the first considerate and generous, and when Brahms' fortunes became +flourishing, it was Simrock who was his confidant and adviser in +business matters. As an earnest of the future, the Serenade in A, Op. +16, was published by the firm before the close of the year, the Serenade +in D, Op. 11, being issued in the autumn by Breitkopf and Härtel. The +Pianoforte Concerto, refused by this firm, was accepted by +Rieter-Biedermann, together with the 'Ave Maria,' Begräbnissgesang, and +the Lieder und Romanzen (Op. 14), all of which were published the +following year.[91] + + 'I am very glad to see Johannes' things in print before me at + last,' wrote Joachim to Avé Lallement. 'Now the _Signale_ and other + superficial papers may abuse them as they please. We have done + right. They will continue to smile on with their beautiful motifs + long after the clumsy fault-finders have been silenced.' + +The meetings of the ladies' choral society were recommenced on Brahms' +return to Hamburg in July. Fräulein Porubszky, with whom he had been on +terms of lively friendship during her year of membership, which had seen +him a frequent visitor at her aunt's house in the Bockmannstrasse, had +now returned to Vienna, where the reader will presently renew her +acquaintance as Frau Faber. The members of the choir were, however, one +and all thoroughgoing admirers of their conductor, and amongst the +houses open for the holding of the practices, two at which he became +intimate, must be particularly mentioned--those of Herr Völckers and his +two daughters at Hamm, and of the Hallier family at Eppendorf, both at +that time almost in the country. + +The large Eppendorf garden was the scene of many a pleasant gathering of +the singers; now and again they performed there before an invited +audience of friends. Hübbe tells of an open-air evening party, with an +illumination, vocal contributions by the choir, which were conducted by +the director from the branch of a tree, and fireworks in the intervals. +The Halliers lived in town during the winter, and Brahms often dropped +in to their informal Wednesday evenings, which were attended by the +artists and art-lovers of Hamburg. He was good-natured about playing in +this familiar, sociable circle, and would perform one thing after +another, unless particularly interested in conversation, when no +entreaty could get him to the piano. As his Detmold friends had found +out, he formed definite opinions on most current topics of interest, and +did not hesitate to avow them, or to confess the unorthodoxy of his +religious views. He went constantly also to Avé Lallement's house, where +a few men used to meet regularly to read Shakespeare and other authors, +and found time to attend lectures on art history and to study Latin +under Dr. Emil Hallier, and history under Professor Ægidi of the +Academic Gymnasium. + +The autumn of this year was signalized by the appearance of a new and +very great work--the String Sextet in B flat--the first of Brahms' +important compositions to attain general popularity. Joachim was its +sponsor, producing it at his Quartet concert at Hanover of October 20; +and it was partly owing to his enthusiastic appreciation that the +composition was so quickly and widely received into public favour. + +It would be beside the mark to discuss, in a narrative which has no +technical aim, the musical characteristics of a work that has become so +entirely familiar as this one, which has long since taken its place +among the few classics that attract an audience on their own merits, +apart from the consideration of whether a public favourite is to lead +their performance. It may, however, be remarked that the String Sextet +in B flat is a work to which neither 'if' nor 'but' can be attached. +Both in beauty and variety of idea and in spontaneous clearness of +development, it is without flaw, and these qualities combine with the +fineness of its proportions, perfectly conceived and perfectly wrought +out, to place it with few rivals amongst the greatest examples of +chamber music. Fresh, happy, and ingenuous, the mastery it displays over +the art which conceals art may be compared with that of Mozart himself. +With it opens the great series of works of its class which reveals the +powerful individuality of Brahms in all its moods, and includes the +first and second Pianoforte Quartets, the Pianoforte Quintet, the second +String Sextet, and the Horn Trio--works which, in the author's opinion, +were not surpassed even during later periods of the composer's +magnificent activity in this domain. + +Frau Schumann, Joachim, and Johannes met in November at Leipzig, the two +last-named artists to assist actively on the 26th of the month at the +annual Pension-Fund concert of the Gewandhaus, which was given under the +direction of Carl Reinecke, the lately appointed successor to Julius +Rietz. Both Johannes and Joachim appeared as composers--Brahms with the +second Serenade, Joachim with the Hungarian Concerto--and each conducted +the other's work. Their own artistic conscience, with each other's and +Frau Schumann's approval, and perhaps that of a few other friends, was +their best reward. The audience was cold; the daily press left the +concert unmentioned; the _Zeitschrift_ dismissed it with a few dubious +sentences--perhaps not ungenerous treatment under the circumstances--and +the _Signale_, candid as ever, declared the serenade to be a terribly +monotonous work which showed the composer's poverty of invention, +together with his despairing attempts to appear learned. Joachim's +concerto was pronounced decidedly richer in invention than his friend's +work, but rather monotonous also, and certainly very much too long. + +Frau Schumann, nothing dismayed by these remarks, introduced at +her concert of December 8, given in the small hall of the Gewandhaus, +the very beautiful Variations on an original theme, which, though +hardly suitable for general concert performance, should be much +better known than they are. They show the composer in one of his +Bach-Beethoven-Brahms moods, by which is here meant his learned and +profoundly serious vein touched with exquisite tenderness. The theme, in +three-four time, has about it, nevertheless, something of the pace of a +grave march, and the opening variations are tender reflections on a +solemn idea. In the eighth and ninth we have the imposing tramp of pomp, +whilst the eleventh and last breathes forth tones of mysterious +spirituality which subdue the mind of the listener as to some passing +divine influence. + +These Variations together with the earlier set on a Hungarian melody, +and the three Duets for Soprano and Contralto, Op. 20, were published by +Simrock in 1861. + +The fact that Brahms' sextet was placed in the programme of the +Hafner-Lee concert announced for January 4 affords evidence that the +composer was gradually penetrating with his works to the heart of +musical life in his native city, though he may not have enjoyed the +particular favour of its public. The Quartet-Entertainments of these +artists were among the regularly recurring artistic events of Hamburg, +and enjoyed unfailing support. Hafner, a Viennese by birth and a +Schubert enthusiast, had found a second home in the northern city, and +was accounted its first violinist; and in the 'cellist Lee he had a +sympathetic colleague. He was not, however, destined to lead the sextet. +His sudden illness caused the postponement of the concert, and his death +followed. The work was played in Hamburg from the manuscript by his +successor in the enterprise, John Böie, with Honroth, Breyther, Kayser, +Wiemann, and Lee, and with immediate success. The impression made was so +great that the work was repeated three times within the following few +weeks by the same concert-party. + +[86] 'Aus Brahms' Jugendtagen.' See footnote on p. 205. + +[87] 'Joseph Joachim,' p. 154. + +[88] Reprint of Wagner's pamphlet 'Das Judenthum in der Musik.' + +[89] The rules, first published by Professor Walter Hübbe in his 'Brahms +in Hamburg,' are given entire in the original German in Appendix No. +III. + +[90] This pleasant description is given entire, as containing a +substantially accurate account of Brahms' artistic progress, though +Dietrich, writing after the lapse of many years, has overlooked the fact +that the works referred to had already been performed in public from the +manuscripts. + +[91] A revised edition of the second serenade was published by Simrock +in 1875. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + 1861-1862 + + Concert season in Hamburg--Frau Denninghoff-Giesemann--Brahms at + Hamm--Herr Völckers and his daughters--Dietrich's visit to + Brahms--Music at the Halliers' and Wagners'--First public + performance of the G minor Quartet--Brahms at Oldenburg--Second + Serenade performed in New York--The first and second Pianoforte + Quartets--'Magelone Romances'--First public performances of the + Handel Variations and Fugue in Hamburg and Leipzig by Frau + Schumann--Brahms' departure for Vienna. + + +Frau Schumann, Joachim, and Stockhausen visited Hamburg repeatedly +during the year 1861, and all made much of Johannes. Both Joachim and +Brahms assisted at Frau Schumann's concert of January 15. Brahms took +part in the performance of Schumann's beautiful Andante and Variations +for two pianofortes, and conducted the Ladies' Choir, to the great +delight of the members, in their singing of several of his part-songs. +The first part of the programme included 'Es tönt ein voller +Harfenklang,' 'Komm herbei Tod,' and 'Der Gärtner,' from the set with +horns and harp accompaniment, Op. 17; the second part the 'Minnelied' +and 'Der Bräutigam' (from Op. 44) and 'Song from Fingal' (from Op. +17)--all performed from manuscript. On the 22nd of the month Frau +Schumann and Brahms appeared together at a concert in the Logensaal +Valentinskamp, with Bach's C major Concerto and Mozart's Sonata, both +for two pianofortes. + +[Illustration: BRAHMS AND STOCKHAUSEN, 1868.] + +Frau Schumann and her daughter Marie were, during this somewhat +prolonged visit, the guests of the Halliers, who understood the +necessities involved by the strain of the great artist's arduous +life, and allowed her perfect freedom of action. Johannes visited his +old friend every day, dining privately with her and her daughter at an +hour that suited their convenience; and on a few free evenings there was +glorious music in the Halliers' drawing-room before a few intimate +acquaintances. + +On March 8 Brahms played Beethoven's triple Concerto with David and +Davidoff at the Philharmonic concert, and a few weeks later the +Begräbnissgesang was performed under his direction at a Hafner memorial +concert arranged by Grädener, and made a profound impression. + + 'The composer has realized the solemn spirit of mourning with + extraordinary insight. As part of a funeral ceremony, the effect of + the work would be quite overpowering,' wrote one of the critics. + +Joachim and Stockhausen came in April for the Philharmonic concert of +the 16th, and the brilliant season closed with Stockhausen's and Brahms' +soirées on the 19th, 27th, and 30th of the month. At the first two +concerts, at Hamburg and Altona respectively, the entire series of +Schubert's 'Schöne Müllerin' was given; and at the last--who can imagine +a more enthralling feast of sound than the performance of Beethoven's +melting love-songs, 'To the Distant Beloved,' the very thought of which +brings tears to the eyes, sung by Stockhausen to the accompaniment of +Brahms, followed by our composer's lovely second Serenade, and this by +Schumann's 'Poet's Love-Songs'? Happy Hamburgers, happy Stockhausen, +happy Brahms, to have shared such delights together! Will their like +ever come again? Strangely enough, they lead in the course of our story, +as by natural transition, to the record of a visit paid to Brahms in the +second week of July by a very early friend of his and of the reader. +Lischen Giesemann had not met her old playmate since she had bidden him +God-speed at the commencement of his concert-journey with Rémenyi early +in 1853. During the years immediately following what proved to be his +final departure from Winsen, she had occasionally visited her dear +'aunt' Brahms, but, never finding Johannes at home, had been obliged to +content herself by rejoicing with his mother over the letters he +constantly sent to his parents from Düsseldorf, Hanover, etc. She was +now a happy newly-married wife, but the memory of the old child-life +remained like the warmth of sunshine in her heart, and having +ascertained that her now celebrated hero was living at home again, she +determined to go with her husband to see him. As ill-luck would have it, +Johannes had gone out for the day when Herr and Frau Denninghoff made +their call in the Fuhlentwiethe, but his mother, overjoyed to see her +young friend again after a long separation, offered such consolation as +was in her power by showing her his room. How many remembrances crowded +upon Lischen's mind as she entered it! The practices with Reményi, the +teacher's choral society, the dances at Hoopte, the story of the +beautiful Magelone and her knight Peter. Lischen found herself standing +near the piano--and what did she see there? Some manuscript songs, +apparently newly composed, stood on the music-desk, which bore the name +of the beautiful Magelone herself in Brahms' handwriting! It almost +seemed like a waking dream to the young wife, and the manuscript +appeared to her as a link by which the past would be carried into the +future. Nor was she mistaken. Brahms' 'Magelone Romances' have become +world-famous, and wherever they are heard the delight which stirred the +heart of the youthful Johannes as he and Lischen sat together in the +pleasant Winsen fields eagerly devouring the old story from Aaron +Löwenherz's purloined volume lives also. Lischen was not again to meet +her old friend, but she never forgot either him or his music, and he, +too, kept a faithful memory for the old pleasant time. Writing to her +twenty years later, when at the height of his fame, he said: + + 'The remembrance of your parents' house is one of the dearest that + I possess; all the kindness and love that were shown me, all the + youthful pleasure and happiness that I enjoyed there, live secure + in my heart with the image of your good father and the glad, + grateful memory of you all.' + +Lischen's daughter inherited her mother's voice, and was endowed with +fine musical gifts; and when Agnes came to the right age, Frau +Denninghoff sent her to be trained as a singer at the Royal Music School +of Berlin, of which, as everyone knows, Joachim has been director since +its foundation. Joachim invited Agnes to his house one evening to meet +Brahms, who, coming forward to greet her, said it was as though her +mother were again standing before him. He sent her a selection of his +songs, and in due time she became a distinguished singer, appearing in +public under a pseudonym, and the wife of a famous musician. + +Lischen saw only the first four numbers of the 'Magelone' song-cycle, +which had, by a strange coincidence, just been completed at the time of +her visit; the fifth and sixth were not composed until May, 1862.[92] +These six songs were published by Rieter-Biedermann in 1865, with the +title 'Romanzen aus L. Tieck's Magelone' and a dedication to +Stockhausen; and there can be no doubt that the immediate incitement to +their composition is to be traced to our composer's association with +this great singer in the performance of the song-cycles of Beethoven, +Schubert, and Schumann. The remaining nine songs of Brahms' series were +not published until 1868, and the exact date of their composition has +not been ascertained. + + 'I am living most delightfully in the country, half an hour from + town,' wrote Brahms, pressing Dietrich to pay him a visit; 'you + would be surprised to find how pleasantly one can live here. + Perhaps I can take you in, and at any rate my room at my parents' + in Hamburg is quite at your service. In short, I hope you will be + comfortable.' + +He was established for the summer at Hamm in the pleasant country house +of Frau Dr. Rösing, aunt of the two girls, the Fräulein Betty and Marie +Völckers, already mentioned as members of the choir. Here a large airy +room with a balcony, on the first floor, had been allotted him, that had +been the billiard-room of the house when it was inhabited by Herr +Völckers and his family. This gentleman now lived next door with his +two daughters in a charming old-fashioned habitation built, +cottage-wise, with a thatched roof and but two floors, and possessing a +spacious apartment on the ground-floor that was particularly well +adapted for the choir practices. Both houses had pleasant gardens +separated only by a green hedge, and close by, the spreading branches of +fine old trees provided shelter for the many nightingales that built +their nests in the quiet spot. Brahms' room was cheerful for a +considerable part of the day, with the sunlight that shone through the +outside greenery and the tinted panes of the open windows, and in it he +could enjoy his favourite early morning hours of work with the added +relish of feeling that they were but the prelude to days of quiet +refreshment. He was intimate with all the branches of his hostess's +family, from Herr Völckers, who had been a good public singer of his +day, down to his gifted little granddaughter Minna (now Mrs. Edward +Stone), one of the young composer's very favourite and most devoted +pianoforte pupils; and that he passed a considerable portion of his time +this summer in the society of the two girls next door--Betty and Marie +Völckers--will astonish none of our readers. He went in and out their +house as he liked, and frequently joined them as they sat in their +garden with work or books, or chatting with their friends Fräulein +Reuter and Fräulein Laura Garbe, whom they often invited. Johannes would +stroll in with his cigar or cigarette, and take a seat near the group, +silent or talkative according to his inclination. By-and-by he would +sing a note or two of a well-known melody, begin to beat time, and the +garden would be glad with the sound of four fresh young voices swelling +and dying together in the charming harmonies of a favourite part-song. +He often spent the evening with the young ladies and their father, +gladly accepting their informal hospitality, and would play to them +after supper until late into the night, sometimes performing duets with +Fräulein Marie, who was his pupil on the pianoforte. + +'I may say with pride that he was happy in our little house,' said Frau +Professor Böie (Fräulein Marie Völckers) to the author; 'his playing +was a great delight to our old father. His behaviour to old people was +touchingly thoughtful and kind.' + +Dietrich, who had lately accepted the post of court capellmeister to the +Grand-Duke of Oldenburg, and was now quite a near neighbour, paid his +promised visit to Hamburg in September, and found Johannes engaged on +the A major Pianoforte Quartet. 'He played me the sketches which +convinced me that the work would be surpassingly fine.' + + 'I occupied his very interesting room [at Hamburg], and was + astonished at his comprehensive library, which he had gradually + collected since early youth; it contained some remarkable old + works. + + 'After breakfast in the morning I used to sit cosily with his dear + old mother, who united true heart-culture with her plainness and + simplicity; her Johannes was the inexhaustible subject of our + lively conversations. The father generally left home early to + follow his calling of bassist and music-teacher. I used to remain a + little while with the dear people, and spent the rest of the day + with Brahms in his charming country quarters, where we occupied + ourselves with the detailed examination of his newest works.' + +Several indications suggest that Brahms' thoughts were still turned +longingly in the direction of Vienna; not as a permanent place of +residence--at no time in his life, probably, did he so seriously +contemplate settling in Hamburg as at the present--but he wished to see +the city that had been the home of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and +Schubert; and the enthusiastic sympathy accorded to Frau Schumann on +each of her visits to the Austrian capital confirmed him in a desire to +try his luck with its music-loving public. He knew his way had been +prepared for him, and a good opportunity seemed likely to occur for his +appearance there. Joachim was meditating another Austrian tour, and +would have rejoiced to have Johannes with him. Matters went no further, +however, than they had done previously. As in a former year, paragraphs +appeared in the _Signale_ announcing that Brahms and Joachim were about +to visit Vienna, but in the end Brahms remained at home--partly, no +doubt, from motives of policy. + +It was generally understood that Wilhelm Grund, who had for many years +conducted the Philharmonic concerts and the Singakademie connected with +them, must soon retire. He had done good work in his day, but his day +was over. Musical conditions had changed; he was too old to alter with +them, and the Philharmonic performances had long ceased to satisfy +modern requirements. It was hoped by Brahms' friends that the young +genius of Hamburg would succeed to the post, and Johannes himself may +have thought it wise to remain on the spot with such an important issue +imminent. The disappointment he felt at giving up the desired journey +was partially consoled by the knowledge that Frau Schumann would be much +in Hamburg during the autumn months. + +He began his concert-season on October 19 at Altona, and appeared at one +of the Böie-Lee concerts later in the month, playing the Schumann +Variations for two pianofortes with Frau Clara. On the 30th there was a +music-party at the Halliers', which is charmingly described in a letter +written a few days afterwards by Fräulein Julie Hallier: + + 'The guests were late in coming; it was half-past eight when they + had all arrived; and who comes with Frau Schumann?--Our dear friend + from Hanover, with his beaming face and delightful friendliness; + the glorious Joachim. Everyone was taken by surprise, Frau Schumann + and Brahms in the morning, we in the evening. Avé: "My boy! where + have you come from?" After the first excitement was over, Edward + showed his Italian photographs. Brahms literally devoured them; he + was very nice the whole evening, especially with Edward. He teased + me about my punch, which I altered three times, he following it + with anxious looks as the bowl disappeared through the door. Frau + Schumann and Brahms played beautifully beyond imagination; three + rondos by Schubert and two marches. The violin of course had not + come; Joachim only arrived yesterday and is already gone again. At + first Avé turned over, but he did it badly, so Brahms called + Joachim. Avé: "My dreadful cold; I cannot see properly." He now + stood behind and began to beat time. During the music the table + was laid in the small room. It was rather narrow, but comfortable. + All went well. We separated at half-past eleven.' + +A few days afterwards there was a similar gathering at the Wagners', +when Frau Schumann performed with Brahms his duet arrangement of the +second serenade. + + 'The best of all was a set of variations by Brahms on a theme by + Handel,' continues the letter--'another magnificent work! + splendidly long--the stream of ideas flowing inexhaustibly! And the + work was splendidly played, too, by himself. It seemed like a + miracle; one could not take one's eyes from him. The composition is + so difficult that none but great artists could attempt it.'[93] + +These words give some measure of the progress effected during the last +half-century in the technique of pianoforte-playing, partly, indeed, +through the demands made upon pianists by the compositions of Brahms +himself. Lovers of his art who have learnt his particular technique, +which demands of the player certain qualities of endurance and grip, do +not find the performance of his works unduly fatiguing. The twenty-five +variations, with the fugue that succeeds them, are now in the fingers of +most good players, and would undoubtedly be often heard in the +concert-room if it were not for the great length of the work. They show +a melodious fertility and power of invention which is practically +inexhaustible. Each variation or pair of variations presents some fresh +idea, some striking change of fancy, figuration, rhythm, mood, to hold +the listener's attention, whilst the entire long work is essentially +based upon the simple harmonic progression of Handel's theme (to be +found in the second collection of Harpsichord Pieces). The changes of +key in Brahms' variations are restricted to the tonic minor (Nos. 5, 6, +13) and the relative minor (No. 21). The finale, the great free fugue +which invariably 'brings down' a house, is, with its grand and brilliant +climax, to which extraordinary effect is imparted by an original +employment of the dominant pedal point, a unique example of its kind. + +If there ever were a young composer who had reason to be made happy from +the outset of his career by the appreciation of the most eminent of his +colleagues--appreciation sweeter than any other to the soul of the true +artist--Brahms was he. At each of Frau Schumann's three appearances in +Hamburg during this autumn, she performed a great work of his +composition, two being introduced for the first time to the public. At +her first concert, on November 16, she played the G minor Pianoforte +Quartet, only now finally revised and completed, with Böie, Breyther, +and Lee, and on the same evening several of the composer's part-songs +were sung under his direction by the Ladies' Choir; on December 3 she +appeared as the champion of the unpopular Concerto, choosing it for her +chief solo at the Philharmonic concert of that date; and on the 7th of +the same month she brought forward the Handel Variations and Fugue at +her second concert. These she repeated a week later at the Gewandhaus +soirée of the 14th in Leipzig. + +Not even the magnetic personality of Frau Schumann availed to awaken any +show of enthusiasm for the concerto. The new works were more favourably +received both in Hamburg and Leipzig, and the _Signale_ itself bestowed +a mild word or two upon some of the variations. It is easy, however, to +read between the lines of the press notices that such encouragement as +was awarded to the composer was mainly due to the personality of the +performer. The B flat Sextet was given with fair success at the +Gewandhaus Quartet concert of January 4 by David Röntgen, Hermann, +Hunger, Davidoff, and Krummholtz. + +Brahms passed the first two months of the new year in Joachim's society, +making his headquarters at Hanover, and undertaking frequent short +journeys with his friend. The two artists appeared together on January +20 at one of the Münster subscription concerts, of which Grimm, who had +been called to Münster in 1860, was now the conductor; and on February +14 they gave a concert in Celle, a locality which the reader will +remember as the scene of Johannes' transposition feat during the Reményi +_tournée_ of 1853. The A major Pianoforte Quartet was now finished, and +was, with its companion in G minor, much appreciated in the private +circles of Hanover, where both works were frequently played by Brahms +with Joachim and his colleagues. + +Brahms, answering an invitation from Dietrich received on the eve of his +departure, says: + + 'HANOVER, 1862. + + 'DEAR FRIEND, + + 'I have been here for some time, and have your letter forwarded + from Hamburg. I go back to-morrow, and write a few words in haste. + + 'I should much like to visit you and to make the acquaintance of + those whom I know pleasantly by name, otherwise I would say no. I + will come and see how long I can afford to be idle. + + 'What shall I play? Beethoven or Mozart? C minor, A major, or G + major? Advise! + + 'And for the second?--Schumann, Bach, or may I venture upon some + new variations of my own? + + 'You, of course, will conduct my serenade. We have been playing my + quartets a great deal here; I shall bring them with me and shall be + glad if you and others approve of them. + + '_À propos!_ I must have an honorarium of 15 Louis-d'ors [about + £14], with the stipulation that if I should play at Court I receive + extra remuneration. I much need the money; pro sec. my time is + valuable to me, and I do not willingly take concert engagements; + if, however, this must be, then the other must also.'[94] + +Dietrich had already had the pleasure of welcoming Frau Schumann and +Joachim to Oldenburg during this his first season of activity there, and +had worked well to prepare the way for Brahms, so that the evening of +March 14, the date fixed for the composer's personal introduction to the +concert-going public, was awaited with keen interest. Arriving at +Dietrich's house a few days previously, Brahms found himself surrounded +by new friends, and had won the favour of the musical élite of the town +before his public appearance, by playing several of his works in private +circles. The members of the orchestra, who assembled _en masse_ on the +evening of the 13th, were excited to enthusiasm by his performance of +the new Handel Variations and Fugue, and every condition that could +insure a sympathetic reception for the hero of the 14th was fulfilled. + +The concert opened with the D major Serenade (Op. 11), conducted by +Dietrich, who had the delight of finding that he had secured an adequate +reception for his friend's orchestral work. + + 'The whole made the most satisfactory impression, and carried the + hearers away more and more, especially from the fourth movement + onwards, and at the close the applause reached a pitch of + enthusiasm not hitherto experienced here. The members of the + orchestra, who had been studying the serenade for some time, showed + their concurrence in the general approval by a lively flourish' + (_Oldenburger Zeitung_). + +No less satisfactory was the verdict of the audience on the performances +of Beethoven's G major Concerto and Bach's Chromatic Fantasia, with +which our composer came forward as pianist. His success was repeated at +the chamber music concert of the 19th, when the sextet was performed by +Court Concertmeister Engel and his colleagues. Both in public and +private Brahms left endearing memories behind him. + + 'He was the most agreeable guest,' says Dietrich, 'always pleased, + always good-humoured and satisfied, like a child with the children. + + 'He took the greatest pleasure in our happiness. He thought our + modest lot enviable, and had his position then allowed him to + establish a home of his own, perhaps this might have been the right + moment, for he was attracted by a young girl who was often with us. + One evening, when she and other guests had left, he said with quiet + decision: "She pleases me; I should like to marry her; such a girl + would make me, too, happy." He met many people at our house, and in + small and large circles outside it, and everyone liked his earnest + nature and his short and often humorous remarks.' + +It is pleasant to have to record here that a few weeks before the events +now described, New York, distinguished, as we have seen, by Mason's +timely performance of the B major Trio in 1855, led the way a second +time in connection with Brahms' career. In February, 1862, the first +performance after publication of the second serenade took place there at +a Philharmonic concert, and the occasion is doubly memorable as marking +the earliest introduction of an orchestral work of Brahms to a public +audience outside the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Leipzig. This early +appreciation of the composer's genius in America has proved to have been +neither accidental nor transitory. It grew steadily year by year with +the general growth of interest in musical art, and his works, great and +small, were welcomed as they appeared, and performed--often, it must be +said, from pirated editions in the earlier days--with ever-increasing +success. It has been impossible to ascertain the exact dates of first +American performances. New York, the earliest centre in the United +States for the cultivation of Brahms' music, was emulated later on, +especially by Boston; and the famous Symphony Orchestra of this city +has, since its foundation in 1881, performed each of the four +symphonies, in Boston and in the course of numerous concert tours, at an +average of forty concerts; whilst the two overtures, the concertos, and +other large works, have been given with corresponding frequency. + +The chamber music has been a special feature in the programmes of +several concert-parties resident in various parts of the United States. +Of these, special mention should be made of the Kneisel String Quartet +of Boston, whose performances, familiar not only to American, but also +to some of the circles of European music-lovers, were warmly appreciated +by Brahms himself. + +In the spring of 1862, an artistic tour undertaken in France by Frau +Schumann laid the foundation of Brahms' reputation in Paris, which, +little to be noted during many years, has of late been rapidly +increasing. That the great pianist, when introducing her husband's +works, which were almost unknown to French audiences, had to confront +the inevitable prejudice against what is new, explains the fact that +Brahms' name did not appear in the programmes of her concerts at the +Salle Erard. The efforts she made in the cause of his art, however, +amongst the inmost musical circle of her acquaintance created an +impression that was not entirely fleeting. + +The two first Pianoforte Quartets, now finally completed, and performed, +as we have seen, during the winter of 1861-62--the earlier one in +public, and both frequently in private--add two glorious works of +chamber music to the series so brilliantly inaugurated by the Sextet in +B flat. In their broadly-flowing themes, their magnificent wealth of +original and contrasted melody, their consummate workmanship, their +fresh, vigorous vitality, their enchanting romance, one seems to hear +the bounding gladness of the artist-spirit which has attained freedom +through submission to law, and revels in its emancipation. They are so +rich in beauty, so transcendent in power, that the attempt to point out +this or that particular detail for admiration results in bewilderment. +The romantic intermezzo, the riotously brilliant Hungarian rondo, of the +first; the graceful scherzo with its bold trio, of the second, and the +adagio, with its atmosphere of mystery, lit up twice by the outbreak of +passion that subsides again to the hushed expressiveness of the +beginning and end; the opening allegro of either work--all are original, +great, beautiful; but so is every portion of every movement of both +quartets, and each movement proclaims--from Bach to Brahms. That Brahms' +course of development proceeded ever further in the direction of +concentration of thought and conciseness of structure cannot affect the +value of the splendid achievements of his earlier period of maturity, +and of these the two quartets stand amongst the greatest. + +The sincerity of Brendel's efforts to conciliate the contending musical +parties, and his desire to do justice to each, is strikingly proved by +the appearance in his journal, in the course of several months of the +year 1862, of a series of articles signed 'D. A. S.,' by Dr. Schübring, +a distinguished musician and critic of the Schumann school. The first +few numbers are devoted to sympathetic reviews of the works of Theodor +Kirchner, Woldemar Bargiel, and others; and following these are five +articles in which the whole of Brahms' published works are examined in +detail. The composer's genius, his progress, his moods and his methods, +are discussed with the skill of a scientific musician, the impartiality +of a sound critic, and the affection of a personal and artistic friend. +They are too technical for quotation here, but the last sentence of the +concluding number may be given in well-deserved tribute to Brendel, who +must have known what he was doing when he arranged for Dr. Schübring's +contributions. + + 'The foregoing words may sound inflated, but stopped horns are of + no use when it is desired to arouse the great public, which does + not yet seem to comprehend in the least what a colossal genius, one + quite of equal birth with Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann, is + ripening in the young master of Hamburg.' + +The mediator's task is seldom a grateful one, and it appears probable +that Dr. Brendel was reproached for his large-mindedness by some of the +New-German party, with whom he had been so long intimately connected, as +a half-apologetic explanation of his reasons for desiring the +publication of the 'Schumanniana,' as the articles were entitled, +appeared in a later number of the _Zeitschrift_. + +It would be unsatisfactory to omit all mention of the first performance +of a 'Magelone Romance,' though there is but little to record save the +fact that Stockhausen sang the opening one, the 'Keinem hat es noch +gereut,' from the manuscript, at the Philharmonic concert of April 4, as +one of a group of songs by Brahms. It produced no impression whatever on +the Hamburgers, who were only mystified. How many persons in the +audience had read Tieck's poems? How many had ever heard anything about +the adventures of Magelone and Peter? Without such knowledge, the first +and second numbers of the cycle cannot be really appreciated. To those +who are aware that the first is the song of a minstrel who incites a +valiant young hero to journey to distant lands in quest of adventure, +and the second the exultant shout of the joyful aspirant as he rides +forth from his parents' home, resolved on doughty deeds, the music +becomes living, and seems to breathe forth the very spirit of chivalry. +The third, fourth, and some other of the songs, notably the ninth--the +ravishing 'Ruhe Süssliebchen'--are capable of telling a tale of their +own, and give rich delight apart from their place in Tieck's version of +the story; but the enjoyment even of these favourite and familiar songs +is much heightened by an acquaintance with the incidents of the romance. +Tieck's 'Beautiful Magelone' is contained in his 'Phantasus,' a +collection of tales published between 1812 and 1816, some of which have +been made familiar to English readers by the translations of Hare, +Froude, and Carlyle. The 'Magelone' story of the book is a modernized +version of an old romance of chivalry, and, by introducing into it a +number of songs, Tieck furnished the opportunity seized upon more than +forty years later by Brahms, to which the world is indebted for some of +the composer's most perfect inspirations. + +To provide in this place the much-needed clue to their connexion with +the events of the tale would cause too serious an interruption to our +narrative. The author has therefore added, in Appendix II., an account +of the romance and the incidence of Tieck's songs, which it is hoped may +interest the reader and increase his love for the compositions. + +Brahms continued to make Frau Dr. Rösing's house his headquarters, and +remained there during most of the spring and summer of 1862. Before +going to Oldenburg in March, he had written to Dietrich: 'It is +delightful here in Hamm, and unless I look out of window at the bare +trees I fancy summer is come, the sunlight plays in the room so, gaily.' +Later it was: 'It is blooming splendidly, and the trees are blossoming +in Hamm, so that it is a joy.' He occupied his leisure in similar +agreeable pursuits to those of the preceding year, and now in the +springtime a double choir of maidens and nightingales might often be +heard by the passer-by, carolling together as if in mutual emulation of +the others' song. He begged, later on, for photographs of his girls' +quartet and of the two houses, and said that he neither remembered nor +saw before him a happier time than that he had passed in Hamm. The +sisters met their fate in due time. Each married a distinguished +violinist, and Concertmeister Otto von Königslow of Cologne and +Professor John Böie of Altona were amongst the most active admirers of +Brahms' art. The composer remained on terms of intimacy with the entire +Völckers family, and never failed, when occasionally staying at Hamburg +during the later years of his career, to visit both the Böies and the +Stones. + +Avé Lallement, who would gladly have seen Johannes settled in Hamburg as +conductor of the Philharmonic, says, in a letter written in the early +spring of the year to Dr. Löwe of Zürich: + + 'We had the "Matthew Passion" here under Grund; Brahms also was + delighted, in spite of the defective performance. He thinks of + going to Vienna in the autumn; then I shall be quite alone, but + thank God I have learnt to know the man so well. I have come a good + piece forward through him.' + +The pianoforte quartets finished, the composer was now busy with the +great work which we know as a quintet for pianoforte and strings. It was +finished in its first form--a string quintet with two violoncelli--by +the end of the summer. When tried a year later by Joachim and his +colleagues, the effect of the work was found insufficiently sonorous for +its great material, and Brahms arranged it as a sonata for two +pianofortes, and subsequently as a quintet for pianoforte and strings. +We shall have occasion later on to make particular mention of the first +public, and of an early private, performance of the sonata version. + +Brahms and Dietrich met at the Rhine Festival given this year at Cologne +(June 8-10), where they made the artistic and personal acquaintance of +Frau Louise Dustmann, court chamber singer, and of the court opera, +Vienna, whom Brahms knew well in later years. From Cologne they +proceeded to Münster-am-Stein, taking lodgings together near Frau +Schumann, who was staying there with her family. From Münster Dietrich +wrote to his wife: + + 'The longer I am with Brahms, the more my affection and esteem for + him increase. His nature is equally lovable, cheerful, and deep. He + often teases the ladies, certainly, by making jokes with a serious + air which are frequently taken in earnest, especially by Frau + Schumann. This leads to comical and frequently dangerous arguments, + in which I usually act as mediator, for Brahms is fond of + strengthening such misunderstandings, in order to have the laugh on + his side in the end. This to me attractive humorous trait is, I + think, the reason why he is so often misunderstood. He can, + however, be very quiet and serious if necessary.' + +Brahms and Dietrich composed industriously in the mornings; the +afternoons and evenings were occupied with excursions or music, and at +this time Brahms showed his friend an early version of the first +movement of his C minor Symphony, not completed until fourteen years +later. The six 'Magelone Romances' were pronounced by Dietrich to be +amongst the finest works yet produced by their composer. + +The Sextet in B flat, the Handel Variations, and the horns and harp +Songs for women's Chorus, were published this year by Simrock. Two works +in the hands of Rieter-Biedermann--the Marienlieder for mixed Chorus and +the Variations for Pianoforte Duet Op. 23--appeared at the end of 1862 +or the beginning of 1863.[95] + +The Marienlieder, seven in number, to be sung _a capella_, are not +sacred compositions. They are settings of old texts founded upon some of +the medieval legends that grew up around the history of the Virgin, and +are delightfully fresh examples of the pure style of part-writing of +which Brahms had made himself a master. In spite of the restricted means +at the disposal of the composer who elects to forego, for the nonce, all +but the few diatonic harmonies alone available in this style, there is a +something about these attractive little pieces which allows Brahms' +individuality to be distinctly felt. If, as is inevitable, they carry +back the mind of the listener to the choral music of the sixteenth +century, they recall the style of the early German, rather than of +either of the Italian, schools. Perhaps the most fascinating of the set +is No. 2, entitled 'Mary's Church-going.' Mary, on her way to church, +comes to a deep lake, and, finding a young boatman standing ready, +requests him to ferry her over, promising him whatever he may like best +in return. The boatman answers that he will do what she asks provided +she will become his housewife; but Mary, replying that she will swim +across rather than consent to the suggestion, jumps into the water. When +she is half-way to the other side, the church bells suddenly begin to +ring, loudly, softly, all together. Mary, on her safe arrival, kneels on +a stone in prayer, and the boatman's heart breaks. The first five verses +are composed strophically (each like the other) for two sopranos, +contralto, and tenor, in E flat minor, and are marked _piano_. The bass +enters with the sixth verse, composed in E flat major, and, whilst the +whole choir bursts into a jubilant _forte_, keeps up a movement in +concert, first with the tenor and then with the soprano, suggestive of +bell-ringing. The concluding words return to the setting of the first +five verses, and by this means the little composition is rounded into +definite shape. + +The Variations are amongst the most beautiful of Brahms' many fine +achievements in this particular domain, and present for admiration +conspicuous qualities of their own arising from the opportunities +offered by their composition in duet form. The theme on which they are +founded is that supposed by Schumann to have been brought to him in the +night three weeks before his malady reached its crisis. The work is +dedicated to Fräulein Julie Schumann, the master's third daughter. + +And now, in a few weeks, the period of Brahms' career which is to be +especially associated with Hamburg was to close. He would gladly have +strengthened his ties with the city to which he was so proud to belong, +but, as we shall see, his compatriots would have none of him. Twice in +the coming years they passed him by, and when the time at length +arrived in which they would willingly have proclaimed the world-famous +composer as their own special prophet, his interests and affections had +become too deeply rooted within the city that he made his second home to +be capable of a second transplantation. + +Brahms quitted Hamburg for his first visit to Vienna on September 8. +That he expected to return speedily is evident from the lines sent by +him to Dietrich on the eve of his departure: + + 'DEAR FRIEND, + + 'I am leaving on Monday _for Vienna_! I look forward to it like a + child. + + 'Of course I do not know how long I shall stay; we will leave it + open, and I hope we may meet some time during the winter. + + 'The C minor Symphony is not ready; on the other hand, a string + quintet (2 v.celli) in F minor is finished. I should like to send + it you and hear what you have to say about it, and yet I prefer to + take it with me. + + 'Herewith my Handel Variations; the Marienlieder are not yet here. + + 'Greet all the Oldenburg friends. + + 'Pray do not leave me quite without letters. You might address for + the present to Haslinger, or to Wessely and Büsing. + + 'Heartiest farewell meanwhile, dear Albert, to you and your wife. + + 'Your JOHANNES.' + +'Father,' said Brahms, looking slyly at his father as he said good-bye, +'if things should be going badly with you, music is always the best +consolation; go and study my old "Saul"--you will find comfort there.' + +He had thickly interlarded the volume with bank-notes.[96] + +It is highly interesting to possess a clear conception of Brahms' +achievements as a composer, and, therewith, of his exact title to +consideration at this important moment of his career. This will be best +obtained by a glance at the list of the chief completed works with +which he was to present himself in the city associated with the most +hallowed memories of his art. His departure for Vienna is by no means to +be regarded as coincident with the close of any one period of his +creative activity, though it emphatically marks the end, not only of a +chapter, but of the first book of his life. + +LIST OF BRAHMS' CHIEF COMPLETED WORKS ON HIS DEPARTURE FOR VIENNA. + +Pianoforte Solos: + + Three Sonatas. + Scherzo. + Variations on Schumann's theme in F sharp minor. + Variations on an original theme. + Variations on a Hungarian song. + Variations and Fugue on Handel's theme. + +Pianoforte Duet: Variations on a theme by Schumann. + +Pianoforte with Orchestra: Concerto in D minor. + +Orchestral: Two Serenades. + +Chamber music: + + Sextet in B flat for Strings. + Trio in B major for Pianoforte and Strings. + Quartet in G minor " " " " + Quartet in A major " " " " + +Songs: + + Five books (thirty songs). + 'Magelone Romances' (first six). + +Vocal Duets: two books. + +Three Vocal Quartets. + +Women's Chorus: + + 'Ave Maria.' + Part-songs. + +Mixed Chorus: + + Begräbnissgesang. + Marienlieder. + The 13th Psalm. + Motets. + Sacred Song. + +The newly-finished String Quintet is not included in the list, as the +work was not published in this its first form. The Hungarian Dances, as +being arrangements, are also omitted. + +[92] Max Kalbeck, p. 458. + +[93] First published in Hübbe's 'Brahms in Hamburg,' pp. 42-44. + +[94] Dietrich. + +[95] The Variations are dated 1866 in the published catalogue. + +[96] Max Kalbeck, p. 497. The reader must be reminded that at this +period German bank-notes frequently represented but small sums. + + + + +APPENDICES + + + + +I. + +MUSICAL FORM--ABSOLUTE MUSIC--PROGRAMME-MUSIC--BERLIOZ AND WAGNER + + +The word Form, as applied to instrumental music, is synonymous with +Design. A movement is built up on a certain ground-plan, the outlines of +which are constructed according to some given arrangement of keys, or +melodies, or both, which secures symmetry for the work and facilitates +its presentment as a whole to the intelligence of the hearer. A chief +element in musical form is recurrence, the simplest illustration of +which--three sections of which the third repeats the first (A, B, A)--is +to be found in a vast number of folk-melodies. + +The main source to which the instrumental music of classical art owes +its primitive origin is the Folk-melody, whether of dance or of song. +This Folk-melody was entirely naïve, and as free from the imitative or +pictorial, as from the reflective, element. The dance-melody was +conditioned by the rhythm of the dance. The song-melody, also rhythmical +as distinct from declamatory, more or less reflected the sentiment of +the text; verses of a joyous character naturally suggested joyous tunes, +those of a plaintive character, plaintive tunes; but the ideas +constituting the melody were essentially musical thoughts, and contained +no attempt at pictorial illustration of the subject of the words; the +melody formed from them was Absolute music. + +In process of time these melodies came to be treated apart from their +text or their dance, and new ones were invented whose primary object was +not the dance or the song, but the gratification of the ear and +intelligence by the pleasing succession of musical phrases. Instrumental +movements were constructed, and these bore unmistakable impress of their +descent, since the ideas and series of ideas forming them were +rhythmical and symmetrical. + +It is obviously impossible in the short space at our disposal even to +touch upon the history of the process by which early instrumental pieces +of a few bars have gradually developed into the elaborate movements of +classical art, but, by sketching as slightly as possible two of the +forms, one or other of which underlies the vast majority of the +instrumental works of modern classical music, we hope to enable all our +readers to follow the allusions to Form in our text, which must be +understood to include other forms than these, but such as have in common +with them the essential element of design or symmetry. + +The Rondo-form has been used by composers of almost all periods, and +has, in modern times, developed into two large varieties. The idea from +which it originated is best realized by reference to the old rondeau +dance-song, the design of which is simplicity itself. A short melody +sung several times in chorus was alternated with others contributed by +solo voices, which were sometimes called 'couplets,' and which are now +generally termed 'episodes.' The form required two, and permitted any +number, of episodes, each of which was bound to furnish a new melody. +The performance terminated as it began, with the chorus. The form, +therefore, may be thus represented: A, B, A, C, A, _ad libitum_. + +The reader will find many examples of the early eighteenth-century +instrumental Rondo in Couperin's 'Pièces de Clavecin,' published in +Paris in 1713, and edited for republication by Brahms (Chrysander's +'Denkmäler der Tonkunst'). With these he may compare the great +rondo-movement of Beethoven's Sonata in C major, Op. 53. + +The so-called Sonata-form underlies the immense majority of the first +movements composed by the great masters of the last century and a +half--the first movements, not only of those works for pianoforte solo +or pianoforte and another instrument which are called by the name +sonata, but of trios, quartets, and so forth, and of symphonies, which +are, in fact, sonatas for orchestra. + +A movement in Sonata-form consists of three essential parts--the +Statement or Exposition of themes, the 'thematic material'; their +Development; their Repetition. To these was formerly appended a short +Coda, which has gradually developed, and now frequently extends to the +dimensions of a fourth part. + +The first part, the Statement, is itself divided into two sections, not +necessarily or even generally of equal duration, marked by difference of +tonality. The first is dominated by the tonic key of the movement. It +contains the First Subject, which may be either short and concise, of +sixteen or even eight bars only, or of several different paragraphs; a +principal idea and subordinate themes. The second section is dominated +by some other key; formerly, in a major movement by that of the +dominant, in a minor movement by that of the relative major or dominant +minor. It contains the Second Subject, a new melody followed or not by +subordinate themes. These two sections are connected by a modulatory +'bridge passage,' which leads the ear from the first to the second +principal key of the Statement, and which used generally to come to a +pause on the dominant harmony of the new key in preparation for the +entry of the Second Subject. The Statement closes, with or without a +Codetta, in the key of the Second Subject. Formerly it was invariably +played twice, its termination being followed by a double bar with +repetition marks. + +The second part of the movement, the Development, sometimes called the +Free Fantasia or the Working-out, is what its name implies. It is +constructed from the material of the Statement, which the composer works +or develops according to his fancy, using either or both of his +subjects, his bridge passage, his codetta, entire or in part, alone or +combined, with much or little modulation to near or distant keys, just +as he pleases. The Development part of the movement is not visibly and +mechanically cut off from what follows it by a double bar like the +Statement, nor does it end with a final cadence, but usually closes with +some sort of half-cadence--formerly it was the typical one, a pause on +the dominant--which leads to the third part of the movement, the +Repetition. + +In this the Statement is repeated, modified by the circumstance that +both its sections are dominated by the tonic key of the movement, in +which the Second Subject as well as the First is heard, such modulations +as may have occurred in the Statement being represented in the +Repetition with the changes required by this fact. + +The Coda is more often than not retrospective, but its character and +arrangement are at the discretion of the composer, provided that it +gives sufficient emphasis to the original key to leave the mind of the +hearer impressed with the tonality of the movement. + +We have not troubled the reader in this short sketch with the varieties +or exceptions to be found in the works of the great composers of the +period indicated above. Their movements in this form, whether we examine +those of the simple sonatina or of the complex symphony, will be found, +broadly speaking, to conform to our description. A very clear +illustration of the outlines of Sonata-form may be studied in the first +movement of Beethoven's Sonata in G major, Op. 14, No. 2. + +The developed instrumental movements of classical art, capable of +stirring the highest aspirations of which the spirit of man is capable, +are, like the short pieces from which they have sprung, constructed from +'musical ideas'--ideas, that is to say, which act upon the nerves, +emotions, intellect of the listener, directly through the sense of +sound, and are not dependent for their effect upon intermediate mental +translation into images perceptible to the mind's eye, the vision of +imagination. This does not mean that a composer of pure music never is +and never may be pictorial, but the cases in which he is so are, as it +were, accidental, and the pictorial element in a given work is not of +the essence of his art, but is something added to it, something, +moreover, which does not affect the value of the composition as a work +of art. A composer of Absolute music may indeed, and often does, +stimulate his imagination by recalling a poem, a legend, a scene of +nature or life; and either of these may leave a more or less definite +impress on his music; whilst a title or a motto placed above a short +pianoforte piece, an orchestral overture, or, in very few cases, a +symphony, may sometimes stimulate the hearer's appreciation; but the +music is not in such a case to be taken as 'meaning' this or that in +detail. The composer aims at making his movement a work of art complete +in itself, and relies for his effects upon his musical thoughts and +their treatment as such, though he may be willing to let his hearers +know that his fancy was encouraged by extraneous aid. + +The listener may, on the other hand, if it assist his enjoyment, attach +his own 'meaning' to what he hears, but he must understand that this is +relative to himself only. No one can assure him that his 'meaning' is +right or wrong. The music as such should stand high above such +interpretations, and, if it is to fulfil its supreme destiny, must speak +directly to the soul in its own infinite language of sound, infinite +just because it is capable of transcending the defined objects of sight. + +Vocal forms have always necessarily been to a great extent dependent on +the text chosen for musical treatment. Nevertheless, certain vocal forms +have been developed--the aria, the ballad, the lied, the +ensemble--which, though freer than those of instrumental music, have the +common characteristics of symmetry more or less, and of rhythmic melody +as distinct from the mere accentuation of the recitative. + +The Art-song of the classical masters, whether for one or more voices, +mirrors, like its parent the Folk-song, the sentiment of the text, but +is not pictorial. Its instrumental accompaniment may, and at times does, +reflect or emphasize the suggestion of the words, but it does not +attempt to imitate or illustrate in detail the images which they +represent; or only in an insignificant number of instances, which may be +classed with the cases to which we have referred in our remarks upon +instrumental music. + +A good deal of confusion prevailed in the mind of the general musical +public of the middle of the nineteenth century as to the views held by +the musicians of the New-German party, and it has not been cleared away +even at the present day. This has resulted chiefly from the fact that, +like many another body of radical reformers, they were by no means at +one as to the positive articles of their faith. + +It is far from the desire of the present writer to enter into a lengthy +discussion of vexed controversies which time alone can settle. The +object of this appendix is simply to assist the general reader to follow +certain allusions and incidents in the text of the narrative, and +especially to make clear how it was that Brahms, an uncompromising +champion of musical tradition, whose very existence as an artist was +staked on the vitality of Absolute music, could deeply respect the art +of Wagner. With these ends only in view, it is proposed to limit the few +words to be said here to the attempt to show what the fundamental +difference was which separated the methods of Berlioz and Wagner, the +two giants of the Weimar party, in their efforts to establish a basis +for the Music of the Future so far as they conceived this could be +achieved by the closer union of the arts of instrumental music and +poetry. + +Berlioz (1803-1869) has been accepted as the typical champion of what is +called Programme-music. The question as to what is to be understood by +this term, however, has become very difficult to answer, because +nowadays anything may become a programme or supply a label. A poem, a +romance, or a commonplace situation of everyday life; an emotion, a +series of emotions, or the individuality of a man or woman; or, again, +the emotion or mental action which a certain personality may excite in +another. If, however, we restrict the question and examine only what +meaning attaches to the term Programme-music as applied to Berlioz's +instrumental works, the answer is that the composer is so intent on +conveying, as an essential part of his movements, definite and detailed +ideas outside the art of sound _per se_, which he finds in certain poems +or plays or narratives, that he not only places verbal headings above +them, but in many cases prefaces his works with an explanation minutely +describing the scenes which they are intended to represent point by +point, or the emotions that he desires to excite at successive steps of +their progress. Such detailed labels and expositions are what is +commonly termed the Programme. + +However the purpose be described which Berlioz thus set himself to +fulfil, whether it be said that the music was to absorb or to clothe the +poem, to translate or reflect it, it is obvious that, if words have any +real meaning, its ultimate _raison d'être_ was to be either imitative +or, at best, illustrative. Instrumental music necessarily becomes one or +the other the moment that material outside the domain of sound is +accepted as of its essence, and it is thereby debased from the level of +the fine art of sound. If it be said that the object of the programme is +to be a sort of guide-post to the emotions or sentiments to which the +music is addressed, the position becomes worse, for the incapacity of +the musician as such stands confessed. The union of poetry and music in +the sense of the instrumental Programme composer is, from the point of +view of the creator of Absolute music, fatal, not only to the dignity, +but to the vital force, of both arts. The poem becomes a phantom, the +music a conundrum; the listener wastes his time and fancy in trying to +fit them together, and is without means of knowing how far he has been +successful, and the product of these processes is a something which, in +the words of Wagner, is neither fish nor fowl. + +Whatever may be the ultimate fate of Berlioz's works, his immense +capacity, the extraordinary sensitiveness and force of his imagination +of tone-colour, and his phenomenal mastery of the resources of the +orchestra, have insured the survival of his name. If on no other +account, it will live as that of the creator of the complex art of +instrumentation in its modern sense, which was assimilated by Wagner and +developed by him in his dramas with vitalizing energy. + +Very far removed from Berlioz's position was that of Wagner (1813-1883), +who not only implied his disbelief in Programme-music by his practice, +but expressly recorded it by direct avowal, and illustrated his remarks +by references to Berlioz's works.[97] If, as may be the case, he +received his first impulse as a reformer from Berlioz, he clearly saw +the fallacies in which the theories of the French musician were +involved, and avoided them in a sufficiently convincing manner. He +perceived, firstly, that the rejection of a future for Absolute music +was the same thing as the rejection of a future independent art of +sound; secondly, that a union of instrumental music with poetry in +Berlioz's sense meant that the function of music must be illustrative; +thirdly, that the subject to be illustrated by musical sound must be +presented to the perception of the audience in as real and indubitable a +manner as the illustration; that, as the musical illustration was to be +heard, so the subject illustrated must be seen. + +Having boldly faced his premises, a splendid vision dawned upon his +imagination, and he shrank from no consequences which they involved. + +Rejecting the future existence not only of music, but also of poetry, as +a separate art, he predicted for both a future, as co-ordinate elements +with action and scenic effect, of a larger art, the drama, the object of +which he explained to be dramatic truth. Concentrating his immense +energies upon a reform of the stage, he adopted as his fundamental +principle that of a return, in the modern sense, to the practice of +Greek Tragedy. He substituted musical declamation of a very +highly-developed order for the rhythmic melody and symmetrical movements +of opera. Relinquishing the aria, the scena, the regularly-constructed +ensemble linked by _recitativo secco_, which he conceived to be +contradictory and obstructive to dramatic truth, his method was to set +his poem to a glorified species of recitative, called by him the Melos, +and to support and give it additional force and vividness by a gorgeous +illustrative orchestral accompaniment, its other self. An important +feature in his scheme, which is to be regarded as his substitute for the +Subject of traditional form, was the adoption and development of the +Leitmotif, a device employed to some extent by Weber in 'Der +Freischütz,' and by Berlioz. By it the successive appearances on the +stage of each prominent person of the drama, and often the anticipation +and remembrance as well as the occurrence of an important situation, are +signalized by a special harmonic progression or a particular rhythmic +figure. These became in the case of Wagner, who was his own poet, +something more than mere labels or mottoes. Growing up in his mind with +the progress of his poem, his series of Leitmotive became for him, as it +were, his musical dramatis personæ. He felt them as an inseparable part +of his persons and events, and they became with these the framework on +which his works were constructed. + +It must be clear to all unprejudiced minds that the principles which +guided the creator of the great music dramas were perfectly logical and +coherent, and that Wagner acted on them throughout the course of his +career, properly so called, with entire consistency and with magnificent +success. His error, and the error of his disciples, lay in their +arrogant and senseless propaganda of the Wagnerian articles of faith, as +expressions of the ultimate and universal principles of art. Wagner went +so far as to claim that Beethoven, recognising that instrumental music +had reached its natural term of existence, had given practical +expression to such a belief by setting Schiller's 'Ode to Joy' in the +finale of his ninth symphony. The assumption is controverted by the +facts that Beethoven composed the works known as the posthumous string +quartets, and sketched a purely instrumental tenth symphony after the +completion of the ninth. + +The rejection of a future for Absolute music is, of course, purely +arbitrary. Wagner's achievements for the stage were transcendent, but it +is even conceivable that the progress of time may sooner or later +produce a composer able successfully to champion, in a manner of his +own, the cause of rhythmic melody, of traditional form, on Wagner's own +arena, on the stage itself. + +If we examine the pretensions of the so-called larger art, the +musical Drama, versus the capacities of the several arts of poetry, +of music, of dramatic action, by the testimony of Wagner's own works, +is it possible to contend that these make for, and not against, the +wholly superfluous proposition from which he started as a reformer? +One of the reproaches frequently levelled by the New-Germans against +ante-Wagnerian opera was that its form hardly rose above the level of +an entertainment; that entertainment was its _raison d'être_. What, +however, is the ultimate result of the musical Dramas? Is it not also +entertainment--entertainment of a highly complex and luxurious form, +conceived and accomplished, certainly, in the most perfect and perfectly +consistent manner? The famous Dramas are gorgeous stage poems; but are +they so exceptionally and extraordinarily elevating to the mind? They +address the senses with exceptional power. Could either of them replace +amongst our highest possessions a really great play, a great poem, a +great symphony? The art of sound, the art of music, is and remains the +special art divine because it is capable of reaching beyond the limited +impressions of which words are the symbols, and of suggesting the +infinite. + +Let us be grateful for the splendid gifts which the genius of Wagner has +bestowed on the world. May the supreme art of music, however, be always +recognised as such. May a musical prophet again arise in due time, +capable of speaking with authority in its language--the language of +Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, of Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, +the language of Bach and of Brahms. + +[97] 'Music may accompany action, but can never become its substitute.' + +'In the case even of the best and most ideal examples [of +Programme-music] it always happened that I so completely lost the thread +that no effort enabled me to recover it,' etc. + +Wagner, at a certain period of his career, professed himself a partial +convert to Programme-music--_i.e._, as it is exemplified in the works of +Liszt; but it is scarcely possible to read his remarks at this point +without feeling that they were wrested from him by his conception of the +obligations of friendship, and the circumstances of the time. Confessing +that he finds it extremely difficult to explain himself, he says that he +leaves to others the task of developing his meaning, and returns +repeatedly to the expression of his general dislike of Programme-music. + + + + +II. + +THE MAGELONE ROMANCES + + +The story of the Count Peter of Provence and the beautiful Magelone, +Princess of Naples, which is associated with a well-known ruin on the +south coast of France, is said by Raynouard to have formed the subject +of a poem written towards the close of the twelfth century by Bernhard +de Trèves, Canon of Magelonne in Languedoc. It was adapted as a prose +romance not later than the middle of the twelfth, and printed in at +least five different editions before the end of the fifteenth, century. +Of these, rare copies are to be found in some of the famous libraries of +England and the Continent. Two editions, copies of which are in the +British Museum, were issued by Maître Guillaume Le Roy. With slight +differences of spelling they begin: + +'Au nom de notre seigneur ihesucrist, cy comm[=e]ce listoyre du vaillant +chevalier pierre filz du cote de prov[=e]ce et de la belle maguelonne +fille du roy de naples.' + +The romance is constructed from the familiar elements of medieval +fiction--chivalry, religion and love--and has been translated at various +dates into almost every European language, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, +Russian, Norse, etc. It has been republished in German many times +through the centuries since it was first done into that language +(probably in 1483), and was included by G. O. Marbach in 1838 in his +popular series of tales (Volksbücher). That it was this version of the +story that found its way into Frau Löwenherz's library and was read by +Johannes and Lischen is proved beyond doubt by its title, which is +identical with that noted down by the present writer from the lips of +Frau Denninghoff, the 'Lischen' of our biography--'Geschichte der +schönen Magelone und dem Ritter Peter mit den silbernen Schlüsseln'--and +it seems probable that Marbach obtained his tale from an edition +published in 1661 at Nürnburg: 'Historia der schönen Magelona, eines +Königs Tochter von Neaples, und einem Ritter, genannt Peter mit den +silbernen Schlüsseln, eines Grafen Sohn aus Provincia.' Of the many +editions, fifteenth and up to the nineteenth century, to which the +author has had access, no other contains in its title any mention of the +silver keys. + +Marbach's version is a fine one. Whilst he has modernized the old +romance in certain respects, he has kept, not only to the main incidents +of the tale, but to the quaint old dialogues which naïvely portray the +characters of the manly-hearted but rather weak-minded Peter and the +high-spirited, self-willed, yet tender Magelone. + +Tieck's version, published in 1812 in the first volume of the +'Phantasus,' differs considerably, especially in its particulars of the +beginning and end of the romance, from the original details of the +story. In making his alterations, the poet seems to have been chiefly +concerned to eliminate the religious element from his narrative as far +as possible, and to provide opportunity for the introduction of +seventeen songs of which Brahms composed fifteen. The tale has suffered +considerably in his hands. The general atmosphere of French medieval +fiction, with its characteristic setting of sunrise and sunset, flowers +and birds, and, in parts, the wording of the old romance, have, however, +been preserved, and we may be grateful to Tieck for the poems which have +placed us in possession of Brahms' beautiful song-cycle. + +We propose to give an abridgment of his narrative up to a certain point +and to summarize ensuing details, which become prolix and involved in +all the versions. We shall insert only the first few lines of each song. + + +HOW A STRANGE SINGER CAME TO THE COURT OF PROVENCE. + +A long time ago, a Count reigned in Provence whose beautiful and noble +son grew up the joy of his parents. He was big and strong and his +shining fair hair flowed round his neck and shaded his tender, youthful +face. Then he was well proved in arms; no one in or beyond the land +managed the lance and sword as he, so that he was admired by great and +small, young and old, noble and simple. He was often absent-minded as +though meditating on some secret desire, and many experienced people +concluded that he must be in love, but none of them would awaken him +from his thoughts, for they knew that love is like the vision of a +dream, which is apt, if disturbed, to vanish and return to its dwelling +in the ether and the golden mists of morning. + +His father gave a great tournament to which many knights were invited. +It was a wonder to see how the tender youth hove the best and strongest +from their saddles. He was lauded by everyone, but no praise made him +proud; indeed he sometimes felt ashamed at overcoming such great and +worthy knights. Amongst the guests was a singer who had seen many lands; +he was no knight, but he surpassed many nobles in insight and +experience. He made friends with Peter and praised him uncommonly, but +concluded his talk with these words: Sir Knight, if I might advise you, +you should not remain here, but should see other places and other men, +to improve your ideas and learn to associate the strange with the +familiar. He took his lute and sang, + + No one yet hath rued the day + When on charger mounting + Youthful-strong he sped away, + Pain nor peril counting, etc. + +The youth listened to the song: when it was at an end, he remained +awhile sunk in thought; then said: Yes, now I know what I want; many +variegated pictures pass through my mind. No greater joy for a young +knight than to ride through valley and over field. Here in the morning +sunshine stands a stately castle, there over the meadow sounds the +shepherd's shawm; a noble maiden flies by on a white palfrey. Oh, I wish +I were already on my good horse. Heated by these new thoughts, he went +at once to his mother's chamber where he found his father also. Peter +immediately sank on one knee and made his request that his parents would +allow him to travel and seek adventures: for, thus he concluded his +speech, he who only stays at home keeps a narrow mind during his whole +life, but by travel, one learns to associate the strange with the +familiar; therefore do not refuse me your consent. + +The old Count said: My son, your request appears to me unsuitable, for +you are my only heir; if I should die in your absence, what would become +of my land? But Peter kept to his request, whereat his mother began to +weep and said to him: Dear, only son, you have never tasted trouble, and +see only your beautiful hopes before you, but remember that if you +depart, a thousand difficulties may confront you; you may be miserable +and wish yourself back with us. + +Peter remained humbly on his knees and answered: Beloved parents, I +cannot help it. My only wish is to travel into the wide world, to +experience pleasure and sorrow there and to return a known and honoured +man. For this you travelled in your youth, my father, and brought home +my mother from a strange land. Let me seek a like fortune, I beg for +this with tears. + +He took the lute and sang the song which he had heard from the minstrel, +and at the end he wept bitterly. The parents were moved, especially the +mother; she said: Well, I, for my part, will give you my blessing, dear +son, for what you have said is true. The father also rose and blessed +him, and Peter was glad from his heart that he had received his parents' +consent. + +Orders were given to prepare everything for his departure, and his +mother sent for him to come to her privately. She gave him three +precious rings and said: See, my son, I have kept these three precious +rings carefully from my youth. Take them with you and treasure them, and +if you find a maiden whom you love, and who is inclined towards you, you +may give them to her. He gratefully kissed her hand, and the morning +came on which he took leave. + + +HOW THE KNIGHT PETER DEPARTED FROM HIS PARENTS. + +When Peter was ready to mount his horse, his father blessed him again +and said: My son, may good fortune ever accompany you so that we may see +you back again healthy and strong; think constantly of the precepts I +have impressed upon your tender youth; seek good, and avoid evil, +company; honour the laws of knighthood and never forget them, for they +are the noblest thoughts of the noblest men in their best hours; always +be loyal even though you may be deceived, for the touchstone of the +brave is that though he may seldom meet honourable men, he remain true +to himself. Farewell! + +Peter rode away without attendance, for, like many young knights, he +wished to remain unknown. The sun had risen gloriously, and the fresh +dew sparkled on the meadows. Peter was in cheerful spirits and spurred +on his good horse so that it sprang boldly forward. An old song rang in +his head and he sang it out loud: + + Yes! arrow on bow + Shall swiftly be laid + To humble the foe, + The helpless to aid, etc. + +He arrived, after many days' journey, at the famous city of Naples. He +had heard much talk on his way of the King and his surpassingly +beautiful daughter Magelone, so that he was very anxious to see her face +to face. He dismounted at an inn to ask for news, and heard from the +host that a distinguished knight, Sir Henry of Carpone, had come and +that a splendid tournament was to be held in his honour. He learned, +also, that entrance would be allowed to strangers who appeared equipped +according to the laws of tourney. Peter at once resolved to be present +to try his dexterity and strength. + + +PETER SEES THE BEAUTIFUL MAGELONE. + +When the day of the tournament arrived, Peter put on his armour and +betook himself to the lists. He had had two beautiful silver keys of +uncommonly fine workmanship placed upon his helmet, and had caused his +shield and the cover of his horse to be likewise ornamented with keys. +This he did for the sake of his name and in honour of the Apostle Peter, +whom he greatly loved. He had recommended himself to his care and +protection from his youth and therefore chose this token, as he wished +to remain unknown. + +A herald rode forward and with sound of trumpet proclaimed the +tournament that was opened to the honour of the beautiful Magelone. She +herself sat on an elevated balcony and looked down on the assemblage of +knights. Peter looked up but could not see her distinctly as she was too +far off.... + +... Peter opposed the knight in the lists and soon threw him from his +horse, so that everyone marvelled at his strength; he did more, for in a +short time he had emptied every saddle so that none remained to tilt +against him. Then everyone desired to know the name of the strange +knight, and the King of Naples himself sent his herald to learn it, but +Peter humbly begged leave to remain unknown until he should have become +worthy by his deeds to name himself, and this answer pleased the King. + +It was not long before another tournament was held, and the beautiful +Magelone secretly hoped that the knight with the silver keys might again +be visible, for she loved him, but had as yet confided this to no one, +since first love is despondent and holds itself a traitor. She grew red +as Peter again entered the lists in his conspicuous armour. She gazed at +him steadily, and he was victor in every contest; at length she felt no +more surprise, for it seemed to her as though it could not be otherwise. +At last the tournament was over. Peter had again won great praise and +honour. + +The King sent to invite him to his table; he sat opposite the Princess +and was amazed at her beauty. She constantly looked kindly at him, which +caused him the greatest confusion. His talk pleased the King, and his +noble and strong appearance astonished the attendants. In the hall he +found opportunity to speak alone with the Princess, and she invited him +to come again often, upon which he took leave; she sent him away at +length with another very kind glance. + +Peter went through the streets as if intoxicated. He hurried into a +beautiful garden and walked up and down with folded arms, now slowly, +now quickly, without being able to understand how the hours passed. He +heard nothing around him, for music within him drowned the whispering of +the trees and the rippling murmur of the fountains. A thousand times he +spoke the name Magelone and then was suddenly afraid that he had called +it loudly through the garden. Towards evening a sweet music sounded, and +now he sat down on the grass behind a bush and wept. It seemed to him as +though heaven had for the first time displayed its beauty, and yet this +feeling made him unhappy. He saw the grace of the Princess floating on +the silver waves; she appeared like sunrise in the darkening night, and +the stars stood still, trees were quiet, and the winds hushed. Now the +last accents of the music sounded, the trees rustled again and the +fountains grew louder. Peter roused himself and softly sang the +following song: + + Is it gladness that is ringing, + Is it sorrow, in my heart? + Now a thousand flow'rs are springing + And all former joys depart, etc. + +He was somewhat comforted and swore to win his love or to die. Late at +night he returned to the inn, sat down in his room, and repeated every +word the Princess had said to him. Now he thought he had reason to +rejoice, then he was again troubled and in doubt. He wished to write to +his father, but could only address Magelone, and then he reproached +himself for his absence of mind in venturing to write to her whom he did +not know. At length he lay down; slumber overcame him, and wonderful +visions of love and flight, solitary forests and storms at sea, visited +his chamber and covered the bare walls as with beautiful variegated +hangings. + + +HOW THE KNIGHT SENT MAGELONE A MESSAGE. + +During the night Magelone was as restless as her unknown knight. She +went often to the window and looked down thoughtfully into the garden. +She listened to the rustling trees, looked at the stars mirrored in the +sea, reproached the stranger because he was not standing before her +window, then wept because she thought it impossible. When she closed her +eyes she saw the tournament and the beloved unknown looking up with +longing hope. Now she fed on these fancies, now she scolded herself. +Towards morning she fell into a light slumber. + +At last she resolved to confess her inclination to her beloved nurse. In +a confidential evening hour she said to her: Dear nurse, something has +for a long time been weighing upon me which almost crushes my heart; I +must, at length, tell it you and you must help me with your motherly +counsel, for I do not know any longer how to advise myself. The nurse +answered: Confide in me, dear child; it is for this that I am older, and +love you as a mother, that I may assist you to good purpose, for youth +never knows how to help itself. + +When the Princess heard these words she became more courageous and +confidential and said: Oh, Gertrude have you observed the unknown knight +with the silver keys? But of course you have, for he is the only one +worth notice; all the others serve but to glorify him, to circle his +head with the sunshine of fame. He is the one man, the most beautiful +youth, the bravest hero. Since I saw him my eyes have become useless, +for they now see only my thoughts in which he dwells in all his glory. +If I only knew that he were of high race I would place all my hopes on +him; but he cannot come from an unworthy house, who then could be called +noble? Oh, answer, comfort me, dear nurse, and give me counsel. + +When the nurse heard these words she was frightened and said: Dear +child, I have long expected that you would confide to me who it is that +you love of the nobles of this or another kingdom, for the highest of +the land and even kings desire you. But why have you placed your +inclination upon a stranger of whom no one knows whence he came? I +tremble lest the King, your father, should observe your love. The +Princess became much agitated whilst the nurse was speaking, and when +she ceased, vehemently reproached her for calling the knight who was so +near her heart a stranger.... Oh, go and seek him, Gertrude, and find +out his rank and his name. He will not keep them secret if I ask them, +for I would keep no secrets from him. + +When the morning came the nurse went to church to pray for guidance and +perceived the knight also kneeling in devout prayer. When he rose, he +approached and greeted her politely, for he had seen her at Court. She +gave him the Princess's message and asked his name and his rank: because +it did not become so noble a man to remain hidden. + +Peter rejoiced, for he perceived that Magelone loved him. He begged +leave to keep his name concealed a little longer, but ended his talk +with the nurse by saying: Tell the Princess that I am of noble lineage, +and that my ancestors are famed in history books. Meanwhile take this +remembrance and let it be a little reward for your welcome message which +has brought back hope to me. + +He gave the nurse one of his rings and she was glad, because she knew +from it that he must be of high descent. He modestly gave her, also, a +leaf of parchment, saying he did so in the hope that the Princess would +read some words that he had written down in the sentiment of his love. + + Love drew near from distant places, + No attendant in her train, + Beckon'd me, nor called in vain, + Held me fast in sweet embraces, etc. + +The song touched Magelone deeply; it was like the echo of her own +feeling. She persuaded the nurse to give her the ring in exchange for +another trinket, and before going to rest at night she hung it by a +chain of pearls to her neck. She dreamed of a garden, nightingales, +music, love, and of another ring even more precious than the first. In +the morning she told her dream to the nurse, who became thoughtful, for +she saw that the happiness or unhappiness of the Princess was fixed on +the unknown knight. + + +HOW THE KNIGHT SENT MAGELONE A RING. + +The nurse tried to see Peter again and found him in church. He went to +her directly and asked after the Princess. The nurse told him she had +kept the ring and had read his words; she also mentioned Magelone's +dream. Peter grew red with joy and said: Ah, dear nurse, tell her all I +feel and that I must die of longing if I do not speak to her soon; if, +however, I may talk with her face to face, I will reveal to her my rank +and my name. All my desire is to win her for my wife. Give her this ring +also and pray her to keep it as a little token. The nurse hastened back +to Magelone, who ran to meet her and asked for news. See, cried the +Princess, this is the ring I dreamed of. A leaf contained this song: + + Does pity so tender + Tell love's sweet surrender? + Oh, am I awake? + The fountains are springing, + The streams softly singing, + And all for love's sake. + + +HOW THE KNIGHT RECEIVED ANOTHER MESSAGE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MAGELONE. + +Peter again met the nurse in church. She asked him to swear to her his +honourable intentions, and, when he had taken his oath, promised to help +him and the Princess. She told Peter to prepare to go, to-morrow +afternoon, through the secret garden-gate to her room to see Magelone +there, and ended by saying: I will leave you alone, that you may speak +out your hearts to each other. + +After telling him the hour at which he was to go through the gate, she +left. Peter was distracted with joy, and it seemed to him that the time +stood still until the evening hours. He sat up late at night without a +light, looking at the clouds and stars, his heart beating violently. At +length he slept. All the next morning he was unable to calm himself, so +at last he took a lute and sang: + + Oh, how shall I measure + The joy of our meeting? + My spirit's wild beating + Acclaimeth my soul's only treasure. + + +HOW PETER VISITED THE BEAUTIFUL MAGELONE. + +When the nurse brought Peter to her room he trembled and was very +frightened, and both he and Magelone were much confused. Magelone could +scarcely help rising and going towards him. She controlled herself, +however, and remained seated. The nurse left the room and Peter sank on +one knee before the Princess. Magelone gave him her beautiful hand and +told him to rise and sit near her. Peter told the Princess that all his +life was consecrated to her. He gave her the third ring, which was the +most precious of all, and in doing so kissed her hand.... Then she took +a costly gold chain and hung it round his neck, and said: Herewith I +take you as mine. Here she took the frightened knight in her arms and +kissed him, and he returned the kiss and pressed her to his heart. When +they were obliged to part, Peter hastened at once to his room. He walked +up and down with great strides and at length seized his instrument, +kissed the strings and wept. Then he sang with great fervour: + + Were they thine on which these lips were pressing, + Thine the frankly-offered, tender kiss? + Dwells in earthly living so much bliss? + Ha! what light and life were in thy sweet confessing, + All my senses tremble in its blessing! etc. + + +A TOURNAMENT IN HONOUR OF THE BEAUTIFUL MAGELONE. + +The King of Naples much wished his daughter to be soon married to the +knight, Henry of Carpone, who had now waited at Naples a long time for +this purpose, and he proclaimed another tournament more splendid than +any that had gone before it. Many famous knights came from Italy and +France, and Peter was victor over all. + +When it was over he went to see Magelone; he had now visited her pretty +often, and thought he would like to try her, so he said that he should +now be obliged to leave her and go and be with his parents. Magelone +wept very much, but as Peter persisted she at length gave way, and said: +Go, then, I shall die. Peter rejoiced at this and told her he would not +leave her. + +Magelone, however, became thoughtful, and after she had reflected for a +while, said to the knight that her father would soon marry her to Sir +Henry of Carpone, and that therefore it would, perhaps, be better for +Peter to return to his father and mother and to take her with him. She +desired him to have two good horses ready the next night at the +garden-gate: But let them be swift and strong, for if we were to be +overtaken we should all be miserable. + +The youth heard the Princess with joyful surprise. He said it would be +best to take her to his parents, and that the horses should be ready. +Magelone did not confide their intention even to the nurse for fear lest +she should betray them. + +Peter took a walk through the town to bid farewell to the places near +which he had so often wandered in his intoxication, and which he +regarded as witnesses of his love. When he returned to his room he was +moved to see his faithful lute on the table. Touched by his fingers, it +had often expressed the feelings of his heart. He took it up again for +the last time and sang, + + Dear strings, we are parting + This night for evermore, + 'Tis time to be starting + For the far-off blissful shore, etc. + + +HOW MAGELONE WENT AWAY WITH THE KNIGHT. + +When the night came it was very cloudy and the moonlight showed scantily +through the darkness. Magelone said farewell to her favourite flowers as +she went through the garden. She found Peter before the gate with three +horses, one a palfrey with a light and easy step; the third was to carry +provisions, so that they need not enter the inns. + +The nurse missed the Princess the next morning, and the King sent out +many people to search, but all returned after some days without tidings. + +Peter chose to ride towards the forests by the sea because they were +quiet and lonely. He and Magelone rode on through the night and Magelone +was happy. The forest was dark, but whenever they came to an open space +she refreshed herself by gazing at Peter. In the morning there was a +white mist and by-and-by the sun shone out. The horses neighed, the +birds awoke and sang as they hopped from branch to branch, the happy +larks flew upwards and sang from above into the red glimmering world. + +Peter also sang cheerful songs. The two travellers saw in the glowing +sky, in the brightness of the fresh forest, a reflection of their love. +The sun mounted higher, and towards noon Magelone felt a great +weariness. They dismounted, therefore, at a cool, shady place in the +forest where there was a mound thickly covered with moss and tender +grass. Here Peter sat down and spread out his mantle, and Magelone +placed herself upon it, resting her head on the knight. She told Peter +how happy she was, and begged him to sing to her, to mingle his voice +with the birds, the trees, the brooks, in order that she might sleep a +little: But wake me at the right time in order that we may soon arrive +at the home of your dear parents. Peter smiled, watched her beautiful +eyes close, and sang, + + Rest thee, sweet love, in the shadow + Of leafy, glimmering night; + The grass rustles over the meadow, + Refreshing and cool is the shadow, + And love holds thee in sight. + Sleep, lady mine, + Hush'd in woodland shrine, + Ever I am thine, etc. + +Peter almost sang himself to sleep also. Then something roused him. He +looked round and saw a number of beautiful, tender birds on the mound, +and it pleased him that they came so near to Magelone. But a slight +noise caused him to turn again, and he was startled to perceive a great +black raven perched on the branch of the tree behind him; it seemed to +him like a rough, coarse churl amongst noble knights. + +He fancied that Magelone breathed with some uneasiness, and unlaced the +neck of her dress. There he found a little red silk bag; it was new, and +he was curious to know what was in it and turned it out. He was +overjoyed to find that it contained his three precious rings, and +quickly wrapped them up again and placed them beside him on the grass. +But suddenly the raven flew down from the tree and carried away the bag, +perhaps taking it for a piece of meat. Peter was frightened. Magelone +might awaken and be displeased at losing her rings. He therefore folded +his mantle and placed it carefully under her head, and then stood up to +look for the raven. It flew away, and Peter followed and threw stones to +make it drop the bag, but was unable to hit it. As it flew further and +further he went after it, without noticing that he was already some +distance from the spot where he had left Magelone sleeping, till +presently he came to the sea. There was a pointed crag not far from the +shore and the raven perched there, and Peter again threw stones. At last +the bird dropped the bag and flew away screaming. Peter saw the bag +floating in the sea close by and ran up and down to find something to +help him into the water. He found an old weather-beaten boat left behind +by fishermen as useless, and jumped into it and tried to steer towards +the bag. Suddenly a strong wind blew from the land, the waves rose and, +in spite of all Peter could do, the boat was carried past the crag and +further and further from the shore. The bag was fast disappearing from +sight; now it was only like a red spot in the distance, the land +receded. Peter cried and lamented loudly, but without avail. His tones +were echoed back mingled with the sound of the waves. He thought of +Magelone sleeping in the wood, and wished to drown himself in his +despair. Presently the sun shone out, and now he was seized with a +terrible thirst which he was unable to quench. At length evening began +to fall: Ah, dearest Magelone, he thought, how strangely have we been +parted! The moon filled the world with golden twilight; stars appeared +in heaven, and the firmament was mirrored in the waving water. All was +still and only the waves plashed, and birds fluttered over him from time +to time, filling the air with strange tones. At last Peter lay down in +the boat and sang loudly, + + Foam on then in furious raging, + Surround me, tempestuous waves, + Relentless thy forces engaging, + For death is the boon that love craves, etc. + +The sequel may be summarized. Magelone, on awakening and finding herself +alone, waits vainly for Peter's return, and at length, as night comes +on, climbs a tree to be safe from the wild beasts which she fancies she +hears in the distance. In the morning she loosens the horses which Peter +had tied to a tree and lets them go their own way, and after a little +while finds herself on the road to Rome, where she makes an exchange of +dress with a passing pilgrim. Making her way first to Rome and thence to +Genoa, she takes ship for Provence, where she thinks she may hear +something of Peter. She is sheltered on her arrival there by a kind +woman who talks to her about the good Count and Countess of Provence and +of their great grief. They have heard nothing of their only son since +his departure two years ago in quest of adventure. Magelone now knows +that some sad mishap has befallen Peter, and that he had not intended to +leave her. She resolves to remain unmarried, think of Peter, and +dedicate her life to the service of God. The kind woman with whom she is +staying tells her of a small island near 'the port of the heathen,' +where all merchant-ships and other vessels call in passing and where +many poor and sick folk are to be found. Here she resolves to settle. +She builds a small church, the altar of which is raised to the honour of +St. Peter, and calls it the Church of St. Pierre de Maguelonne. The fame +of her strict life and good deeds reaches the ear of the Count and +Countess of Provence, who go to see her, and the Countess, not knowing +who she is, relates the history of her troubles. Magelone comforts her +and inspires her with the hope that Peter will return. Some time +afterwards the Count's cook finds a small red bag in the belly of a +great fish which he has cut open. He runs with it to the Countess, who +finds that it contains her three precious rings. This wonderful event +convinces her that she will see her son again. + +Tieck's version of Magelone's adventure is that, after untying the +horses and wandering alone for some days till she comes to Provence, she +finds shelter in a shepherd's hut, where she sings the song No. 11 of +Brahms' cycle: + + Not long enduring, + Light goes by; + The morning seeth + The chaplet dry + That yesterday blossomed + In splendour bright, + But drooped and withered + In gloom of night, etc. + +Peter's adventures are various. Rousing himself from his despair on the +morning after his separation from Magelone, he resolves to bear the +anguish as well as the joy of life with manly courage. Soon a big +pirate-ship sails towards him. It is full of Moors and heathen who take +him on board, and who, struck with his youth and glorious manhood, +determine to carry him as a present to the Sultan of Babylon. The Sultan +is pleased with Peter and shows him high favour. He puts him in charge +of a beautiful garden and lets him wait on him at table. + +So far Tieck is faithful to the old story, only introducing the song +(No. 12 of Brahms' work) which Peter sings as he walks in the garden +thinking sadly of Magelone: + + Are we, then, for ever parted? + Was our true love all in vain? + Why must we live broken-hearted? + Death were surely lesser pain, etc. + +From this point the versions differ. In the medieval romance, Peter, +who, though beloved by everyone in the Sultan's palace and especially by +the Sultan himself, is very unhappy, at length persuades his master to +let him go and see his parents, and, after adventures on the way, is +recognised by Magelone in one of the beds of her hospital to which he +has been brought almost lifeless. + +Tieck, who does not localize the Sultan, introduces into the story his +beautiful daughter Sulima, who falls violently in love with Peter and +has him secretly introduced to her presence by a confidential slave. +Peter, greatly surprised and embarrassed, is astonished at her beauty, +but his heart holds fast to Magelone. He longs to see his native land +again, to be amongst Christians and with his parents. He often sees +Sulima, who observes his unhappiness and one day offers to fly with him +in a ship that is already standing in the harbour with sails filled. She +will give him a sign for a certain evening; when he hears a little song +he likes in the garden, he is to come and fetch her. Peter, after +considering the proposal, decides to accept it. He believes Magelone to +be dead, and thinks that he will thus be enabled to return to a +Christian land and to his parents. + +On the appointed night he walks up and down the Sultan's garden by the +shore. At length he sleeps, and dreams that Magelone is looking at him +threateningly. On awaking, he walks up and down again, reproaching +himself, and at last resolves to throw himself into a little boat and +cast out to sea alone. It is a lovely summer night, a warm breeze is +stirring, and Peter gives himself up to chance and the stars. Then he +hears the sign. A zither sounds, and a sweet voice sings, + + Belovèd, where dwelleth + Thy footstep this night? + The nightingale telleth + Its tale of delight, etc. + +Peter's heart shrinks within him as he hears the song; it seems to call +after him his weakness and vacillation. He rows more swiftly; love urges +him backwards, love draws him onward. The music becomes fainter and +fainter; now it is quite lost in the distance, and only the murmur of +the waves and the stroke of the oar sound through the stillness. + +Peter gathers heart when the sound of the song no longer reaches him, +and lets the little vessel drift before the wind as he sits down and +sings: + + Fresh courage on my spirit breaks + And fading is my sadness; + New life within me reawakes + Old longing and old gladness, etc. + +Tieck preserves the further adventures of the romance, but brings the +knight to Magelone as she sits spinning outside the door of the +shepherd's hut. The song of their reunion is the fifteenth and last of +Brahms' cycle: + + Faithful love long time endureth, + Many an hour it doth survive, + And from sorrow strength secureth, + And from doubt doth faith derive. + + + + +III. + +THE HAMBURG LADIES' CHOIR [98] + + +Avertimento. + + Sondern weilen es absolute dem Plaisire fördersam ist, wenn es fein + ordentlich dabei einhergeht, als wird denen curieusen Gemüthern, so + Mitglieder des sehr nutz- und lieblichen Frauenchors wünschen zu + werden und zu bleiben jetzund kund und offenbar gethan, daß sie + partoute die Clausuln und Puncti hiefolgenden Geschreibsels unter + zu zeichnen haben ehe sie sich obgenannten Tituls erfreuen und an + der musikalischen Erlustigung und Divertirung parte nehmen können. + + Ich hätte zwaren schon längst damit unter der Bank herfür wischen + sollen, alleine aberst dennoch, weilen der Frühling erst lieblich + präambuliret und bis der Sommer finiret, gesungen werden dürfte, + als möchte es noch an der Zeit sein dieses Opus an das Tageslicht + zu stellen. + + Pro primo wäre zu remarquiren daß die Mitglieder des Frauenchors +da+ + sein müssen. + + Als wird verstanden: daß sie sich obligiren sollen, den Stehungen + und Singungen der Societät regelmäßig beizuwohnen. + + So nun Jemand diesen Articul nicht gehörig observiret und, wo Gott + für sei, der Fall passirete, daß Jemand wider jedes Decorum so + fehlete, daß er während eines Exercitiums ganz fehlete: + + soll gestraft werden mit einer Buße von 8 Schillingen H. C. + [Hamburger Courant]. + + Pro secundo ist zu beachten, daß die Mitglieder des Frauenchors +da+ + sein müssen. + + Als ist zu nehmen, sie sollen praecise zur anberaumeten Zeit da + sein. + + Wer nun hiewieder also sündiget, daß er das ganze Viertheil einer + Stunde zu spät der Societät seine schuldige Reverentz und + Aufwartung machet, soll um 2 Schillinge H. C. gestrafet werden. + + |:Ihrer großen Meriten um den Frauenchor wegen und in Betracht + ihrer vermuthlich höchst mangelhaften und unglücklichen Complexion, + soll nun hier für die nicht genug zu favorirende und adorirende + Demoiselle Laura Garbe ein Abonnement hergestellt werden, wesmaßen + sie nicht jedesmal zu bezahlen braucht, sondern aber ihro am Schluß + des Quartals eine moderirte Rechnung praesentiret wird:| + + Pro tertio: Das einkommende Geld mag denen Bettelleuten gegeben + werden und wird gewünscht daß Niemand davon gesättiget werden möge. + + Pro quarto ist zu merken, daß die Musikalien großentheils der + Discretion der Dames anvertrauet sind. Derohalben sollen sie wie + fremdes Eigenthum von den ehr- und tugendsamen Jungfrauen und Frauen + in rechter Lieb und aller Hübschheit gehalten werden, auch in + keinerlei Weise außerhalb der Societät benützet werden. + + Pro quinto: Was nicht mit singen kann, das sehen wir als ein + Neutrum an. Will heißen: Zuhörer werden geduldet indessen aber pro + ordinario nicht beachtet, was Gestalt sonsten die rechte + Nutzbarkeit der Exercitia nicht beschaffet werden möchte. + + Obgemeldeter gehörig specifizirter Erlaß wird durch gegenwärtiges + General-Rescript anjetzo jeder männiglich public gemacht und soll + in Würden gehalten werden, bis der Frauenchor seine Endschaft + erreichet hat. + + Solltest du nun nicht nur vor dich ohnverbrüchlich darob halten, + sondern auch alles Ernstes daran sein, daß andere auf keinerlei + Weise noch Wege darwider thun noch handeln mögen. + + An dem beschiehet unsere Meinung und erwarte dero gewünschte und + wohlgewogene Approbation. + + Der ich verharre in tiefster Devotion + und Veneration des Frauenchors allzeit dienstbeflissener + schreibfertiger und taktfester + + Johannes Kreisler jun. + alias: Brahms. + + Geben auf Montag + den 30ten des Monats Aprili. + A. D. 1860 + +Professor Hübbe adds: + +'It must be said in explanation of the jesting note to section 2 that +the Demoiselle Garbe mentioned in it was often prevented from being +punctual, and that Brahms was unwilling to begin without her. The +exception at first taken by her to the note in question was met most +kindly by Frau Schumann, who pointed out that the special mention of her +name in the highly important document would be the very means of +securing its lasting fame. + +The 'begging people' of section 3 saw nothing, as I am told, of the +money collected by the fines, which was used for other purposes--on one +occasion for an excursion to Reinbeck. + +One of the ladies' copies still in existence bears the following +signatures: Auguste Brandt, Bertha Porubszky, Laura Garbe, Marie +Seebohm, Emilie Lentz, Clara Schumann, Julie Hallier, Marie Hallier, Ch. +Avé Lallement, Friedchen Wagner, Thusnelde Wagner, M. Reuter, Betty +Völckers, Marie Völckers, Henny Gabain, Marie Böhme, Francisca Meier, +Camilla Meier, Susanne Schmaltz, Antonie Mertens (Emma Grädener).' + +The metal badge which the members had to wear was no doubt adopted at +this time (1860). It had the form of a trefoil clover-leaf with a circle +in the centre. This displayed a B upon red, and the three surrounding +parts of the trefoil, the letters H. F. C. upon blue, ground. + +[98] From 'Brahms in Hamburg,' by Walter Hübbe. See p. 255 of this +narrative. + + +END OF VOL. I. + +BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below. + +"_" surrounding text represents italics. + +"+" surrounding text represents gesperrt. + +Punctuation, capitalization, accents and formatting markup have been +made consistent. + +Illustrations have been moved to be closer to their discussion in the +text. + +Page 71, "muscial" changed to "musical". (The boy's musical services +would be at his command in return.) + +Page 98, "Anzeige" changed to "Anzeiger". (The concert was advertised in +the _Lüneburger Anzeiger_ of May 7, the twentieth birthday anniversary +of our Johannes:) + +Page 145, "Den" chagned to "Dem". ('Dem Fräulein Japha, zum Andenken an +das Weihnachtsfest, 1853, als Vorbote des eigentlichen Gebers. R. +Schumann') + +Page 182, "cirsumstances" changed to "circumstances". (In spite of the +melancholy circumstances that kept them at Düsseldorf--and anxiety about +Schumann was again increasing--the time was a happy one to the two young +men, who passed many hours of the day in each other's society.) + +Page 290, "comm[=e]ce" and "prov[=e]ce" appear with a macron over the +first e. [=e] has been used to represent this. + +Footnote [6] originally referred to Chapter X. in Vol. II. However, as +there is no Chapter X. in Vol. II., this has been updated to read +Chapter XXI., which makes reference to the subject. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Johannes Brahms (Vol 1 of +2), by Florence May + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40643 *** |