Brahms Complete Solo Piano Works. 3, Studies and Transcriptions Collection: Brahms Complete Solo Piano Works

Author: Brahms
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: When Brahms thought of his predecessor Beethoven, he showed unprecedented hesitation. At times, he seemed helpless and discouraged under the immense shadow that seemed to loom over him. What made the situation worse was that everyone regarded him as Beethoven's successor. His friend Schumann had already made this clear as early as 1853, expecting Brahms to create great works. However, Brahms was tormented by the idea that he might try to imitate Beethoven and end up failing completely. As a young man, he wrote a piano sonata but soon abandoned it, a genre that Beethoven had nearly made uniquely his own. In string quartets and symphonies, he also did not continue until after the age of 40, realizing the unparalleled achievements Beethoven had reached in these fields. We do not know how many string quartets Brahms discarded before allowing his Op. 51 to be published (according to his own account, there were over 20), but we do know that in the mid-1950s, he set aside the undoubtedly impressive and grand D minor symphony, later using some of its material in the Piano Concerto.