Birth of Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms was born on 7 May 1833 in Hamburg. A German composer and pianist born in Hamburg, Brahms spent most of his career in Vienna. Encouraged early in his career by Robert and Clara Schumann, he became a leading figure of Romantic music who nevertheless valued classical forms. His works include four symphonies, two piano concertos, a violin concerto, the choral work A German Requiem, the Hungarian Dances and a large body of chamber music and songs. He was a perfectionist who destroyed many of his early drafts and wrote his first symphony only after years of work. Along with Bach and Beethoven he is often grouped among the so-called three Bs of music.

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