Brahms, the songwriter

   Brahms is said to represent the conservative side of Romantic era. His works are very balanced and well-constructed, and these are quality the Classicists would appreciate. Some people would said Brahms’s music is less Romantic, since his symphonic works would be more rigid and less colorful if we compare them to the works of Wagner and others. When I first learned the works of Brahms, they are symphonies and chamber music. I thought that the works are pretty boring and less romantic, and I put Brahms into “B” composers’ files in my mind.

 

   However, my view on Brahms changed completely when I learned his songs. His songs (lieder) are some of the most Romantic sounded works of all time. Some of his piano pieces are certainly romantic enough, but his lieder surpass in every romantic way. So, I started to wonder why Brahms, who can be utterly romantic in music, did not put his romanticism into his symphony or other larger works. I believe if he tried in Symphonic Poem (which he didn’t), I am sure he would certainly created the superb symphonic works which are very personal and intimate.