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Influenced by Robert and Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim, Johannes Brahms not only learned to play the organ at the beginning of his career, but also wrote significant compositions for the instrument as a result of his early counterpoint study. He composed for the organ only sporadically or as part of larger choral and instrumental works in his subsequent career. During the final year of his life, however, he returned to pure organ composition with a set of chorale preludes--though many of these are thought to have been revisions of earlier works. Today, the organ works of Johannes Brahms are recognized as beautifully-crafted compositions by church and concert organists across the world and have become a much-cherished component of the repertoire. Until now, however, most scholarly accounts of Brahms's life and work treat his works for the organ as a minor footnote in his development as a composer.

Precisely because the collection of organ works is not extensive, the pieces--composed at different times during Brahms's lifetime--help to map his path as a composer, pinpointing various stages in his artistic development. In this volume, Barbara Owen offers the first in-depth study of this corpus, considering Brahms's organ works in relation to his background, methods, and overall artistic development, his contacts with organs and organists, the influence of his predecessors and contemporaries, and analyses of each specific work and its place in Brahms's career. Her expert history and analysis of Brahms's individual organ works and their interpretation also investigates contemporary practices relative to the performance of these pieces. The book's three valuable appendices present a guide to editions of Brahms's organ works, a discussion of the organ in Brahms's world that highlights some organs the composer would have heard, and a listing of the organ transcriptions of Brahms's work.

Blending unique insights into composition and performance practice, this book will be read eagerly by performers, students, and scholars of the organ, Brahms, and the music of the Nineteenth Century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very interesting Brahms
This book, by Bernard Jacobson is very interesting as it takes a slightly different tack from standard biographies/musical analysis materials. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Though Brahms' symphonies are often treated somewhat like medicine, as something 'good for you', but otherwise lacking in purely sensual pleasure, David Hurwitz takes the reader beyond the jargon and pedantry and unlocks the mystery (and the joy) contained within Brahms' symphonies. In short, Brahms was a musician's musician, in some respects and 'academic' (which is not to say 'pedantic') composer, and so it's practically impossible for professional scholars and musicians to approach his music without wanting to demonstrate at some point that they are as smart as Brahms, and uniquely able to unravel the technical intricacies of his larger works. For the general reader, this obviously represents a problem; indeed, it's not exactly a joy for the music professional either. Indeed, there is a sense in which Brahms' own seriousness of purpose is mistaken for a uniform seriousness of expression, with the result that his music is often treated somewhat like medicine, as something 'good for you', but otherwise lacking in purely sensual pleasure.Brahms' well-known struggles with orchestration compound this impression, but since no less an authority than Ravel praised the orchestration of the Second Symphony, we know that this fact is, at best, a generalization only partially true. "Magnum Opus" is a series for anyone seeking a greater familiarity with the cornerstones of Western Classical Music - operatic, choral and symphonic. Always passionate, down-to-earth, and authoritative on the works and their creators, "Magnum Opus" is an indispensable resource for anyone's musical library and the perfect gift for the music-lover in your life. ... Read more

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Written with energy and accessible prose, Cl assic FM''s Lifelines series presents biographies of the worl d''s most famous composers, chosen from a Classic FM survey. ' ... Read more

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Over the past twenty years musicologists and theorists have been intensely preoccupied with Brahms's compositions. The same, however, could not be said for biographical issues. The relationship between the composer Johannes Brahms and the poet Klaus Groth, both important creative forces with strong roots in the Dithmarschen region of northern Germany, was a very special one that deserves greater recognition. In his lifetime Klaus Groth was a celebrated German poet because of his works in Plattdeutsch, a dialect with which Brahms was familiar. Unlike any of Brahms's other friends, Groth and his family had ties to the family of Brahms's father that extended back a number of generations. That he came from the same region as Brahms seems to have endeared the poet to the composer. Aside from Daumer, Brahms chose to set Groth's poems more frequently than those of any other writer. Both Groth and his wife Doris were greatly indebted for these settings, and they showered Brahms with praise. Peter Russell has made careful selections from the 89 letters that have been preserved, placing them in the context of the personalities, lives and works of both men.Alongside the letters, Russell provides a substantial commentary that includes analyses of Brahms's music and critical assessment of Groth's poems. The book includes two appendices: Brahms's settings of Groth's poems and a list of Groth's publications in Brahms's library. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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"The song translations by Stanley Appelbaum are excellent. Stark's commentaries are concise, intelligent, highly readable... Laymen and specialists alike will find [this book] a useful reference book to have on their shelves." -- Fontes Artis Musicae

"This book would be a warmly welcomed addition to the library of any lover of art song." -- American Music Teacher

"It is informative, insightful, illuminating, an invaluable resource for singers, teachers, coach-accompanists, highly recommended for anyone having anything to do with Brahms lieder." -- Journal of Singing

"Stark's understanding and affectionate discussion of the relationship between music and text draws the reader to examine more of Brahms's songs."  -- Choice

Lucien Stark analyzes in detail more than 200 solo songs by Brahms and gives us translations of the texts. For performers, students, and teachers, this is a treasure-house of information and insight about a rich and varied repertoire.

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany to a family that lived in extreme poverty. Yet by the time of his death he had become one of the most financially successful classical music composers who ever lived.

It wasn't easy. His family had to move several times while Hannes (as he was nicknamed) was still a boy. He had to go to work when he was just 13, playing the piano in rough waterfront taverns in Hamburg. Often he wouldn't come home until dawn.

Brahms received his first big break when he was 20. The composer Robert Schumann called him a "genius" and a "young eagle." Even then, it still took him many years to become famous.

While he is most noted for his symphonies and concertos, it is likely that more people know him for his "Cradle Song," better known as "Brahms's Lullaby," which millions of mothers have sung to their young children to lull them to sleep. ... Read more