With all due respect to Mr. Tommasini and the New York Times, I think it is absolutely CRIMINAL that Brahms is ranked 7 in the list of great composers. I must admit that I am not totally unbiased as Brahms is probably my favorite composer, but having said that, aside from Mozart there are few composers as successful in writing for so many mediums. Although he did not write any opera, Brahms composed outstanding works for: Voice, Sonatas for various instruments, four fantastic symphonies, notable concerti for violin and piano as well as his famous double concerto, not to mention hundreds of wonderful choral works including the Requiem. Needless to say, it is surprising to see the likes of Stravinksy, Debussy, and Schubert ahead of this master. Anyway, choosing one piece by Brahms is unbearably difficult as I could do a Brahms month...in fact, I might!
Factoids:
- Taken from Brahms set of 21 Hungarian Dances.
- These short tunes were based on Hungarian folk tunes and originally written for piano.
- Many of which are essentially arrangements and not new compositions at all.
- All video gamers may recognize this as the main theme from Tetris.
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