Johannes Brahms

Japanese: ブラームス - ぶらーむす(英語表記)Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms

A German composer, he was one of the most representative figures of the mature Romanticism of the second half of the 19th century, and at the same time, he was also a successor to the German musical tradition that emphasized a classical sense of form.

[Eizaburo Tsuchida]

Life

He was born in Hamburg on May 7, 1833. His father, Johann Jacob, was a town musician who later became a double bassist for the Hamburg Philharmonic. He received his first musical lessons from his father and studied piano with Otto F. W. Cossel. He showed musical talent from an early age and made his debut as a pianist at the age of 10. He learned composition and music theory from Eduard Marxsen and Ignaz Seyfried. He studied hard to help support his family, but his first turning point came at the age of 20. In the spring of 1853, he toured Germany with the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi (German name Hoffmann), where he met the famous violinist Joseph Joachim and the influential figure in the music world, Franz Liszt. Joachim in particular became his lifelong friend and mentor, apart from a brief rift between them. His historic meeting with the Schumanns in Düsseldorf took place on September 30th of that year, and Schumann introduced this young talent in the magazine "Ongaku Shimpo" shortly thereafter. At the end of the year, his first work was published (Piano Sonata No. 1). Schumann's mentor passed away in 1856, but his affection and friendship with Schumann's wife Clara continued throughout his life.

In 1857, he took up his first public post as pianist and choirmaster at the Detmold court. During this time, he became engaged to the soprano Agathe von Siebold, but the engagement was soon broken off. In 1859, he resigned, and from then on, he did not stay in one position for long, refusing several offers to take up important positions. He then returned to Hamburg, where he organized a women's choir, and later composed the famous "Lullaby" for Faber, a member of the choir. He also developed an interest in the city through Berta Polubsky, a member of the choir from Vienna, and in 1862 he visited Vienna for the first time. The following year, Vienna became his base of operations. He was active as conductor of the Singakademie choir from 1863 to 1864, and as conductor of the Philharmonia concerts from 1872 to 1875, and actively explored and introduced music from the 17th and 18th centuries. In Vienna, he was blessed with the friendship of many important musicians and intellectuals, and was particularly supported by the music critic and anti-Liszt-Wagner polemicist Eduard Hanslick, which led to the creation of a conflict between the Wagnerists and the Brahmsists. However, Brahms himself was not involved in such partisan ideological conflicts, and personally highly valued Wagner's art. Elisabeth von Stockhausen (later Madame von Herzogenberg), who taught him piano during his early Vienna years, became a good friend of Brahms's. His mother died in 1865. In 1868, he completed the large-scale work "German Requiem," and its premiere was a great success. In 1871, on the occasion of the victory in the Prussian-French War, he dedicated a choral piece to the emperor in honour of Bismarck, showing his patriotic side.

With the death of his father in 1872 and the fading ties with his hometown, Dvorak decided to settle in Vienna permanently. From the late 1870s onwards, he developed the habit of staying in Vienna in the spring and autumn, touring in the winter, and composing in the summer in scenic resorts such as Pörtschach and Ischl. From 1878 onwards, he would occasionally make trips to Italy in the spring. In the summer of 1876, he completed his Symphony No. 1 in C minor, which took 21 years to complete. His stay in Pörtschach from 1877 to 1879 was particularly productive, producing Symphony No. 2 in D major, Violin Concerto in D major, numerous songs, several piano pieces and chamber music. In 1878, he noticed the talent of the Bohemian-born Dvorak and actively supported him. In 1879, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau, and in return he presented the University Festspiel Overture. From 1881, he broke off relations with Joachim for several years, after he ended up being a witness for his wife in his divorce proceedings. Around the same time, he began a serious friendship with Hans von Bülow, the conductor of the Meiningen court orchestra. Bülow kindly provided the orchestra, which boasted the most excellent ensemble at the time, for the preview of his compositions. From then on, Brahms' relationship with the court and orchestra deepened. The results of this relationship were his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major (1881) and Symphony No. 4 in E minor (1885). In 1883, he met the young contralto Hermine Spiess, whose talent inspired his creative desire. At the end of the 1880s, he was made an honorary citizen of his hometown Hamburg, and received decorations from both the German and Austrian emperors.

In 1890, he briefly considered retirement, and wrote his will the following year. Due to his strict self-criticism, he destroyed many of his past works that he disliked and unfinished drafts. After being impressed by the performance of Richard Mühlfeld, a clarinetist at the Meiningen court in 1891, he wrote several chamber music pieces for the instrument. In 1896, Schumann's widow Clara died, and before he had time to recover from the pain, he himself was stricken with liver cancer. His last work was 11 Chorale Preludes for organ, and he died the following year on April 3, 1897, at the age of 64.

[Eizaburo Tsuchida]

the work

Brahms' music always exudes a sense of serene melancholy, reflecting his introverted personality that disliked flashy self-expression. His style was highly romantic, but at the same time, he was permeated with an objective and absolute musical attitude, and in his instrumental works in particular, he breathed new life into traditional forms and techniques such as sonata form, variations, and passacaglia. We cannot ignore the influence of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann, his deep literary sense evident in his songs, and his strong interest in folk songs, waltzes, Hungarian music, and so on.

His creative activities can be divided into four periods: (1) his early period (1851-1855), characterized by intense emotional expression and centered on large piano pieces; (2) his stylistic transitional period (until the mid-1860s); (3) his stylistic perfection period (until 1890), represented by large orchestral, choral and chamber pieces and numerous songs; and (4) his later years, characterized by meditative chamber music and small piano pieces. His creative genres spanned many major fields, except for theatrical music such as opera. The German composer Max Reger is particularly known as a composer who was directly influenced by Brahms.

Brahms was also known for his keen interest in music history and theory, and studied the works of Bach and other masters of the Baroque and Classical periods, collecting rare manuscripts of music and editing several scholarly editions of complete scores.

[Eizaburo Tsuchida]

"Brahms: Life and Art" by K. Geiringer, translated by Ginji Yamane (1975, Geijutsu Gendaisha) " "Brahms" by J. Bruyer, translated by Osamu Honda (1985, Hakusuisha)" "Brahms" by Yukio Miyake (Shincho Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ドイツの作曲家。19世紀後半の爛熟(らんじゅく)したロマン主義を代表する1人であると同時に、古典主義的な造形感を重視するドイツ音楽の伝統の継承者でもあった。

[土田英三郎]

生涯

1833年5月7日、ハンブルクに生まれる。父ヨハン・ヤーコプは町楽師で、のちにハンブルク・フィルハーモニーのコントラバス奏者となる。父から音楽の手ほどきを受け、オットー・F・W・コッセルにピアノを学ぶ。早くから楽才を示し、10歳でピアニストとしてデビュー。エドゥアルト・マルクスゼン、イグナツ・ザイフリートらから作曲・音楽理論を学ぶ。家計を助けるために苦学するが、20歳のときに最初の転機が訪れる。すなわち1853年春、ハンガリー出身のバイオリン奏者、エドゥアルト・レメーニー(ドイツ名ホフマン)とドイツ各地を演奏旅行したおり、名バイオリニスト、ヨーゼフ・ヨアヒムや楽界の有力者フランツ・リストらと知り合い、とくにヨアヒムは、一時の仲たがいを別にすれば、生涯の友人、助言者となった。デュッセルドルフにおけるシューマン夫妻との歴史的な出会いは同年9月30日で、シューマンはその直後に『音楽新報』誌でこの若き才能を紹介。年末には自作が初めて出版された(ピアノ・ソナタ第一番)。1856年に恩師シューマン没、その妻クララへの思慕と友情は生涯にわたり続いた。

 1857年、デトモルト宮廷のピアニスト兼合唱指揮者として初めての公職につく。この時期、ソプラノ歌手アガーテ・フォン・ジーボルトと婚約するが、やがて解消。1859年辞職、以後も束縛を嫌って一つの職に長くとどまることをせず、有力な地位への就任要請をいくつも断ることになる。続いてハンブルクに戻り女声合唱団を組織、のちに同団員ファーバーのために有名な『子守唄(うた)』を作曲している。また、ウィーン出身の団員ベルタ・ポルブスキーを通じてこの都市への関心を高め、1862年あこがれのウィーンを初めて訪問。翌年からはこの地が活動拠点となった。1863~1864年に合唱団ジングアカデミー指揮者、1872~1875年には楽友協会演奏会指揮者として活躍、17、18世紀の音楽を積極的に発掘、紹介してゆく。ウィーンでは多くの重要な音楽家、知識人との交友に恵まれたが、とくに音楽評論家で反リスト‐ワーグナー派の論客エドゥアルト・ハンスリックの支持するところとなり、ワーグナー派・ブラームス派の対立図式が生まれた。しかしブラームス自身はそうした党派的思想対立とは無縁で、個人的にはワーグナーの芸術を高く評価していた。ウィーン時代初期にピアノを教えたエリーザベト・フォン・シュトックハウゼン(のちにフォン・ヘルツォーゲンベルク夫人)はブラームスのよき理解者となる。1865年に母が亡くなる。1868年に大曲『ドイツ・レクイエム』を完成、初演は大成功を収める。1871年プロイセン・フランス戦争の勝利に際しては、ビスマルクに敬意を表して皇帝に合唱曲を捧(ささ)げ、愛国者的な一面をのぞかせた。

 1872年に父親が亡くなり、故郷との縁が薄れたのを契機にウィーン永住の意向を固める。そして1870年代後半からは、春と秋はウィーンにとどまり、冬は演奏旅行にあて、夏期にはペルチャッハ、イシュルなどの風光明媚(めいび)な保養地で作曲にいそしむという習慣ができた。1878年からは、春のイタリア旅行がときどきこれに加わるようになる。1876年夏、21年の歳月をかけた交響曲第一番ハ短調が完成。1877~1879年のペルチャッハ滞在はとくに多産で、交響曲第二番ニ長調、バイオリン協奏曲ニ長調をはじめ、多数の歌曲、いくつかのピアノ小品と室内楽が生まれた。1878年ボヘミア出身のドボルザークの才能に目を留め、積極的に後援する。1879年ブレスラウ大学から名誉博士号を授与され、返礼として『大学祝典序曲』を贈る。1881年から数年間、不本意なままにヨアヒムと絶交。彼の離婚訴訟をめぐり結果的に夫人側の証人となってしまったことが原因だった。同じころ、マイニンゲン宮廷楽団指揮者ハンス・フォン・ビューローとの本格的な交友が始まる。ビューローの好意で、この当時もっとも優秀な合奏能力を誇っていた楽団が自作の試演に提供された。以後ブラームスとこの宮廷および楽団との関係は深まってゆく。ピアノ協奏曲第二番変ロ長調(1881)、交響曲第四番ホ短調(1885)はその間の成果である。1883年若いコントラルト歌手ヘルミーネ・シュピースを知り、その才能に創作意欲を刺激される。1880年代末には故郷ハンブルク市から名誉市民の称号を、ドイツ、オーストリアの両皇帝からは勲章を授与されている。

 1890年にいったん引退を考え、翌年には遺書を作成。厳格な自己批判から、過去の気に入らない作品や未完作品の草稿を多数破棄した。1891年にマイニンゲン宮廷のクラリネット奏者リヒャルト・ミュールフェルトの演奏に感銘を受けてからは、この楽器のための室内楽を数曲書いている。1896年シューマン未亡人クララが没し、心の痛手をいやすまもなく自らも肝臓癌(がん)に冒され、オルガンのための『11のコラール前奏曲』を最後の作品として、翌1897年4月3日、64年の生涯を終えた。

[土田英三郎]

作品

ブラームスの音楽は、はでな自己表出を嫌う彼の内向的な性格を反映して、つねに沈潜したメランコリーをたたえている。作風はきわめてロマン的だが、他方で客観的・絶対音楽的な態度に貫かれ、とくに器楽作品ではソナタ形式、変奏曲、パッサカリアなどの伝統的な形式や技法に新たな生命が吹き込まれている。バッハやベートーベン、シューベルト、そしてシューマンからの影響、歌曲群に認められる深い文学的センス、民謡やワルツ、ハンガリー音楽などに対する高い関心も無視できない。

 彼の創作活動は、〔1〕ピアノ大曲が中心で激しい感情表出を特徴とする初期(1851~1855)、〔2〕様式的過渡期(~1860年代中ごろ)、〔3〕管弦楽や合唱曲、室内楽などの大曲と多数の歌曲に代表される様式的完成期(~1890)、そして〔4〕瞑想(めいそう)的な室内楽やピアノ小品に彩られた晩年、の四期に区分することができる。創作のジャンルは、オペラなどの劇音楽を除く主要な領域の多くにまたがっている。なお、ブラームスの影響を直接受けた作曲家としては、とくにドイツのマックス・レーガーの名があげられる。

 ブラームスはまた、音楽史や音楽理論への高い関心でも知られる。バッハをはじめバロックや古典派の大家の作品を研究、貴重な自筆楽譜を収集したほか、いくつかの学問的な全集版楽譜の校訂にも携わっている。

[土田英三郎]

『K・ガイリンガー著、山根銀二訳『ブラームス――生涯と芸術』(1975・芸術現代社)』『J・ブリュイール著、本田脩訳『ブラームス』(1985・白水社)』『三宅幸夫著『ブラームス』(新潮文庫)』

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