Happy Birthday Brahms and Tchaikovsky

Today we celebrate the birthday of not one, but two, famous composers: Johannes Brahms and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Born seven years apart, Brahms in 1833 and Tchaikovsky in 1840, they were responsible for some of the most beautiful and famous music of the Romantic era.

Brahms was born in Heide in Germany but is more closely associated with Vienna where he moved in the early 1860s. His mother died in 1865 and he began composing his tribute to her, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), a gorgeous piece of choral music that every choir wants to sing. During this time he also wrote his first set of Hungarian dances, the Liebeslieder Waltzes, and the Alto Rhapsody. In 1876 he published the first of his four symphonies. His output included symphonies, vocal music, concerti for various instruments, especially piano, as well as much chamber music. The conductor Hans von Bulow included Brahms as one of his favorite composers along with Bach and Beethoven, hence, the three Bs. Brahms died in 1897 at age 63.

I’ve chosen a recording of the Hungarian Dance No. 5. You’ll be familiar with this if you’ve ever seen the cartoon “Pigs in a Polka” or are an Allan Sherman fan.

Tchaikovsky was a music prodigy, even though his parents decided to send him to be schooled as a civil servant. At the time there was not really formal education or careers available for professional musicians in Russia. However, by the time he was twenty he was able to attend the newly opened St Petersburg Conservatory fostered by the Russian Musical Society. After graduation he became Professor of Music Theory at the Moscow Conservatory, which would soon open.

His first accepted masterpiece was the overture-fantasy Romeo and Juliet. He also began writing the first of his six symphonies. As the years went by, Tchaikovsky’s music became more and more popular, leaving us with orchestral pieces such as 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake ballets, and a number of operas, my favorite being Eugene Onegin.

For the musical selection I’ve chosen the last movement of my favorite symphony, the 4th. Should you find that you’ve run out of coffee some morning, try this.