![]() A brilliant professional pianist, Frau Schumann, who was married to composer Robert Schumann, was the love of Brahms's life. Br"" to thwart hungry autograph seekers-those around him were not, notably Clara Schumann. ![]() But where Brahms was exceptionally careful-he even signed his name ""J. Where some leave long paper trails, Brahms, hoping to let his music rather than his personal life be the legacy on which later generations judged him, destroyed countless personal documents, letters, and music scores he deemed unworthy or compromising. That Swafford (Charles Ives: A Life in Music, 1996) had no easy task is clear. This is an exceptionally well written chronicle of this musical master, an extraordinary work, guaranteed to inform and entertain classical music aficionados and tyros alike. Such is most definitely not the case in Swafford's biography of Brahms, published on the 100th anniversary of his death. Books coming out in anniversary years too often don't live up to the subject they celebrate. A definitive work about one of the 19th century's most influential classical music composers. ![]()
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