Research Paper On Johannes Brahms

A congenial blend of the provocative imagery of poetry as well as the beautiful melodies and illustrious moods portrayed through musical accompaniment, German lied proved to be a significant musical genre during the 19th century and owed much of its success to inspirations not only from poets of the time like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, but also composers like Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. Due in part to the continued innovation at the time of the modern piano, which introduced an entirely new scope of musical expression in just one instrument, the romantic lied reached more consumers than ever just after the industrial revolution and rise of the middle class, when musicians were more than just following family tradition, if at all. Because the middle class became more prosperous, it was no longer out of the ordinary for middle-class ladies to learn musicianship through song. With more than 600 songs written by Schubert
Of humble backgrounds, Brahms was especially moved by the folk-songs on the romantic period, considering himself a common man at heart. German lied appealed to common folk because of how its simple emotional content is reinvented with each new song. Brahms knew that his music had to appeal to an audience whose ears were accustomed to the great composers before him, yet also push forward with his own style and the German lied was the perfect vehicle for this. With more than 200 art songs and 100 folk songs, Brahms took this genre seriously. He took the unity of the two contrasting parts and like in his epic symphonies, pushed it to the utmost limit, employing drastic variety in range and dynamic technique. In Brahms’s Volks-Kinderlieder, fourteen pieces dedicated to the Schumann children, some pieces like “Heidenröslein” are actually written too high for children to sing. Brahms often changed the keys of his art songs if he had insecurities about its