On The Innovation Of The Music Of Brahms

In most Chinese works, Johannes Brahms the romantic composer of the 19th century is often referred to as a conservative traditionalist and the last classical German musician. It is a pity that they overlook the original spirit penetrating Brahms' music. Therefore, the essay tries to exam from an entirely new perspective the situations before and after Brahmas' death, and reevaluates his achievements through a comprehensive analysis of his musical originalities.The whole essay consists of a foreword and six chapters. The foreword is about why the topic is chosen and the present study in this field. We may safely say the imperfect understanding of Brahms' music results from the very fact that Chinese research in this field is left far behind. And the essay reevaluates his originalities in composition on the basis of various Western scholars' fruits.The first chapter looks back several important events took place while Brahms was alive. For example, Brahmas published his famous Declaration in 1860 and so oa Thus, we may get a clear knowledge how Brahmas was involved in the heated struggle between different musical schools, and how he became a representative of the purely musical composition advocated by Hanslick, and was consequently attacked as a target by the New German School. Only with such knowledge can we justify the evaluation of Brahmas by the musical critics at the time. Although people have gradually realized Brahms' work has a far-reaching effect on the purely instrumental composition since his death, but out-dated opinions are still kept to a certain extent.The second chapter is mainly concerned with people's reevaluation of Brahmas after his death. What is especially significant is that Schoenberg firstly referred to Brahms as a progressive in his radio lecture in honor of the centenary of Brahms' birth. Schoenberg's bold comments not only upset the framed image of Brahms in people's mind, but also brought about an enormous tide of reexamination of Brahms' music in Western musical circle. From then on, many famous musicians, including Carl Dahlhaus and Charles Rosen, began to study Brahms in different ways.The third, fourth and fifth chapters make a comparison between Brahms and Wagner in terms of musical techniques. Wagner found a new way of composition in combination with literature and so on, while Brahms re-exhibited the powerful life of classical instrumental music through new techniques such as developing variations, etc., without deserting the traditional form.Finally, the sixth chapter elaborates Brahms's influence on Schoenberg and other modern composers.All in all, the essay reviews the musical history and analyzes the techniques of Brahms and those of his contemporaries with Schoenberg's uniquely sharp insight, for the purpose of reevaluating Brahms' achievements and revealing his musical originalities, which may somewhat contribute to a comprehensive understanding of Brahms' music.