Two Romantics

As is evident in history there are different periods of time, such as the Medieval Period, the Age of Enlightenment, and so on. There are also different periods in music history and they are: The Renaissance, the Baroque, the Classical, the Romantic, and the Modern eras. One of the most inventive and popular eras was the Romantic. This era was one of the most productive and revolutionary eras for music. Many historians say that this era started and is bridged with Ludwig van Beethoven. There were many great composers in this era, the likes of Franz Schubert, Fredrick Chopin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and countless others.

During this period there were two different views of how music should be composed and played. There are two figures that can be representative of these different camps. Their names are Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt. Their music was and is some of the best that has ever been composed to this very day. History has not forgotten them and I imagine never will, with such great masterpieces like Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, the Mephisto Waltz, and Leibestraum. Brahms has equally great pieces like Lullaby, the Hungarian dances, and the German Requiem.
Franz Liszt was born in Raiding Hungary, 1811. He was the son of an official at the Hungarian court whose employer was Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. Young Liszt was proving to be a real prodigy and gave his first recital at the age of nine. Showing such promise the prince funded his education at a conservatory in Vienna. After Franz had finished his training he moved to Paris, where he was a sensation and loved by the public. While in Paris he was influenced by men like Chopin, Berlioz, and Paganini. Some people called Liszt the “Paganini of the Piano” for his virtuosic playing style.
He later moved to Weimar, and while he was there in Weimar he was employed as the music director to the ducal court which later became known as the “New German School”. Liszt had many mistresses and affairs, which is odd knowing that he wanted secretly to become a priest. Later in life he lived a fairly quite life, mostly promoting his son-in-law Richard Wagner’s music and teaching private piano lessons for free.
Liszt was not a traditionalist; he wanted something new and emotional. His music reflects this attitude. It was because of this idea that Liszt was heavily criticized. It was Eduard Hanslick, who was an Austrian critic, who reflected the opinions of Johannes Brahms that said: “After Liszt, Mozart is like a soft spring breeze penetrating a room reeking with fumes.”
Which brings us to Brahms; he was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1833. He, like Liszt, was a young learner. He started piano lessons at the age of seven and gave his first recital at fifteen. Shortly afterwards he met Eduard Remenyi a Hungarian violinist and five years after they met they started a concert tour. Throughout the tour they met other musicians and even stayed in Weimar with Franz Liszt. After this he went to Dusseldorf
where he visited his friends Robert and Clara Schumann. It was only shortly after this visit that Robert Schumann was institutionalized because he tried to drown himself in the Rhine River after hearing what he said was a voice that told him to do so.
Brahms moved back to Dusseldorf to help Clara with estate matters, while he was there he fell deeply in love with her, but they never married. Clara was a heavy influence on the music style of Brahms. Just as she had pushed her late husband to his musical limits, she also pushed Brahms. Then he traveled for a little while and settled in Hamburg, where he finished his piano concerto which did not get published right away, probably because of his dissociation from Liszt and the “New German School”.
In 1868 the composer moved to Vienna for good. Brahms, with the encouragement of Clara Schumann, finally finished his First Symphony in C Minor which he had been working on for twenty years. This symphony is often called Beethoven’s 10th because of its haunting style, and it was this that made Brahms very nervous to release it because he thought that the people would not like its style and similarities. But much to the composers delight it was a big hit. By this time he was making enough money from his compositions and performances that he spent the rest of his life devoted to composing.
Now as we have seen, both of these composers were very talented and very well liked in their respective circles. They both were kind and generous men. Liszt had a pleasing personality and was very well liked by the public and by a lot of his contemporaries.

Even his critics acknowledged this and said that it was only his personality that made his music popular, and that when he died so would his music.
Brahms was very well respected even by those who didn’t like him or care for his music. Brahms was a humble man and this is reflected in his music. He hated showy and flashy music and musicians. He believed that music and especially the musician should be skillful and subdued. I think this is why Brahms and Liszt had such enmity between each other, for Liszt was a people’s performer and a “Rock Star”. Brahms believed that music was deeper than that and was quick to voice his opinion. But as history has shown us both Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms are timeless figures and their music shall live on forever. For both of the composers, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms have left their finger prints on history’s piano keys.