Johannes Brahms (German: Johannes Brahms; May 7, 1833 - April 3, 1897) is a German composer, pianist and conductor, one of the main representatives of the Romantic era.

Brahms wrote chamber and symphonic music, for piano, as well as for voice and choir. As a virtuoso pianist, he often premiered his works; he also collaborated with leading musicians of his time, including pianist Clara Schumann and violinist Josef Joachim. Many of his works have become staples in the modern concert repertoire. Brahms was an uncompromising perfectionist, he destroyed some of his works and left some unpublished[5].

He was an honorary member of the Galician Music Society[6].

In the circumstances of the struggle between the supporters of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner (Weimar School) and the followers of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann (Leipzig School), Brahms did not join any of these trends, Brahms deeply and consistently developed the classical traditions, which he enriched with romantic content. Brahms's music glorifies personal freedom, moral stability, courage, imbued with impulsiveness, rebelliousness, trembling lyricism. The improvisational composition is combined in it with a strict logic of development.

The composer's musical heritage is extensive and covers many genres (with the exception of opera). Four symphonies of Brahms, of which the last one stands out in particular, is one of the highest achievements of symphony in the second half of the 19th century. Following L. Beethoven and F. Schubert, Brahms understood the cyclic composition of a symphony as an instrumental drama, the parts of which are united by a certain poetic idea. In terms of artistic significance, next to Brahms' symphonies are his instrumental concerts, interpreted as symphonies with solo instruments. Brahms' Violin Concerto (1878) is one of the most popular works of this genre. The 2nd piano concerto (1881) is also very popular. The most significant of Brahms' vocal and orchestral works is the German Requiem (1868) with its epic scope and insightful lyrics.

Various vocal music of Brahms, in which arrangements of folk songs occupy a prominent place. The works of the chamber-instrumental genre belong mainly to the early (1st piano trio, piano quintet, etc.) and to the late periods of Brahms's life, these works are characterized by the strengthening of heroic-epic features and at the same time a subjective-lyrical orientation (the 2nd and 3rd piano trio, sonatas for violin and cello with piano, etc.). Brahms's piano works are characterized by a contrapuntally developed texture, subtle motivic development. Starting with sonatas, Brahms later wrote mainly miniatures for the piano. In the piano waltzes and "Hungarian Dances" Brahms' admiration for Hungarian folklore was revealed. In the last period of his work, Brahms created piano works of a chamber plan (intermezzo, capriccio).