Peter Gay - Aimez-Vous Brahms. Reflections On Modernism

Aimez-vous Brahms?
Reflections on Modernism
Author(s): PETER GAY
Source: Salmagundi, No. 36 (Winter 1977), pp. 16-35
Published by: Skidmore College
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40546958
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Aimez-vousBrahms?
on Modernism
Reflections
BY PETER GAY
I begin with a scene from one of Franoise Sagan's cool and

fictions.Paule, the worldly,agingprotagonistof Aimezmeretricious
vous Brahms!receivesa letterfroma youngerman,a recent,promising
herto a concertand askingher,in passing,"Do
acquaintance,inviting
Brahms?"
Puzzled
and intrigued,Paule huntsamong her
like
you
recordsto find,back to back witha Wagnerovertureshe knowsby
heart,a Brahmsconcertoshe has neverlistenedto. The couplingis
improbable,evenmoreimprobablethanthecouplingsSagan normally
manufactures.
Whateverthe probabilities,Paule puts on the Brahms
concerto,butdoes not listento theend; itsveryopeningrepelsher,she
says,too "romantic."For her,a knowing,modernwoman,Brahmsis
pass. x
Paule speaks forthegeneralpublic,thepublic certainthatBrahms

was a musical reactionary,too "romantic,"- which is to say:
low in emotionalappeal, a museumpiece on theorderof
sentimental,
antimacassars,china sculptureand virginalbrides.Brahmsis a dusty
relicfromthoseold days. His symphoniesand concertosare staplesof
our musicalrepertory;
the reviewerscribblinghis hastyverdicton a
program including Brahms' Fourth Symphonyor Second Piano
to call them"warhorses."He
Concertofindsthetemptation
irresistible
thanappraise the music- a
is morelikelyto assess theperformance
tributeto its familiarity.
It is a tributeconcealing derision. Familiarityhas always bred
and oursensibility
has elevatedthecontemptthatfamiliarity
contempt,
breedsintoan articleof faith.The atmosphereof highculturethatwe
* I wishto acknowledgeaid fromthe NationalEndowmentforthe Humanities,grant
#RO777973 224.
1 Aimez-vousBrahms?(1959).
Aimez-vousBrahms?Reflectionson Modernism
17
have beeninhabiting
fornearlya century usuallyepitomizedbythat
shorthandname, Modernism- is ratherlike the Hell that George
BernardShaw's JohnTannervisitsin his dream:a place whereall is
at least
reversed.Here,unpopularity
is thepreconditionof popularity,
the
arts.
the
consumers
of
And
the
obverse
holds
among
sophisticated
as
true:
just
popularityengendersunpopularity,again among the
sophisticated.In our highculture,as in Don Juan'sHell, one mustbe
damnedto be saved, and the saved are damned.
Ifthisis a paradox,itis nota cheapone. It is,inanyevent,notmine.It
pervades the performingarts, literature,and thought. Since the
firstdefiedtheFrenchAcademy,paintinghas produced
Impressionists
each moreesotericthanitspredecessor.Since
a parade of movements,
theSymbolistsfirstshutthemselves
intotheirexclusiveenclaves,poetry
has spawned schools of increasingdifficulty.
Since in his late years
James
monuments
of
discrimination
Henry
designed
makingsevere
claims on their public, the novel has ventured into formal
experimentation,linguisticadventures,and planned incoherence.
Sculpture, architecture,philosophy and, more recently,literary
criticism
havebeenconqueredbyavant-gardesgoingtheirsolitaryway,
despisingnotmerelythecommonbuteventheeducatedunderstanding,
and
looking over theirshoulderwitha curious mixtureof self-pity
truculence.And modernmusichas gone as faras it is possibleto go in
itssurrender
thecultivationof incomprehensibility,
to themachine,or
to chance.It is composedby theveryfew,fortheveryfew.A fewtrue
believersapart, to attend a concert of contemporarymusic is to
documentone's membershipin a coterie,or to race,desperately,
even
aftera culturaltrainthatleftthestationlongago. The
masochistically,
recentcounterattackof common-sensetraditionalists,
oftenvirulent
and generallyobtuse,is doubtlessmoreperniciousthantheaberrations
it professesto combat; Hilton Kramer has called it, in a brilliant
polemic,"The Revengeof the Philistines."2But our distasteforthis
vulgar,evenunsavoryreactioncannotcompelus to treataberrationsas
masterpieces.And these aberrationsare only the most egregious
the will to fail.
exemplarsof thatpervasiveModernistcharacteristic:
culture
has
become
an
of
High
industry self-fulfilling
prophecies.
bafflement,and
Anticipating,indeed craving, misunderstanding,
rejection, Modernists have manufacturedartifactsbound to be
- and rejected.In itscode, to succeed- to be
misunderstood,
baffling
understoodby the public,praised by the reviewer,subsidizedby the
2 Commentary,
Vol. CIX, 5 (May, 1975), pp. 35-40.
PETER GAY
18
patron- is to failwhereitreallymatters:in one's artor one's thought.

To sell is to sell out.
at once uncriticaland unhistorical,
have
Manycriticsand historians,
- whichis to say, selftaken the Modernistsat theirself-destructive
serving- word; theyhave professedto recognizeModernistartists,
and philosophersbytwoessential,distinctbutrelated,qualities:
writers,
alienationand difficulty.
TheywillconcedethatthearmyofModernism
is a large,ill-assortedtroop completewithsome notableexceptions:
good bourgeoisartistslike Edouard Manetand Max Liebermann.But
holdsgood: theModernis
theywillinsistthatingeneral,theirdefinition
thedisruptivestranger.
I
failstoqualifyas a Modern.He isa classic
Brahms,on thisdefinition,
and seems, fromour perspective,to have been born that way - a
composer who was never young. He appears not alienated but
conformist,not difficultbut accessible. To begin with: he scarcely
sounds like an alienated experimenter.His symphonieshave the
expected four movements.His chamber music moves within the
and sounds
predictableconfineslaid downbyhisclassicalpredecessors,
at firsthearingratherlike late, somewhatunfamiliarBeethoven.His
Liedermarchin thepathsmarkedout by Schubertand hisfollowers.It
is notan accidentthatforall hisrepeatedbuthalf-hearted
explorations,
Brahmsneverventuredintothemusicalgenrewhich,in thenineteenth
offeredtroublemakerstheirfinestopportunity:
theopera.The
century,
familiar anecdotes that cluster about him only underscore the
and to thepast
impressionthathe looked to thepast forhisinspiration,
alone. Brahmsstudiedearliermusicwiththeearnestnessofthedevout
and put theseal on his antiquarianpassion by collecting
conservative,
musicalautographsof thecomposershe mostadmired:Bach, Haydn,
Mozart, Beethoven.
Brahms'musicalpoliticsexpressthesamestyleofthinking.
He led,or
is
much
the
same
was
to
(which
thing)
widelythought lead, theparty
that opposed Liszt, Wagner, and Bruckner- the self-proclaimed
Musiciansof the Future.And, almostbydefinition,
themusicianwho
rejectsthe Music of the Futuremustspeak forthe Music of the Past.
Perhaps the mostdamagingpiece of evidenceconvictingBrahmsof
conformism
is thelong,tormented
gestationofhisFirstSymphony.It is
a familiarbut truestory:Brahmscarriedtheidea ofa symphony
about
withhim formanyyears.As earlyas January1854,he could tell his
19
that
he
had
orchestrated
the
Robert
Schumann,
first,
mentor,
already
and composed the second and thirdmovements.In the 1860s, he
punctuatedhis lettersto his closest friendswith allusions to that
symphony.But insteadof completingthe compositionso slow in the
making, he adopted a series of strategicretreats:the firstPiano
Concertoof 1859,the FirstStringSextetof 1862,thePiano Quintetof
1865. And as late as the early 1870s,he could sense the oppressive
he is reported
presenceof Beethoven:"I'll nevercomposea symphony,"
to have said. "You have no idea how thelikesof us feelwhenwe keep
hearingsuch a giantbehindus."3 It was not until 1877,whenhe was
thathedaredstepbeforethepublicwithhisFirstSymphony,
forty-four,
a delay so emphaticthat it eloquentlydisplaysan unsurmountable
beforetheclassicsof his craft.
respect,an invinciblehumility,
withsuchtimidity.
The
consistent
Brahms'wayoflifeseemsperfectly
mildestof debauchesapart, he livedsoberly,modestly,solemnly;his
lifelongbachelorhoodis a symptomofbourgeoiscowardiceratherthan
a badge of bohemianfreedom.Therewas no madnessin his life,as in
thatof his belovedSchumann;he provokedno salacious scandalssuch
as thosemarkingthe lifeof Liszt; he made no move to competewith
a new religionof art. Brahmssoughtfinancial
Wagnerin prophesying
security,
practicedinnocentpleasures,enjoyeddecentcompany;he was
a slaveto theethicofwork,muchlikea bankclerkora shopkeeper.He
had beena youngmanofalmostetherealbeautywho entered- almost
fledinto- middleage behindtheappropriatedisguiseofa bushybeard,
theveryemblemof respectability.
More important:Brahmsis not difficultbut easy. He strikesthe
modernear, in fact,as all too easy,withthoselongyearningmelodies
announcedbythecello,and thethickresoundingtuttiproducedbyhis
sizable orchestra.Even his chambermusic - thatdemanding,spare
genrethatrevealsall - oftensoundsoddlysymphonic.Muchofitlacks
theacerbity,thedrywit,theintimacyof classicalchambermusic;with
themesand sonorousscoring,itapproachesat times
itsall-too-pleasing
the kindof musicplayedby a discreetensemblein resorthotelsto the
clatterof spoons and the hum of conversation.Possibly the most
devastatingportraitof the"easy" BrahmscomesfromGeorgeBernard
Shaw, theperfectWagnerite.ComparingBrahms,in 1920,withElgar,
Shaw thoughthim to have been, "with a facilityas convenientas
Elgar's," a "musical sensualistwith intellectualaffectations,"who
"succeeded only as an incoherentvoluptuary,too fundamentally
3 Reportedlya remark made to Hermann Levi, qu. in Kurt Stephenson, "Der
ed. ConstantinFloros( 1974),
KomponistBrahmsimeigenenUrteil,"Brahms-Studien,
Vol. I, p. 15.
PETER GAY
20
addleheaded to make anythinggreat out of the delicious musical

butto
luxurieshe wallowedin."4It was bad enoughto be a voluptuary,
be an incoherentvoluptuarywas to throwworseemotionsafterbad.
The literature
ofcondescensionthathas collectedaroundBrahmsthe
"romanticclassicist,"is too familiarto requirerecital.I wantto recall
onlyone tellinginstance.In his Steppenwolf,HermannHesse has his
narratoramble his way througha fantasticdream theatre;therehe
encountersMozart and, as the two talk about music, glimpsesa
scene.In a distantvalley,obscuredbyfogand clouds,he sees
mysterious
a processionled by a dignifiedold gentlemanwitha long beard and a
melancholyexpression,leadinga trainofabout tenthousandmen,all in
him: "You see, thatis Brahms.He strivesfor
black; Mozart identifies
salvation,but thatwilltakequitesome time."And thenarratorlearns
thatthosethousandsof menin black are themusicianswho had been
compelled to play all of those superfluousBrahmsiannotes. "Too
heavilyorchestrated,"
saysMozart,"too muchmaterialwasted."5These
are thesoundswe have come to call - loosely,in factinaccurately"romantic." To be sure, Hesse consigns Wagner to the same
predicament;Wagner, too, drags a black-coated train of weary
musiciansbehindhim. Ratherlike FranoiseSagan, HermannHesse
yokesthesetwoadversariestogether.Butitis Brahmswho is themodel
of thosewe maycall, adaptingBrecht,culinarycomposers.Whatever
staturewe assignto Hesse as a writer,
he is a princeamong Modernists,
and itis chillingto see howpitilessly
heplaces Brahmsinthecampofthe
enemy,the anti-Moderns.That, not long afterthe Steppenwolfwas
published,ArnoldSchoenbergshould writean essayentitled"Brahms
the Progressive"would appear to be littlemorethana bitof personal
perversity.
II
of
about Brahms.Theirresemblance
Thesearethecurrent
convictions
historicalrealitiesis, however,purelycoincidental.In 1874- thatis,
fifteenyears afterits firstperformance- the Viennesemusic critic
EduardHanslicklistenedto Brahms'FirstPiano Concerto.Hanslickwas
a dependablefriendand consistentsupporterof Brahms,yethe found
meet
that"Brahmsis notamongthosewhoobligingly
himselfreflecting
known,devotedlystudied.But
you halfway.He needsto be thoroughly
4 "Sir Edward Elgar,"firstpublishedin Music and Letters,January1920;collectedin
GeorgeBernardShaw, How to becomea Musical Critic,ed. Dan H. Laurence(1960),
p. 312.
5 Der Steppenwolf(1927), p. 271.
21
then," he added, Brahms, "amply repays our effortsand our

confidence."6Six yearsearlier,the composerMax Bruchhad angrily
reproachedhis friend,the conductor,HermannLevi, for being"an
exclusivefanaticforBrahms'music."And Bruchhad boasted,witha
mixtureof prideand anxiety,thatpeople loved hiscompositions;they
"do notwonderat it froma cold distance,as theydo withsome ofthe
worksoiyouridol."7Thiscolddistancepersisted.ShortlyafterBrahms'
death,"J. . ." wroteto the Londonjournal,Musical Opinion,from
Berlinthat"Brahmsis verymuchenvidencethis
season:theusualfateof
who
wrote
Over
the
heads'
of
their
Three
contemporaries."8
composers
in
an
noted
the
same
critic
that
while
yearslater, anonymous
periodical
thereweresomewhothoughthighlyof Brahms,ingeneralhis"position
amongthegreatcomposersis stilla matterofdebateamongmusicians.
Some can see neither
beautynoremotioninhismusic,anddeclarethathe
is neverlikelyto reachtheaveragemusicloverexceptinone or twoofhis
songs."9A reviewof the literatureamplyprovesthoseunable to find
eitherbeautyor emotionin Brahms'musicin a sizable majority.
In short,thepublicfoundBrahmsdifficult.
And seriouscritics,like
orlisteners
that
musicians,agreedwithamateurperformers
professional
Brahmswa.sdifficult.In
1872,HansvonBulow,perhapsthemostfamous,
probablythe most influentialconductorof the nineteenthcentury,
recommendedBrahms'Variationson a Themeof Haydn,a workthat
as a compositionhehad "grownto
presentsus withno puzzleswhatever,
love gradually,"but one he still thoughtto be "terriblydifficultfurchtbarschwer."10Two yearslater,writingto Frits Hartvigson,a
pianisthe respected,BulowdescribedBrahms'FirstPiano Concertoas
"verybeautifulindeed,"butaddedthatit"wasnotreallya pianoconcerto
proper."And he thoughtitless likelyto pleasethepublicthanthepiano
n In
concertoof Hans von Bronsart,a composernow whollyforgotten.
wrotefromLeipzig,thatgreatmusical
February1889,a correspondent
concertofitsGewandhausOrchestrahad been
center,thatthethirteenth
6 Hanslick,Concerte,Componistenund Virtuosender letztenfnfzehnJahre.18701885 (2nd edn., 1886),p. 111.
7 Bruchto Levi, 26 April,1868. HermannLevi Nachlass, BayrischeStaatsbibliothek,
Mnchen. Quoted in Wilhelm Lauth, "Entstehungund Geschichtedes ersten
Violinkonzertes
op. 26 von Max Bruch,"in Max BruchStudien,ed. DietrichKamper
(1970), p. 63.
8 Musical Opinionand Musical TradeReview,Vol. XXI, No. 243,(December I, 1897),
p. 200.
9 Musical Opinion,Vol. XXIII, No. 272 (May 1, 1900), p. 554.
10 Bulow to Frau Laussot,December13, 1872. Hans von Bulow,Briefe,ed. Marie von
Bulow, Vol. V, 1872-1880(1904), p. 107n.
11 April 10, 1874. Briefe,Vol. V, p. 161.
22
PETER GAY
and "theunreservedseatsempty,"possibly
ill-attended,
comparatively
because itsprogramhad included"suchheavydishesas Brahms'First
Piano Concertoand d'Albert'sOvertureto Esther'' He concededthat
d'Alberthad playedtheBrahms"so exquisitely"thatithadmadea "deep
butthatimpressionwas notone ofuncomplicated
impression,"
delight;
he pronouncedtheBrahmspiece
echoingBulow,no doubtunwittingly,
to "exceedin everywaythelegitimatelimitsofa concerto."Audiences
appreciatedthevirtuososwhomanagedtoplayall ofBrahms'notesmore
or lesscorrectly.
And theyadmiredthesheeringenuity
ofthecomposer
forexploringthefrontiers
ofsuchtraditional
formsas thevariation.But
thekindofunreflective
thetributesofpioussilence
emotionalsurrender,
orswooningassent,thatwouldgreettruly"romantic,"
genuinely
popular
composers,werenotforhim.TheywerereservedforRichardWagnerorforRobertVolkmann,a composernowa nametospecialistsalone.At
theeleventhGewandhausConcertofthe1888-1889season,Volkmann's
D-MinorSymphony"formed,"
"a fitting
climax"
thereviewer
reported,
and aroused"greatenthusiasm"- "as," he tookcare to add, "italways
does." It was preciselygreatenthusiasmthatBrahmsrarelyaroused.12
So innovative,so self-consciously
moderna composeras Richard
Strauss found Brahms' music inaccessible.In January 1884, after
toa rehearsalofBrahms'ThirdSymphony
inBerlin,hewroteto
listening
his father,a distinguished
professionalmusician,thathishead was still
"buzzingwithall thisobscurity.I candidlyconfessthatI haven'tyet
understoodit,butit is so obscureand miserablein itsinstrumentation,
thatin thefirstand lastmovementI couldmakeoutonlytwoconnected
ideas of fourbars each." 13He added thathe was keepingthisopinion
withinthefamily,
sincetherewas,inBerlin,something
ofa Brahmsculta cult,I mightinterject,
largelyconfinedto Brahms'old friendJoseph
JoachimandJoachim'spupils.Interestingly
enough,Strausschangedhis
mindon repeatedhearings:on February1, hecouldreporthomethathe
had bynowlistenedtothenewBrahmsSymphony
threetimes,"andliked
14- that
it bettereach time,so that I am now almost enthusiastic"
12 See, forbothconcerts,TheMonthlyMusical Record,Vol. XIX, No. 218 (February1,
1889), p. 31. It is fairto add thatat timesBrahmshad reasonto take pleasurein his
audiences.In thatveryseason 1888-1889,thepremierein Viennaof Brahms'Double
Concertoforviolinand cello broughthim "thecheersof an enthusiasticaudience,"
ofhisthirdviolinsonata producedan
while,in Budapest,thefirstpublicperformance
"ovation.""Music in Vienna,"MonthlyMusical Record (February1, 1889),p. 32.
13 January6, 1884. RichardStrauss,Briefean die Eltern,1882-1906,ed. Willi Schuh
(1954), p. 32.
14 Briefean die Eltern,p. 38. Thereis an excellentsurveyof GermanBrahmscriticism
in
one influential
mostcreativeperiod:ImogenFellinger,"Das
periodicalduringBrahms*
Brahms-Bildder AllgemeinenMusikalischenZeitung (1863 bis 1882)/' in Heinz
Becker,ed. Beitragezur Geschichteder Musikkritik(1965), pp. 27-54.
23
"almost"hauntedBrahmsall his life.Brahms,it would seem,did not

as Hanslickhadobserved; heneededrehearing.
deserverehearing,
merely
- Germany,thecountryof
Ifeven GermanyfoundBrahmsdifficult
in
Brahms,whichtookinordinatepride itsdevelopedmusicaltasteand
unequalledmusicalproduction- othercountriesfoundhimno easier.
England,whichin fact gave Brahmsearly a sensitiveand generous
withmarkedreluctance.
hearing,incorporatedhimintoitsrepertories
its
after
in
When March 1891,(fifteen
publication),the Shinner
years
67
for
the
firsttimeinBirmingham,
Brahms'
Opus
StringQuartetplayed
notedthatits"clearnessand beauty"were"at oncerecognized
a reviewer
and appreciated,"buthe immediately
qualifiedthispraisebyaddinga
"itisobviousthat
cautionthatwas becominga toposinBrahmscriticism:
all
its
artistic
understand
is
needed
to
further
import."l5Two
repetition
out
Brahms'
Second Piano
had
London
reviewer
a
singled
yearsbefore,
16
notmeanthe
he
did
and
"difficult"
Concertoas a "difficult
work",
by
soloist'svirtuosopart.
It is truethatBrahmshad hispartisansamongcriticsand conductors,
but theirsupportproducedthekindof mutualalienationbetweenthe
professional and the public that we normally associate with
of avant-gardework.A typicalreviewofa Brahmswork
performances
but also as "neglected."In
would describeit not merelyas "difficult"
Akademische
Gesangverinproduced Brahms'
Vienna,in 1889,when
called it "noble" (scarcelyan
reviewer
a
somber Begrabnisgesang,
the
to
a
music)and added thatit was
epithetdenoting joyous yielding
some criticswho wondered
at
least
were
There
"too-seldom-heard."17
out loud whetherperhapstheresistantpublicshoweda tastesuperiorto
thatofconductorswho forcedthenoble Brahmson it.18Butingeneral,
reviewerswanted to hear Brahms more often than his notorious
him.GeorgeBernardShaw,
inducedconductorsto perform
angularities
of
had
a
as
we
who,
know,
"poor opinion mostof Brahms'music",19
15 The Musical Times,Vol. XXXII, No. 578, (April 1, 1891), p. 222.
16 Musical Opinion(September1, 1889), p. 576.
17 MonthlyMusical Record,Vol XIX, No. 221, (May 1, 1889),p. 103.
18 Whenin Vienna,in 1889,theaudiencefoundBrahms'Gesang der Parzensupremely
one revieweropenlysympathizedwithits demonstrative
displeasure;
uninteresting,
"perhaps,"he wrote,thepublichad "been right"to rejectthecompositionso frankly.
Neue Zeitschrift
ft Musik, Vol. LXXXVI (1890), p. 319.
19 How to become a Musical Critic,p. 209. Shaw was an intelligentif doubtless
about
invitessoberreflections
deliberately
provocativecritic,and his musicalcriticism
On November22, 1893,he
ofposterity.
ofreputationand theingratitude
theinstability
reportedon a concertin whichHermannGoetz'ssymphonyin F majorhad been"the
thathas been
gemof theconcert."In hisjudgment,thiswas "theonlyrealsymphony
composed since Beethovendied." Goetz, Shaw wrote,"has the charm of Schubert
24
PETER GAY
in thecriticalfraternity.
More representative
was
spoke fora minority
theLondon reviewerwho found,in the 1888-1889season,thatGeorge
Second and ThirdSymphonieshad not
Henschel'sconductingBrahms9
sated his appetite;whynot,he asked,put theFirstand Fourthon the
the"remarkableseries?"He was glad
programas well,thuscompleting
to have attendeda "good performance"of the Second, the "most
and thoughtthatit,too, was "too
cheery"of Brahms'foursymphonies,
In
heard."20
like
a
manner,
rarely
colleague, who had objected to
Henschel'sinadequaterehearsalsand hurriedtempi,describedBrahms9
Third Symphony,"the most concise and genial" of his four,as a
Later in the same year,
compositionthatwas "strangely
neglected."21
commentingon Brahms' much-debatedFirst Piano Concerto, a
in Londoncalledit "a strangely
correspondent
neglectedwork."22That
was the principaltone sounded in the musical criticismof the day:
Brahmswas notjust neglected,he was strangelyneglected.
It is apparent,then,thatdifficulty
did notprecludeesteem.Butwith
Brahms it was esteem chilled by a sense of duty. Most of his
contemporaries
ingestedBrahmslike some nutritiousbut unpalatable
diet:he was good forone. Brahmssaw thisquiteunsentimentally.
Near
theend ofhislife,talkingwithhisfriendand eventualbiographer,
Max
Kalbeck,he asked:"My God, whatdo you want?I havegotfarenough.
People, friendsand opponentsalike, respectme. Even ifpeople don't
love me - theyrespectme,and thatis themain thing.I don'task for
more."23And, of course, neglect,strangeor otherwise,is a relative
matter.Brahmswas performed,
but less consistently
thanhis presentstature
would
lead
us
to
the
Consider
Halle
Orchestraof
day
expect.
and inspirationof Mendelssohnwithouthis
withouthis brainlessness,
therefinement
limitationand timidgentility,
Schumann'ssenseof harmonicexpressionwithouthis
and dependenceon externalpoeticstimulus "As for
laboriousness,shortcoming,
Brahms:"Brahms,who alone toucheshimin merebrutemusicalfaculty,is a dolt in
comparisonwithhim."Music in London1890-94,3 vols.,Vol. Ill (edn. 1932),p. 94.
has disappearedfromtherepertory,
whilethedolt
Needlessto say,Goetz'ssymphony
Brahmsis doingwell;probablytheonlycompositionofGoetzstillwidelyperformed
is
the overtureto his opera, The Tamingof the Shrew.
20 Musical Opinion(March 1, 1889),p. 276.
21 Musical Times,Vol. XXX, No. 551, (January1, 1889),p. 22.
22 Musical Opinion (September1, 1889), p. 576. The reviewerwas willingto forgive
Brahms "the notorious reminiscencefrom the Ninth Symphonyin the opening
thespiritof Beethoven."He thoughtthework
subject,"because theconcerto"reflects
"remarkableforgenuinegrandeurof styleand a wealthof ideas seldomequalled in
shouldbe
compositionsofthepresentday,and withoutwhichno virtuoso'srepertoire
consideredcomplete."England,as I havesaid,gave Brahmsa generoushearingfairly
early,but theseare accentsrareeven forEngland.
23 Quotedin Stephenson,"Der ComponistBrahmsimeigenenUrteil,"Brahms-Studien,
Vol. I, p. 14.
25
in
orchestras
Manchester,
prominent
amongsymphony
Europe,owned,
managed,and conductedby Sir Charles Halle, as receptiveto music
fromhisnativeGermanyas hewas to thatofhisadoptedEngland.In his
season of 1890-1891,Halle drew,as usual, heavilyon
twenty-concert
Germancomposers:he puton hisprogramVolkmann'scello concerto,
Reinecke'ssuite, From the Cradle to the Grave, and Raffs Lenore
offeredmanyselectionsfromWagner'smusicdramas,and
Symphony,
out
as did everyconductor,everywhere- a richdiet of
spread
twoof hisfivepiano
Beethoven:threeof Beethoven'sninesymphonies,
the
choral fantasia,a
three
the
violin
concerto,
overtures,
concertos,
In
the
Missa
Solemnis.
the same season,
a
and
sonata,
song, piano
threeof Brahms'Liederand theGerman
Halle's Orchestraperformed
and serenades,
overtures,
Requiem,but none of Brahms'symphonies,
and neitherofhispiano concertos.WhilteHalle foundoccasionto offer
theviolinconcertoof Brahms'old friendJoachim,he foundnone for
Brahms'own.
Thiswas typical.In 1891-1892,an adventurousseasoninwhichHalle
experimentedwithan all-Mozart eveningand a programconsisting
entirelyof the thirdacts of Lohengrinand Tannhauser,Brahmswas
representedby two Lieder and one Hungarian Dance. Like other
conductorsintenton fillingtheirhalls,Halle could notaffordtoaffront
his publictoo often.Howeverindependentin spirit,howeverdidactic
had to reflect
hispurposes,hisprogramming
publicopinion,and public
opinionwas tepidabout Brahms.
Public opinion changed over the years,and public performance
changedwithit. Butnotdrastically.In thedecade datingfromBrahms'
death in 1897 to the year 1906, the Halle Orchestraplayed his First
onlyoncebefore)threemoretimes.The Second,
Symphony(performed
the
most
cheerful- or, theleastdepressing- among
widelythought
Brahms'symphonicworks,enjoyedsomewhatgreateracceptance:it
had beenplayedfivetimesbeforeand was now playedfourtimesmore.
The Thirdand FourthSymphonies,on theotherhand,consideredfar
wereeach playedonlytwicein thatdecade. Wagner
moreformidable,
and Beethovenwereperformedfar more often,both beforeBrahms'
deathand after.While Brahmswas scarcelya forgotten
composer,he
was anythingbut a popular favorite.Audiencesdid not mindhearing
him, but did not ask for more: if Halle was induced to repeat his
programwithinthe same season, no similar
Lohengrin-Tannhauser
requestsforBrahmsare on record.24
24 Computed fromprintedprogramsand a handwritten"Complete List of Works
Performed
1858-1907,"HenryWatsonMusic Library,Manchester.MichaelKennedy,
26
PETER GAY
The performancerecordof the PhilharmonicOrchestraof Berlin

confirms
theimpression
gleanedfromtheHalle. Berlinis an interesting
testcityforBrahms.It was here,on March4, 1889,thatthegreatHans
von Bulow had broughthis good friendto conducthis own D minor
Concerto,withBulowat thepiano: to completethetriumphant
evening,
Brahmshad conductedthe Academic FestivalOverturewith Bulow
performing
creditablyat thedrum.Moreover,as a privateorchestraof
recentfoundation,the Orchestrahad, fromits beginningin 1882,
of Europeanensembles.In 1895,
rapidlyplayeditselfintotheforefront
aftertheshortreignsof such charismaticconductorsas Bulow, there
began the principateof ArthurNikisch,who was to establish his
unquestionedauthorityoverplayers,audiences,and criticsalike. And
Nikisch played Brahms,less frequentlythan Beethovenbut more
thanWagner.In thefirsttwenty
frequently
yearsofhistenure,faithful
subscriberscould count on hearingall of Brahms'symphoniesand
concertosseveraltimes,as well as his overturesand a numberof his
choral compositions.Even less than at Manchester,Brahms was
man in Berlin.
scarcelya forgotten
It is hardto knowhow to interpret
such figures.As Nikischhimself
in
to
to
he
was
no
dictate
noted,
virtuosos,and inthose
position
visiting
in
Berlin
as
no
concert
was completewithout
elsewhere, symphony
days,
at leastonesoloist.25Besides,howeverunchallengedNikisch'sauthority
mightappear,he was onlyone element,ifa powerfulone, in a complex
field of force, involving intricateaccommodations and mutual
concessions among conductors, players, soloists, critics, rival
orchestras,highlyplaced bureaucrats,and the public - or, rather,
publics. Moreover, wheneverNikisch performedBrahms, did he
the
TheHalle Tradition: Century
ofMusic (1960),adds usefulstatistics.Incidentally,
Tannhauser
demandforWagnerwas so stormy,thatHalle repeatedthatLohengrineveningonce morein thefollowingseason, in 1892-93.In thelast decade of Brahms'
life,from1887to 1896,theHalle OrchestraplayedBrahms'compositionsthirty-eight
times,Wagner90 and Beethoven112 times.In thefollowingten-yearspan,from1897
to 1906,the figureforBrahmsrose from38 to 59, whilethatforBeethovendeclined
slightlyto 110; Wagnerrose to 148.
25 In an unpublished reply to a critic accusing Nikisch of vastly over-valuing
Tschaikowsky,
(onlypublishedafterhis death),Nikischmade thepointthatstatistics
of performances
do notwhollyreflecttheconductor'staste,since"we are seldomina
positionto influencea soloist'schoice of programs."See FerdinandPfohl,"Arthur
ed. HeinrichChevalley(1922), p. 81.
Nikisch,"in ArthurNikisch:ben und Wirken,
The rage for soloists was general; Michael Kennedy,the historianof the Halle
Orchestra,explicitlynotes thatthe 1901-2season "began withan innovation- a
purelyorchestralconcert."The Halle Tradition,p. 149.
27
himas a classicor as a rebel?26The categoryofthe"classical"
perform
inthosedaysfromourcurrent
definition:
theclassical
differed
markedly
farewe expectto encounteroften- Haydn symphoniesand Mozart
piano concertos- werealmostwhollyabsentfromNikisch'sprograms.
In contrast,he gave hospitalityto Germancomposerslike Alexander
Ritter,Felix Draeseke,or Xaver Scharwenka,thoughnormallyfora
singleappearance.Buttheyand theirkindfigurefarmoreprominently
thana foreignradicallike Claude Debussy,who,in thosetwenty
years
between1895and 1914,appearsina Philharmonicprogramonlyonce,
of his L 'Apres-midid'unfaune. In contrasta
witha singleperformance
RichardStrauss27,was in theascendant:it is a
Germanexperimenter,
on the stateof musicaltastein Berlinat the turnof the
commentary
centurythatthe Philharmonicshould have playedStraussmoreoften
thanMozart,and morethantwiceas oftenas Haydn.Brahms,then,was
comfortably- or, rather,uncomfortably- lodged between the
ancientsand the moderns:not ancient enough to be, like Haydn,
Itwas a critic
slighted;notmodernenoughto be,likeStrauss,titillating.
most
in
his
in Londonwho, 1890,placed position
precisely.Comparing
Brahms'TragicOverturewithLiszt's Dante Symphony,he foundthe
twoworks"verywidelycontrasted,
thougheach belongsto themodern
to
classic
Brahms
adheres
but
school;
precedents,whereasLiszt casts
difficult
modernclassicist.
themaside . . ,"28Brahmswas a conservative
him
Most of Brahms'contemporaries,
then,thought
unimaginative
and solid,a technicianwho was, at best,an apt discipleof his betters.
One widelyread Germanmusicalhistorian,ProfessorEmil Naumann,
listedBrahmsamong the followersof Schumann,in the companyof
AlbertDietrictand RobertVolkmann,and devotedless space to him
than to Raff.29AnotherGerman critic,surveyingthe conditionof
calls Brahmsa
26 In the passage I have just quoted (see note 25), Nikischinstructively
composerwhom"I am alreadycounting"among"ourclassics."The "already"suggests
Brahms'transitionalstatus.I intendto explorewhatI herecall "fieldsof force"in a
book.
forthcoming
27 It is interesting
to notethatevenHermannLevi,towardtheendofhislife,had to admit
that for all his commitmentto the Music of the Future,he could no longerfully
understandRichardStrauss:Levito Paul Heyse,ca. December1899(halfa yearbefore
Vol. VI,
Levi'sdeath):"Auch ichvermagStraussnichtmehrzufolgen." Heyse-Archiv,
Levi Letterno. 44. Hand Schriften
Abteilung,BayrischeStaatsbibliothek,Munich.
28 Musical Times(July1, 1890),p. 407.
29 See Naumann,Deutsche Tondichter(5th edn., 1882),eh. 12, "Die Gegenwart,"pp.
346-377passim.This low estimatedates fromthefirsteditionof 1871,whenBrahms
had alreadypublisheda greatdeal of distinguished
music;by 1882,he had added the
butnoneoftheseworkscaused Naumann
violinconcertoand hisfirsttwosymphonies,
to revisehis verdict.For a surveyof theseminorcomposers,see Rudolf Louis, Die
deutscheMusik der Gegenwart(rd. edn. 1912).
PETER GAY
28
chamber music in 1890, praised Brahms, but for understanding

Beethovenbest and followinghim most closely.30The year before,
Brahms'one-timefriendand admirerHermannLevi, long afterthe
friendshiphad soured and the admiration lapsed, put it more
economicallyand moresavagelywhenhecalledBrahmsan "epigone."31
It was a word,it seems,thatcame easilyto thepen. In themidstof an
appreciation,the once famouscriticPaul Marsop called his favorite
theGermanRequiem,a derivative
amongall of Brahms'compositions,
piece: "thetributethatan epigonepresentsto the immortals."32
Brahms'"tributes"
werenotalwaysthesubjectofderisivereflections.
One Englishamateurpoet publishedin 1891 a sonnetthatreflectsa
sunnierview:
Brahms,strong,self-governed
soul, be thisthypraise,That in a fitfulage thou didstrefrain
From methodsfalse,fromlibertiesprofane:
For thou hast gatheredin tradition'sways
The flowersof full-blownthoughtthatcrownthydays.
Hark, in thymellowmusic,strongand sane,
Beethoven'sharmoniesvibrateagain,
And fillour listeningspiritwithamaze.
His mantlerestsupon thee. Artnot thou
in his stead,
High Priestof Music's mysteries
The jealous guardianof the laws divine?
So menshall call thee Master;even thoughnow
Theyfollowafterothergods thanthine,
And trampleout thefootprints
of thedead. 33
One listener'splagiarist,it would appear, was another listener's
classicist.
30 In short: Brahms'eminencein chambermusic compositionlies in his capacityto
imitate."He, too,has notcarriedthechambermusicstyleforward.We stillstandwhere
we stood sixtyyearsago." Neue Zeitschrift
fr Musik, Vol. CXXXVI(1890),p.556.
31 Levi to an unidentifiedcorrespondent,December 15, 1889. Oesterreichische
Nationalbibliothek,Wien, Autograph 195/46. For Levi, on whose instructive
testimonyI have drawnfreelyhere,see PeterGay, "HermannLevi and the Cult of
Wagner,'*The TimesLiterarySupplement(April 11, 1975), pp. 402-404.
32 "JohannesBrahms,"MusikalischeEssays (1889), p. 194.
33 Musical Times,Vol. XXXII, No. 578 (April 1, 1891),p. 210.
III
29
The 19th-century
reputation of Brahms, then, embraces two
But
incompatibleelements:he seemedat once traditionaland difficult.
theparadoxis onlyapparent.Some wordsoftheEnglishsonnetpointto
its resolution:Brahms,the poet tellsus, has
gatheredin tradition'sways
The flowersof full-blownthought.
in 1890,
an EnglishreviewcalledBrahms'FourthSymphony,
Similarly,
"one of themostabstruseand least inspiredof the composer'slarger
works."34In thesametenor,Brahms'intimatefriend,thedistinguished
criticizedBrahms
surgeonand giftedamateurpianist,TheodorBillroth,
forhaving"too littlesensuality- zu wenigSinnliches- in hisart,as
composer and performeralike."35 Phrases like "calculating
"mathematicalmusic"and "drypedantry,""abstruse,
intellectuality,"
intellectual"and "unintelligible,dry, deliberateand uncongenial",
"emotionalimpotence"swamp the criticalliterature.Brahmswas the
Browningof music.36Even Brahms'Double ConcertoforViolinand
to
effort
to findungrateful
Cello,whichitwouldtakesome imaginative
arousedat leasttheManchesterGuardianto precisely
theimagination,
that reflection:"Those who look upon music for the expressionof
to arouse the feelings."37The same
emotion will find little ...
of Brahms'
on thefirstManchesterperformance
newspaper,reporting
34 See Musical Times,Vol. XXXII, No. 581 (July 1, 1890), p. 407. Italics mine.The
reviewerdoes exemptthe slow movement,"a gem,"fromthisgeneralstricture.The
runsthroughtheMarsopessayI havejustquoted. Brahmswas
chargeofintellectuality
"a restlessstudent- ein rastloserLerner;"witha fewexceptionsthereis "always
somethingheavyand dry - etwas Dumpfes und Trockenes- in the Brahmsian
- Gewolltesthereis "alwayssomethingdeliberate,intellectualized
orchestration;"
Brahms'tragicvision- Tragik."Andso forth.Though,at thesametime:"Thisscholar
insoundwas,at thesametime,a poet- einDichter.""JohannesBrahms,"
and thinker
MusikalischeEssays,pp. 184-195passim.
35 This in themidstofa paean to Brahms.Billroth,agreeingwithHanslick,to Professor
Lubke,December24, 1867.Briefevon TheodorBillroth(8thunchangededition,1910),
p. 73. By linkingBrahmsto Bach and Beethovenin thiscomplaint,Billrothonly
not some
in any event,he thoughtBrahms'intellectualism
confusesmattersfurther;
defectin sensualpowersbut theconsequenceof a deliberatepolicy.
36 The firstquotationis fromMusical Opinion(April1, 1891), p. 255; theothers,in order,
fromthe Boston Gazette(January24, 1878); Boston Daily Advertiser(October 31,
1882),Boston Gazette(November8, 1884);J. F. Runciman[Boston]Musical Record
(January1, 1900); New York Times (February28, 1896), all quoted fromNicolas
Slonimsky,ed. Lexicon of Musical Invective:CriticalAssaultson ComposersSince
Beethoven'sTime (edn., 1965), pp. 68, 70, 71, 79, 182. The Lexicon, a shrewdly
gatheredtreasure,containsinsultsto othercomposersas well,thoughfewhave so
a groupof assailantsas Brahms.
single-minded
37 Kennedy,The Halle Tradition,p. 60.
30
PETER GAY
Third Symphonyin November1884, foundcriticand audiencealike

paralyzedbytheobviousquestion:"'How do youlikethesymphony?'"
The reviewer,GeorgeFremantle,concludedthat"The symphony
gave
us all the mentaloccupation we could desire."38The most devoted
followersof Brahms could not deny the cerebral quality of his
compositions:"Enjoy Brahmsin theWagnerianor Chopinesquesense
of the word one cannot,"RutlandBoughtonadmitted,"but one can
listenin admirationat hisgrandeur,and marvelat whathetellsus,forit
is all trueand great."39Brahmswas work- brain-work.
This is the line, too, on which French musical opinion unitedin
confronting
Germany'smost considerablecomposer,certainlysince
Wagner'sdeath in 1883. While Brahms'choral and chamberworks
enjoyed a measure of specialized favor among French musicians,
leadingconductorsdiscoveredhimlate and playedhimlittle.Brahms'
Fourth Symphonycame to Paris in 1890, five years afterits first
the Thirdnot until1895,twelveyearsafteritspremiere.
performance;
The principal,certainlythe ostensible,reason forthisresistancewas
Brahms'dryness,
hisintellectuality.
ArthurPougin,theregularcriticfor
Le Mnestrel,refusedto creditSchumann'senthusiasticverdictthat
Brahmswas a genius,and thoughtratherthatBrahmslackedthestuff
of
greatnesswhichleaves "its brilliantand luminoustrace."Listeningto
the Paris premiereof the Fourthdid not inducePouginto changehis
mind:doubtlessthe symphonywas "important"and displayed"solid
and powerfulqualities."But,he thought,it sadlylacked "inspiration"
and "personality";the "elegance"and occasional "grace" of its dress
barelyconcealed its "aridity- scheresse" Its orchestration,
though
"itis theexcellentexerciseofa good
"solid,"was equallydisappointing:
student- excellentdevoirde bon colier",a Galliccircumscription
for
curtercurse,epigone.40
Five years later,attendingthe firstParis performanceof Brahms'
Third,Pougincopiedhisearlierreviewalmostwordforword.He found
this symphony,like the Fourth, "important,"though in no way
comparableto some fineearlyBrahmsianworksliketheRequiem,the
38 Kennedy,The Halle Tradition,p. 55; see also pp. 45, 49, 57. Fremantle,as Kennedy
records(pp. 64-65)also foundpartsofTschaikowsky's
SymphoniePathtiquebaffling
and obscure.
39 "Brahms'VariationsforPiano Solo," Musical Opinion,No. 254, p. 109.
40 "Revue des grandsconcerts,"Le Mnestrel,56thYear, No. 3 (January19,1890),p. 21.
Frenchcomposersseemto haveagreed:Vincentd'Indy,forone,heldthatBrahms"did
not understandhow to benefitby the valuable lessons"thatBeethovenhad left"for
futuregenerations,and his weightysymphonicluggage must be regardedas a
continuationratherthanas a progress."Csar Franck(1906, tr. 1910),p. 87.
31
And
as
he
had
just
thought
StringSextets,and theSecond Symphony.
the Fourth Symphony "cold" composition, from which both
"originalityand the heat of inspirationwere absolutelyabsent," so
and theworkas a
Pouginnow foundtheThirdlackingin "inspiration,"
the brain?
the
color
of
I
that
is
Need
add
whole,"gray".41
gray
not rankvery
Brahms
did
for
his
was
colleagues:
Pougin
speaking
the
season
on
concert
In
with
French
critics.
April1892,reflecting
high
in
conductors
the
two
criticized
Barbedette
leading
just past,Hyppolite
their
timid
for
and
Edouard
Charles
Lamoureux
Colonne,
Paris,
and proposedthattheyplay moreHaydnand seek out
programming,
theminorworksof Beethovenor Mendelssohn.Then,movingdownto
a lesserrank,to "Niels Gade, Brahms,Rubinstein,Raff,"Barbedette
overturesor
suggestedthat they,too, mighthave some interesting
The
resurrection.
of
works
company into which
worthy
symphonic
Le Mnestrel,placed
for
critic
an
articulate
Berbedette,
anti-Wagnerian
hisownperfectly
from
but
Brahmsis,fromour perspective,
astounding
natural.42Not even the pious hyperbolethatmarks,and mars,most
obituariescouldwhollyerasethedutifulappreciationthatFrenchmusic
criticsbroughtto Brahms,theintellectual.Writingin Le Mnestrelin
mid-April1897,just afterthenewsof Brahms'deathhad reachedParis,
cultivation."ButevenBrahms'
notedhis"rareintellectual
O. Berggruen
couldnotequal thequality
of
thought,
Berggruen
prolificoutput songs,
of Schumann's,or even Robert Franz's, Lieder:"To tell the truth,at
mosta dozen or so of his songs have become popular." The German
Requiem, which had made Brahms famous, was a work he never
surpassed;his vocal musicshows him to have been an "inquiringand
abstract spirit." Brahms' instrumentalmusic displays the same
conceded
character:rarelya trulyflowingmelodyanywhere.Berggruen
hispowers
thatone mustadmireBrahms'giftformakingcombinations,
of constructionand his sovereigncontrol of the means of musical
production- all (need I say?) qualitiesof an intellectualcraftsman.43
The French,in short,sharedand underscoredtheopinionof Europe:
Brahmswas a cerebralcomposer.
IV
I have submittedsufficient
evidence,I think,to substantiatemy
argumentthat our favoritecommonplace about Brahms,his easy
41 "Revue des grandconcerts,"Le Mnestrel,61stYear,No. 5 (February3, 1895),p. 36.

42 Le Mnestrel58thYear, No. 16 (April 17, 1892),p. 127.
43 "Ncrologie,"Le Mnestrel63rdYear,No. 15(April11,1897),pp. 113-115.Berggruen
for
concedesthatsome of Brahms'latechambermusic,liketheclarinetworkswritten
his friendMuhlfeld,are "ravishing;"forthe rest,Brahmsis "laborious and solid,"
deservingrespect,no more.
32
PETER GAY
in his lifetime
was held by an insignificant
and
romanticism,
minority
thatthe other
forsome yearsafterhis death. I wantto note,briefly,
is at leastopen to question.We aretold
commonplace,hisconformism,
markoftheavant-gardeis to be at odds withthe
thatthedistinguishing
at odds
"bourgeoiscivilization"ofitsage." Now,Brahmswas distinctly
with his age. Compared to the giants of the eighteenthand early
nineteenth
he would insist,overand overagain,themusicians
century,
ofhistimewerevulgarians:uninventive
imitators
or brasheccentrics:
"I
don't like us," he said. "Wir gefallenmir nicht"45His own way of
thedepressingsituationof modernmusicwas to compose
confronting
with that mixtureof respect and disrespect,of adaptation and
independence,thatcharacterizesthe trueculturalinnovator.
Even Brahms9choice of textsfor his copious vocal compositions
providesclues to depthsunsuspectedand unexplored.An earnestif
fromunpredictable
masses
reader,he drewhisinspiration
unsystematic
of printedmaterialsrangingfromtheinsipidto theprofound,fromthe
sentimental
to theexperimental.And at leasttwo of his mostmoving
works for voice and orchestra,the Song of Destiny and the Alto
Rhapsody,utilizetextsstrikingly
superiorto theworkadaypoetictastes
of thenineteenth-century
Germans.Brahms'Schicksalsliedis a setting
of a poem that Hlderlininsertedinto his novel,Hyperion.Withits
painfuland yearningcontrastbetweenclear-eyed,unchangingGreek
gods and restless, ever sufferinghumanity,it was more than
conventionalnostalgia;whenBrahmscame upon Hlderlinin 1868,his
46And whensoon
poetrywas littleknownand his messageuncertain.
afterBrahmsdecidedto composeportionsofGoethe'sdarkHarzreisein
he fellupon a textwhich,thoughbyGermany'smostcelebrated
Winter,
Dichter,was like Hlderlin'sverse,far frombeinga popular poem.
Brahms'settingof Goethe's lines, withits splendidinterweaving
of
the
contralto,orchestraand late-entering
chorus, is unforgettable:
lonelytravelerof Goethe'spoemis estrangedfromtheworld,in danger
of transforming
self-hatred
intohatredofothers,eatinghimselfup and
appealingto a divinityto show himthewayout. Such choices,and the
music Brahms composed, seem like propheticanticipationsof the
Modernistmalaiseand the Modernistsensibility.
and usefulin
This is thepointof myessay. It is doubtlessinteresting
itselfto documentthe dramaticshiftin Brahms'reputation,but that
44 Presumably,so is theconservative;
butin thisneatpattern,theconservativeis seento
hatethepresentand hankerforthepast,whiletheavant-gardehatesthepresentand
fantasizesthe future.
45 See Stephenson,"Der KomponistBrahmsin eigenenUrteil,"Brahms-Studien,
Vol. I,
pp. 11-13.
in HermannHettner'sclassicvolume,Literaturgeschichte
46 Considerthebrieftreatment
33
storyholds fewsurprises.The historyof tasteis, afterall, fullof such
shiftsto which not even Dante, not even Shakespeare,have been
immune.Only stabilityneeds explaining.But more went into the
makingof our Brahmsthan this. What changed was not merelya
judgmentbut a mode ofjudgment.Brahmsthefrigidintellectualhas
Thisis morethana widening
becomeBrahmsthesultrysentimentalist.
of
it
is
more
than
an
act
learning.It warnsthehistorian
appreciation,
stablecategoriesarefar
thatnotevaluationsalone,butevenpresumably
frompermanent
orabsolute.It is notsimplythatwehavecometo likeor detest- whatonce mainlypuzzled our elders,but ratherthatwhat
anothercenturyhas come to
one century
saw as theproductofintellect
havelongthrowndoubton
see as theproductofemotion.Psychologists
thepropositionthatthementalactivitieswecall "reason"and "passion"
and historiansmusttake
are mutuallyexclusiveand whollyunalterable,
their point and relativizetheir perceptionof these psychological
forces.47To do so will tightentheirgrip on the eventstheyseek to
understandby takingthemout of theirown mentalset.
I can illustrate,
bothwhathas happenedto Brahmsin particularand
thechameleonnatureof"reason"and "passion"in generalbycitingthe
painting.The Monetsand Renoirs
analogous historyof Impressionist
adornthewallsofgushingteenagers
thattoday,in cheapreproductions,
werescornedonlya centuryago as offensesto good
just past puberty,
taste, as violations of nature. Degas, the misanthrope,with his
awkward, sweating ballerinas, exhausted jockeys and depressed
prostituteshas been victimizedby a change in sensibilitythat has
trivializedhis beautiful ugliness to mere prettiness.If we read
withsuchshiftsinmind,
Schoenberg'sessay,"BrahmstheProgressive,"
new
The
radical innovationsin
will
it
with
we
read
comprehension.
in Brahms'workhave
discerns
that
and
rhythm Schoenberg
harmony
been absorbedinto themainstreamof tastewiththe passage of time;
what once mystifiedand alienated listenersnow lies comfortably,
almostlazily,in our ear.
thehistoryof
But I am afterstillbiggergamethanthis.I am offering
Brahms'reputationas an argumentfor the need to reexaminethe
historyof the high culturewe inhabit.The prevailingaccount sees
modern culture emergingfrom the irrevocablesplit between the
The makers
Modernistavant-gardeand the AcademicEstablishment.
of our mind,fromCezanne to Kandinsky,fromKierkegaardto Marx,
der Goethezeit(3rd edn. 1876; reprintedwith unalteredtext 1970), pp. 591-99;
the littleessay ends withthevery
Interestingly,
appreciativebut ratherperfunctory.
linesthatBrahmsset to music.
47 For a specificapplicationof thisidea to the psychologyof music,see Leonard B.
Meyer,Emotionand Meaning in Music (1956).
34
PETER GAY
fromNietzscheto Freud, fromWagnerto Schoenberg,were great

outsiders,despisingthemodernworldinto whichan unkindfatehad
plunged them, hating the mass-manufactureof vulgarity,the
ofthebourgeois,therewardsavailableto bad tasteand the
stranglehold
lamentabledecay of civility.
Thereis, of course,as I notedat thebeginning,
somethingin all this,
butless thanwe have thought.I do notwantto arguefromexceptions:
thereare always exceptions.I want to argue quite generallythatthe
materialI have presentedinvitesus to revise,in two ways,thecurrent
account of how our Modernistsensibility
arose: we mustrethinkthe
distanceof theavant-gardefromitscontemporary
and
Establishment,
the relativeshare of the past in its aggressivework.That mysterious
activitywe call creation,whichhas fascinatedand defiedso many
is alwaysan act offusion.Howeverurgenttheimpulseof
investigators,
defianceortheassertionoforiginality,
thereareelementsinthecreator's
worldthathe acceptsand incorporates.Whathe seesas his"world"is,
afterall, not an undifferentiated
mass of stupidity,ineptitudeand
but
a
series
of
environments
of which at least some are
hostility,
admirableorproveinescapable.The rebel'sindividuality
can neverbe as
totalas he would liketo think.Doubtlessthewordcreativity,
withits
resonanceof a divine power makingsomethingout of nothing,is,
howeverflattering,
profoundlymisleading.Inspirationdepends on
and
technical
knowledge
competenceas muchas itdoes on someprivate
to
the
he buildsat leastpartlywithbrickshe has
creator;
alchemyunique
from
others.
got
The creatoris quiteas enmeshedin thetradition.We would see this
moreplainlythanwe normallydo ifwe used comprehensive
termslike
presentand world,or traditionand past, in the plural. Nor, forthat
matter,are presentsand pasts insulatedfromone another: Manet
quoted seventeenth-century
Spaniardsto discomfit
nineteenth-century
Frenchmen
just as, a hundredyearsbeforehim,Diderothad exploited
ancientpagansto assail contemporary
Christians.To turnto thepastor, rather,one past maybe themosteffective
way of preparingthe
future.I am farfromdisparagingthedaringoftheinnovatorordenying
481 am onlytrying
therealityofinnovation.
togivea realisticaccountof
both.
I returnto mystarting
and an
point.Brahmswas botha traditionalist
both
and a
a
conservative
and
a
both
a
craftsman
innovator,
radical,
he
was
an
emotional
without
creator;
intellectual,
cripplingconflicts,
48 I havedealt withDiderot's(and theotherphilosophes1)
strategiesofexploitingwhatI
An Interpretation,
have called "the usefuland beloved past" in The Enlightenment:
Vol. I, The Rise of Modern Paganism(1966); and I deal withManet'sin myArtand
Act: On Causes in History- Manet, Gropius,Mondrian(1976).
35
withoutparadox. Only a handful of critics have discerned this
writingin
compoundof qualitiesin Brahms.An anonymousreviewer,
in 1878,was disturbedenoughbytheFirst
theBostonDaily Advertiser
Symphonyto defineBrahmsas "a modernof the moderns."His "C
minorSymphony,"
he added, "is a remarkableexpressionof theinner
of
this
life
anxious, introverted,over-earnestage," a shrewd, if
ofcoursefarmoreappreciative,
called
tendentious
appraisal.49Billroth,
whileas earlyas 1869
hisgood friend"our mostmoderncomposer,"50
an obscurecritic,P. Kleinert,perceptively
suggestedthatwhileBrahms
he had by no
had listenedto theold masterscloselyand intelligently,
meansimitatedthem,buthad,rather,absorbedwhattheyhad to teach
and gone his own way: "We are confrontedwithmodernmusic."51
Thesewereisolatedvoices,and theyhave remainedisolated;in our day
it has been Schoenbergwho said of Brahms,"he would have been a
adds:
to Mozart."Andheimmediately
pioneerifhehadsimplyreturned
"But he did notliveon inheritedfortune;he made one ofhisown."521
have writtenthisessay to show that Schoenbergwas rightin both of
and thattheconsequencesofhisbeingrightare,forthe
theseassertions,
historian,nothingless thanmomentous.And, yes,faime Brahms.
49 (January18, 1878),quoted in Slonimsky,Lexicon, p. 68.
thatHanslickrecords
50 In a freelyrenderedbutdoubtlesslargelyauthenticconversation
holdingwithBillroth,in Hanslick,Aus meinemLeben,2 vols. (1894), Vol. II, p. 302.
"Brahmstoo belongsamongthediscoverersofthe
Marsopis rathermorehalf-hearted:
modern.Onlywe mustgrouphimamongthosewho,ratherthanblazingpathsintoyet
unknownlands, demonstratehithertoneglectedbeauties and charms among old
familiarthings."MusikalischeEssays,p. 191.
51 Quotedinextensoin Max Kalbeck,JohannesBrahms,4 vols,in8 (1904-1914),Vol. II,
remainsthe
pp. 1, 273-4. Kalbeck's biography,despite its patentBrahms-worship,
classic.
52 "Brahmsthe Progressive,"
(1933, revisedin 1947),in Styleand Idea (1950), p. 99. The
whole essay (pp. 52-101)is of centralrelevanceto thissubject.In preparingit,as a
ina
lecture,he wroteto Hans Rosbaud on January7, 1933:"Would you be interested
lectureon Brahms?I thinkI mighthave somethingto say on thatsubjectthatI alone
and thosewhoare olderthanI am have lived
can say. To be sure,mycontemporaries
throughthe age of Brahms- Brahmszeit- , but theyare not Modern.' And the
youngerBrahmsiansno longerknowtheBrahmstraditionfromtheirownexperience
and are also for the most part 'reactionary.'But : I am thinkingof the theoryof
composition,anecdotes!"Arnold Schoenberg,Briefe,selectedand editedby Erwin
that
Stein(1958), pp. 185-6.On March 18, 1939,he explainedto AlfredFrankenstein
Brahms'Piano QuartetinG-minorbecausehelovedthepiece,and
he had orchestrated
had known Brahms'stylefor almost fiftyyears. Briefe,p. 223; I do not want to
overstatetheisolationof Schoenberg'sperceptionof Brahms(and, withthat,myown
originality).I recordmy indebtednessto a long essay by Donald Francis Tovey,
ina generouscollectionofhis
"Brahms'ChamberMusic",1929,conveniently
reprinted
essays, The Main Streamof Music and OtherEssays,ed., HubertFoss (1949; edn.
1959), pp. 220-270. Brahms' problematicmodernityis also noted, brieflyand
in Ivor Keys,Brahms'ChamberMusic, BBC Music Guides (1974).
perceptively,

Peter Gay - Aimez-Vous Brahms. Reflections On Modernism

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Aimez-vous Brahms?

I begin with a scene from one of Franoise Sagan's cool and

Paule speaks forthegeneralpublic,thepublic certainthatBrahms

patron- is to failwhereitreallymatters:in one's artor one's thought.

addleheaded to make anythinggreat out of the delicious musical

then," he added, Brahms, "amply repays our effortsand our

"almost"hauntedBrahmsall his life.Brahms,it would seem,did not

The performancerecordof the PhilharmonicOrchestraof Berlin

chamber music in 1890, praised Brahms, but for understanding

Third Symphonyin November1884, foundcriticand audiencealike

41 "Revue des grandconcerts,"Le Mnestrel,61stYear,No. 5 (February3, 1895),p. 36.

fromNietzscheto Freud, fromWagnerto Schoenberg,were great

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