Evening star., 1933-05-07
Music World Celebrates
Centennial of Brahms
Washington Observances Begin Today in Honor
Of Great German Composer Whose Music Re-
fleets the Happiness That Filled His Life
By Alice Eversman.
\ NE HUNDRED years ago
today the third of the

BrahmS-dreW his first
breath in the world. The cele-
brations in honor of this event
have already begun. The SYM
phonies, sonatas and concertos
that won him friends and enemies
alike in his day and the we'll be-
loved songs are being heard
throughout the world. Thirty-six
years after his death his music
still taxes the technic and inter-
pretive powers of the best musi-
clans and contains unexplored
treasures, the value of which is
becoming more apparent as time
passes.
The life of Johannes Brahms
Is unique among the histories of
composers, for it is a life free from
material worries, from internal
unrest and any record of out
standing moments of emotional or
worldly greatness. 1t is the life
OF man who believed in work
and who kept himself detached
enough from disturbing influences
to concentrate on his develop
ment. Any criticism he received
was never so severe as his own
constant Self-criticism, and served
only to stimulate him to further
endeavor. He looked at life
blandly and asked little inspira-
ton from it. In his own sturdy,
happy nature he found endless
sources of ideas and emotions that
Sufhced him for material for his
hard working genius to grapple
with.
His powers of intellect were
strong and virile. Schumann said
Of him that like Minerva he
sprang forth fully armed for the
fray" His enormous musical pow
ers delighted his friends and they
placed their hopes for something
new and beautiful in music in
his genius. When his first few
compositions, which were alive
with his emotional feeling, won
him recognition, he had the cOur-
age to withdraw himself from the
temptation to continue the easy
path and devote himself to the
hard labor of working out his
technical facility. Merciless in
his criticism of himself he per-
mitted none of his compositions
to reach the public eye until he
was satisfied they would be left
as a legacy to posterity. He once
said to a friend: THAT which you
call invention or a thought is
simply an inspiration from above
for which I can claim no merit.
It Is a gift to which I have no
right until have made it my own
by virtue Of hard work."
Together with Joseph Joachim,
the celebrated violiniSt and COM
poser, he made an agreement to
exchange exercises in counter
point each week for the others
correction and this to continue
until we have both become really
clever" His confidence in the
continuance of his genius and his
understanding of his own emo
tional sureness made it possible
for him to devote himself to tech
nical study without drying up his
inspirational sources. He took as
his models his great predecessors,
Bach and Beethoven, and where
they had left off in their respec-
tive fields, he went on into new
and unusual forms. They were
not accepted by the musical pub
lie unanimously or without criti-
cism. He listened to the COM
ments made on his works and
even, at the suggestion of his
friends, reWrote many things, ex-
cuSing himself for anything he
had left because of my OBJ
stinacy"
The directness and simplicity of
his nature was one OF his most
attractive qualities. Sometimes
he was childlike and full of youth
full exuberance and again of
stern manliness entirely occupied
with his earnestneSS of purpose.
On account of both this youthful
vivacity, which led him into care
less reconsideration of peoples
feeling, and his self concentra-
ton, where his work was con-
cerned, he has been charged with
egotism and lack Of interest in
things that did not bear on his
own experiences or ideas. But
aside from a gift of sarcasm, that
sometimes estranged people, and
a certain reserve that kept him
from opening his heart entirely to
his friends, those who associated
with him felt the spell OF his
charm and appreciated fully the
warmth and depth of sentiment
he possessed.
It is rather interesting to specu-
late on what kept alive in Brahms
his inexhaustible emotional SEN
sitiveness. The qualities of his
heart were simple and straight
forward and, as far the the world
knows, his devotion to Clara
Schumann and to few intimate
friends fulfilled all his needs.
However, these friends some
times complained of his reserve
and SecluSion. In his inner soul
he carried on his life, tasting the
exaltation of his high ideals and
suffering from a complete SYM
pathy with sorrow. Into his
music, however, Brahms put a
happiness that was not merely
animal good humor, but a happi-
ness that rejoices in the beauty
he discovered around him and
which is warm with appreciation
of lovelineSS and charm. When
he speaks of tragedy, it is not the
tortured searching of Beethoven
or the violent passion of Wagner,
but is a portrayal Of his Catholic
outlook and his kindly sharing OF
the universal trouble. He had no
patience with small annOyanceS
or with personal reactions, but
wrote with an understanding OF
the big ingredients that are the
motive power of life, no matter
how terrible their effect.