Now, now, boys! Play nice.
Today is the shared birthday of Brahms and Tchaikovsky, two of the great musical geniuses of their time. Brahms was born in 1833, and Tchaikovsky was born in 1840.
Of course, Brahms has the advantage of the Austro-German propaganda machine, placing him at the center of the musical universe (although it didn’t help him with George Bernard Shaw, who described him as “a sentimental voluptuary”); Tchaikovsky has taken it on the chin not only for being born outside the German tradition, but also from his own countrymen for being too “cosmopolitan.”
Yet audiences go crazy for his ballets, concertos and symphonies. Give him some credit for achieving such polish in a country that, until around the time of his birth, had very little serious musical tradition of its own. With his gift for melody and pathos, and his talent as an orchestrator, he would have flourished no matter where he lived.
Brahms too was a natural. Sometimes his symphonies can seem a little over-breaded, and on occasion he can come across as something of a stuffed owl. But even so, he is Minerva’s owl, wise, learned and all-knowing. His piano works and chamber music are some of the best there are.
Interestingly, the two composers actually met twice, and they got along smashingly. In a letter to his publisher, Tchaikovsky was effusive about Brahms’ cheerfulness and lack of pretension.
“I’ve been on the booze with Brahms,” he wrote. “He is tremendously nice – not at all proud as I’d expected but remarkably straightforward and entirely without arrogance. He has a very cheerful disposition, and I must say that the hours I spent in his company have left me with nothing but pleasant memories.”
That was in 1888, after a rehearsal of Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 3 in Leipzig.
The following year, the two met again in Hamburg, where Brahms slept through a rehearsal of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. If Tchaikovsky was insulted, he bore it lightly and was convivial all through the meal they shared after. Although Brahms was harsh in his assessment of the last movement of the symphony and Tchaikovsky confessed an overall aversion to Brahms’ style, the two seem to have parted great friends. Tchaikovsky even invited Brahms to visit him in Russia, something which never came to pass.
How much alcohol played into the two men’s warm feelings we can only guess. It was not just anyone who could be Brahms’ drinking buddy.
Who was the better composer? Who cares. In an open heart, there is room for both. Happy Birthday, Brahms and Tchaikovsky!
