Chapter 36

CHAPTER XVI

BRAHMS

After the novel and brilliant work of the Romanticists had reached
its height in the compositions just studied, it seemed as if there
were nothing more for music to do. Wagner, with his special
dramatic aims and gorgeous coloring, loomed so large on the
horizon that for a time all other music was dwarfed. It is, there-
fore of real significance that just in this interregnum two men,
born in the early years of the 19th century, were quietly laying
the foundations for eloquent works in absolute or symphonic mu-
sic. These men were Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) and César
Franck (1822-1890). Following a few preliminary remarks about
the significance of symphonic style in general, the next chapters
will be devoted to an account of their works and influence.

A striking feature in the development of music since 1850 is
the number of symphonies produced by the representative com-
posers of the various nations; and the manner in which these
works embody certain phases of style and manifest national ten-
dencies is a subject of great interest. Ever since Beethoven, there
has been a universal feeling that the symphony is the form in
which a composer should express his highest thoughts. If Wag-
ner and Richard Strauss seem to be exceptions, we must re-
member that their work for orchestra is thoroughly symphonic
both in material and in scope. The difference is chiefly one of
terms. Wagner claimed that he merely applied to dramatic pur-