Happy Birthday to Two Unhappy Composers: Brahms and Tchaikovsky

May 7 is the birthday of two of our greatest composers: Johannes Brahms (1833) and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840). It’s so wonderful that we have this day of love and celebration on which we can celebrate beautiful music by two geniuses who surely supported and respected one another…

“It angers me that this conceited mediocrity is regarded as a genius.” - Tchaikovsky, referring to Brahms

We have no specific quotes regarding Brahms’s views on Tchaikovsky, but it is documented that he attended a rehearsal of the latter’s Fifth Symphony with its composer in attendance and afterwards told him he did not care for it, but it’s hard to know how much Brahms actually heard since he reportedly slept through much of it.

Tchaikovsky made no attempt to conceal his bitterness and jealousy towards Brahms. “Brahms is a celebrity; I’m a nobody. And yet, without false modesty, I tell you that I consider myself superior to Brahms.”

Those are fighting words, Peter Ilyich. Since the works of both composers are in heavy rotation on WETA Classical, we feel more than up to the task of putting Tchaikovsky’s bold assertion to the test.

A few variables should be noted. Brahms was a meticulous curator of his work, burning any scores that he thought might harm his legacy or reputation. Tchaikovsky, unsurprising given what we know of his personality, let it all hang out; there’s a lot of what even the composer himself considered subpar material readily available. Brahms was much more limited in the variety of genres he took on, most notably neglecting opera and ballet, forms in which Tchaikovsky excelled. And Brahms outlived Tchaikovsky by ten productive years, so perhaps it’s unfair to consider Brahms’s late works in any in-depth comparison of their respective outputs.

We should also note some similarities. Neither composer was a fan of Richard Wagner; they both recognized his talent and significance but detested his attitude and philosophy and considered him to be a destructive cultural force. This put them on the same side in the central debate of the music of their time, which is ultimately more significant than the opinion they had of one another. 

And once Tchaikovsky and Brahms met they actually kind of liked each other, though their opinion of each other’s music didn’t change. They both had a contradictory personality – deeply melancholy and grumpy, unwilling to suffer fools, while also quite gregarious, enjoying socializing, shared meals and walks. It’s clear that both men saw a partially filled glass as half empty, but they could also appreciate life’s pleasures despite their essentially bleak outlook. (But their specific pleasures were quite different – cigarettes and wine for Peter, cigars and beer for Johannes.)

But back to Tchaikovsky’s fighting words. We are going to assess the two composers with side-by-side comparisons of pieces in which the composers took on similar challenges - and in some cases had a similar impact on the culture and the art form. And then it’s up to you; listen to each of the selections on the Spotify playlist and cast a vote. Let’s begin!

We begin with one of each composer's most famous tunes, their respective versions of an Eastern European folk dance. Since Brahms didn’t orchestrate his piece himself, we’ll hear each composer’s own arrangement of the respective pieces for solo piano, so Tchaikovsky’s orchestration will not be a factor in our judgement.

Brahms: Hungarian Dance no. 5 
Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance (Trepak) from The Nutcracker 

Each composer wrote a famous lullaby. Which does a better job of evoking the magic of childhood bedtime and/or sending you off into peaceful slumber?

Brahms: Wiegenlied, op. 49 no. 4
Tchaikovsky: Lullaby, op. 16, no. 1

Each composer wrote a symphonic slow movement with a melody so haunting and infectious that it has entered popular culture. The second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony inspired John Denver’s 1974 hit “Annie’s Song” as well as the 1977 album track “Love is All that Matters” by Eric Carmen, while the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony no. 3 has been used in many film soundtracks and adapted by several pop and jazz artists including Frank Sinatra, Serge Gainsbourg, Robert Palmer, Branford Marsalis, and Carlos Santana. Which melody would you choose for the soundtrack to YOUR life?

Brahms: Symphony no. 3, op. 90: III, Poco allegretto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5, op. 64: II, Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 

Each composer wrote a substantial set of variations for orchestra, each almost 20 minutes long (and with eerily similar opus numbers to boot.) Brahms composed his Variations on a theme by Haydn when he was 40; by this time he had found success with his chamber music, piano music and his German Requiem, but he still hadn’t completed any symphonies. Most scholars now believe that the theme isn’t actually by Haydn; it’s a movement called “St. Anthony’s Chorale” from an anonymous divertimento for wind band published in the early nineteenth century. Tchaikovsky wrote his substantial set of variations when he was 44 as the finale to his Suite no. 3, which he originally intended to be his fifth symphony. This movement became so popular that he conducted it several times as an independent work, and in 1947 it became the music for one of George Balanchine’s most beloved ballets, Theme and Variations. Both composers used this form as a kind of portfolio, showcasing the range of their skills as composers and orchestrators.

Brahms: Variations on a theme by Haydn, op. 56a
Tchaikovsky: Suite no. 3 in G major, op. 55: IV, Tema con variazioni 

Brahms and Tchaikovsky each wrote one violin concerto. Both were written in 1878. Both are in the key of D major. Both are over a half hour in length. Both were initially received with harsh criticism and declared “unplayable” by prominent violinists of the time, but have since become cornerstones of the violin repertoire. 

Despite all those similarities, the musical content of the two works could not be more different. Brahms used Beethoven’s violin concerto as a model, while Tchaikovsky was inspired by what he called the “freshness” and “lightness” of Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole.

Tchaikovsky was interested in hearing Brahms’s concerto because he was aware that it had received the same kind of negative criticism that his own had received. However, upon obtaining and playing through the score to the Brahms, he declared that it was “not warmed by genuine feeling” and lacked “life and color.” Which concerto most moves YOU?

Brahms: Violin Concerto on D major, op. 77
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35

Brahms was 42 and Tchaikovsky 41 when they wrote major chamber works for piano and strings that were written in tribute to a dead, well-beloved friend. Brahms actually began composition of what would become his third piano quartet in his early twenties when he was intimately involved in the Schumann household as Robert was suffering his final illness, mental degradation, and death, and Clara was understandably distraught and overwhelmed. The first movement quotes melodies by both Clara and Robert. When he revised it in 1875 he thoroughly revised the first two movements, wrote brand-new third and fourth movements, and subtitled the piece The Sorrows of Young Werther, but many scholars believe this work is an autobiographical depiction of his emotional involvement with the Schumanns. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio was dedicated to the memory of his friend and mentor Nikolai Rubinstein, and has an unusual but highly effective structure: the first movement is a passionate, overtly grieving elegy, while the second is a set of variations that serve as a portfolio of memories he had of the time he spent with his friend. After an exhilarating passage that seems to be leading to a brilliant finish, the actual ending takes us back to the mood of the first movement, a graphic depiction of watching the funeral procession pass - one of the bleakest, most devastating moments in all music.

Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor, op. 60
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, op. 50

It’s difficult to compare each composer’s major liturgical work - one is for chorus, two soloists and orchestra, while the other is for a cappella chorus - but they are both explorations of their respective native country’s religious traditions from the perspective of someone who didn’t regularly attend church. Both are more interested in a meditative experience rather than a dramatic one.

Brahms: A German Requiem, op. 45
Tchaikovsky: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, op. 41

Both composers wrote final symphonies that end their careers on a bleak note, leavened with moments of lyricism and even playfulness, and striking for their innovations of the symphonic form that both proved tremendously influential on future composers.

Brahms: Symphony no. 4 in E minor, op. 98
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6 in B minor, op. 74

Both composers wrote incidental music for productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Here are each composer’s settings of Ophelia’s mad scene, beginning with the words “How should I your true love know”.

Brahms: 5 Ophelia-Lieder, WoO post. 22: I
Tchaikovsky: Hamlet incidental music, op. 67a: Act IV, scene 5

Here are two pieces in which we take a completely different approach to this comparison. Tchaikovsky wrote nothing remotely resembling Brahms’ Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, while Brahms wrote nothing like Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. (The Tragic Overture doesn’t count, because it doesn’t attempt to depict a specific story with purely instrumental music.) Here, instead of trying to compare apples to apples, we will appreciate their differences, and you can consider which is closer to your sensibility.

Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat, op. 40
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy

And, because this is a birthday, let’s turn the celebration up to eleven with both composers at their, well, loudest.

Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, op. 80
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, op. 49