The Loneliness and Legacy of Johannes Brahms led by Patrick Castillo

Forever frei aber einsam—free but lonely—throughout his life, Johannes Brahms embraced music as his most steadfast companion. His total devotion to the craft of composition defined his life and ulti­mately produced a body of work that has nourished listeners for more than a century. But in addition to its purely musical merits, Brahms’s oeuvre occupies a unique position in Western music history. Looking Janus-like both to the music of the past and towards the innovations of future generations, Brahms’s music has shaped our understanding of composers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods to the present day. This season’s opening Encounter, led by Artistic Administrator Patrick Castillo, provides an overview of Brahms’s life and examines his inescapable influence on how we hear the entire Western canon.