Brahms /

A major contribution to the Brahms literature, this well-written book should serve as a primary Brahms biography in English for some time to come. It is full of new insights and fresh approaches to the conundrums of Brahms's life. MacDonald has taken into account the latest research and provided some quotes not generally cited in the standard literature. There is an excellent chapter on Brahms's successors. In covering both Brahms's life and works MacDonald cannot go into great detail with individual works, yet he succeeds in focusing on the important features of each piece and he illustrates these with good musical examples. The result is a clear picture of the development of Brahms's style with the influences from other composers carefully spelled out. Because the "List of Works" is a bit too general in its dates one needs Margit L. McCorkle's Johannes Brahms: Thematisch-Bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis (Munich, 1984) for details. However, the selected bibliography is up to date and geared to English-speaking readers; the listing of Brahms's friends and associates ("Personalia") is helpful; and the "Calendar" is a very complete fact-summary. Highly recommended for all libraries. -C. Cai, Kenyon College

This is certainly the most thorough of the English-language biographies of Johannes Brahms. MacDonald relates all known facts about the composer, his relationship with friends and acquaintances, and his music. Biography and creative output are interwoven throughout the book, as the author rather laboriously discusses each composition in chronological order. It is assumed that the reader has a fair knowledge of Brahms's works and can read music, for MacDonald includes 68 musical examples that are important to the discussion. MacDonald's verbose style may put off the casual reader, but for a real Brahms lover, the book is a treat.-- Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.