On The Aesthetic Idiosyncrasy & Artistic Thought Of Brahms' Piano Music

Romanticism is opposed to Classicalism in traditional musical conception, which represents the conflict between "form" and "feelings", "sensibility" and "reason". Romantic genre was formed to break the rules of classical music and to chase the individuality or the sensation of the music. Most musician of Romantic genre would rather emphasize harmonic color and simplex impression than the logic or the form of classical music. However, Brahms, who was living in the late period of Romantic music, maintained the classical ideality well and followed the histrionic and oneness of sonata or symphony. Then it led to the comment in the nineteenth century that he was a behindhand, conservative classicist.Brahms' piano music is his particular biography, which impenetrate his remorseless struggle for classicalism ideality, such as his formalized structure of music forms, his mainly classical harmony and his specialty to handle counterpoint. Although being in deep love with Classicalism, Brahms is affected by Romanticism deeply. You may find that Brahms' piano music has effects by poetry and mirage in Schumann's music and spirit of Schubert's music. And he shows his personality by conforming Classicalism and Romanticism.During the development of history, "the old" and "the new" have always been showing the dialectic interrelationship, so every new idea or object is bound to become an old one. Nowadays the comment on Brahms in the nineteenth century has exposed its localization. The traditional idea that Romanticism is opposed to Classicalism is just limited in the recognization among the range of "genre"; however, in fact, Classicalism and Romanticism are certain concepts in aesthetics and the science of culture, which can not divided by the substitution of history. Sometimes they develop alternately, and sometimes they just run neck and neck, and sometimes conflict or influence by each other.Brahms has identified with existing culture (including traditional and contemporaneous), explained tradition and contacted with his age, even indicated the modern music, and developed the new culture. All of them represent Brahms' thought of art. Nowadays when we judge Brahms' piano music again, his masterpieces are outstanding productions in music historical repertories.