It’s rare, but two great composers share the same May 7 birthday: Johannes Brahms and Peter Tchaikovsky. Brahms was seven years older, so he gets the nod this time (but somebody remind us that next year the day belongs to the Russian.)
Funny enough, Brahms and Tchaikovsky were such opposites, they could never get into each other’s music. Tchaikovsky on Brahms: “For all his mastery, for all the purity and earnestness of his endeavours, Brahms can hardly be said to have made an eternal and precious contribution to the treasure-house of German music.” In his private correspondence, he once called him “that scoundrel, Brahms.”
But Brahms is a tremendously melodic composer, in addition to his other powers, and his music has outlasted Tchaikovsky’s verdict. Find out more about him, including fun facts, music for listening, links, and more on SFCV’s Composer Biography page.