Comparing two composers presents a difficult challenge. In the case of Brahms (1833-1897) and Wagner (1813-1883), both are celebrated Romantic composers whose contributions to the musical world have enriched and confronted us.
There are, however, some simple distinctions between these two composers that may serve as a starting point for comparison. Richard Wagner devoted the majority of his creative life to the creation of operas; Brahms composed no operas.
One anecdote tells of Brahms claiming that he would rather marry than write an opera. As it transpires Brahms did not marry or compose any operatic works.
Brahms Vs Wagner
Wagner’s outpouring of operatic works is astonishing, especially when you consider the performing durations for some of them.
They are monumental works that redefined opera, not only in their scale but in their brilliant use of leitmotifs, complex and rich harmonic structures, and breath-taking orchestration.
Operas such as ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’, ‘Tannhäuser’ and ‘Tristan and Isolde’ were groundbreaking works that have become pillars of the operatic repertoire.
Interestingly, Wagner always wrote his own libretto which was an uncommon thing for composers to do.
Johannes Brahms felt for the majority of his life, to be living and composed in the shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven. Such was the impact and influence of Beethoven on Brahms that his First Symphony took roughly fourteen years to complete.
The work eventually reached the ears of the public in 1876 to a somewhat mixed reception. This was partly attributed to the connections the symphony had to Beethoven’s symphonic work, and partly due to Schumann’s praise and support of the young Brahms that had sparked some unpleasantry from the supporters of Liszt and Wanger.
What we hear in the First Symphony is not a Beethoven pastiche, instead of the considered voice of Brahms sounds through the robust structure, enlightened use of harmony, and orchestration.
Much of Brahms’s music, if we are to draw parallels to another composer, would align with his friend Robert Schumann.
Whilst Wagner did not compose a single symphony unless you count a very early work composed at the tender age of nineteen. Brahms wrote four substantial symphonies.
The final symphony is a complete triumph showing mastery of every musical element, remarkable structural innovation, and constraint. The constraint is not a feature one could attribute to the music or life of Wagner.
Throughout his life, Wagner was a politically controversial figure who was frequently in debt and according to many of his writings antisemitic. The centre-piece of Wagner’s operatic writing is arguable ‘Der Ring des Nibleung’.
This cycle of operas is a total of four seperate works: ‘Das Rhinegold, ‘Die Walküre’, Siegfried’ and ‘Götterdämmerung’. The duration of these collectively runs to nearly fifteen hours.
Brahms like many artists of his time were proud of their nationality to an extent that these days may be viewed as overly nationalistic. For Brahms, it meant assimilating elements of traditional German and Hungarian folk music into his compositions.
Brahms not only composed twenty-one ‘Hungarian Dances’, but is credited with making arrangements of 144 German Folk Songs.
Likewise, Wagner drew heavily on Norse mythology and became absorbed and infatuated with the tale of Siegfried. Wagner also took much inspiration from Germanic legend and folk tales.
‘Der Ring des Nibleung’ cleverly combines Germanic and Nordic mythology into a single gigantic form. As a brief illustration of the proportions and forces involved in this epic tale, Wagner calls for over 105 musicians for the orchestra which includes a deafening eighteen anvils.
Add to that nine Valkyries, seven Gods, 3 Rhinemaidens, two Nibelungen, and two giants and you have an impressive opera cycle.
As Brahms took deep inspiration from the Classical and Baroque composers Wagner built on the traditional operatic practises but developed and extended them further than ever attempted before.
Brahms was not a composer who was keen to be labelled one way or another and even though his romanticism permeates his work, this is not in any way the full extent of what Brahms was. Wager in contrast epitomised the Romantic ideas in his personal life and his music.
Perhaps where both composers meet a little more closely is when considering harmony. Brahms maintained a harmonic direction that perhaps can be attributed to Schumann, and developed a harmonic language distinctly his own.
Whilst Brahms essentially remained a tonal composer, his use of harmonic structure singles out his pieces, particularly the symphonies, and piano concertos as unique.
Brahms’s music is profoundly expressive without the need to use it as a pivotal element in his compositions that would perhaps trivialise his work.
There is humour, humility, and robustness in the music of Brahms that laid the foundations for composers such as Edward Elgar. Brahms extraordinary rhythmic creativity together with his distinctive style of orchestration mark Brahms out as a composer of immense importance.
Wagner approached harmony in an equally innovative way conjuring luxurious tones from his singers and orchestral musicians. The opera ‘Tristan & Isolde’ is often cited as a turning point for Wagner’s approach to harmony.
This citation refers to what has become known as the ‘Tristan Chord’. To write it out you would have the following notes: F, B, D#, G#. This chord arrives in the ‘Prelude’ to the opera and sets the tone for nearly everything that follows.
What makes it unique is that is an unresolved dissonance. Traditionally any dissonance would be resolved, but Wagner persists and does not allow the resolution to properly occur until nearly the end of the opera.
Wagner stretches tonality to breaking point and then continues onwards. In his later operas, we hear the type of harmony that would be adopted by Scriabin, Schoenberg, and maybe even Britten.
Whilst Brahms composed extensively for more traditional musical forms, the symphony, concerto, and sonata, for example, his approach was revolutionary, refreshing, and unmistakably Brahms.
His roots, like Wagner, were in the Germanic traditions, although neither composer was restrained by tradition. Instead, each forged their own path forward into the close of the Romantic Era.
Wagner transformed opera and broke the long-held notions of tonality. Both have left behind an extraordinary array of compositions that serve as testaments to their individuality and their creative achievements.