Brahms hike

About the romantic hike

The hike follows the traces of Brahms in the surroundings of Wiesbaden, in idyllic forests and meadows, and traces the composer in the interrelationship between composing and nature, society and urban life.

Background

Brahms, one of the most important and influential composers in the second half of the 19th century, composed a remarkable number of choral, orchestral and organ works and chamber music. In addition, he created numerous piano pieces and exercises for piano players. His works are predominantly assigned to the period of Romanticism. He regularly spent summers in Wiesbaden and was a close friend of Clara and Robert Schumann. The composer loved fresh air and scenic areas and was a great nature lover.

Living on the ground or on a slope, at the edge of a forest or park, armed with a silent keyboard and a notebook, Johannes Brahms began his day’s work. Scenic summer domiciles were popular with him – as was Wiesbaden.

He appreciated conviviality, but also the unspoilt nature. Short-sighted and bareheaded, with trouser legs too short and in shirt sleeves, he entered his nature walks and composing paths with a
quick gait – paths and routes in the surroundings of Wiesbaden, where he was embraced by the charms of nature, the rustling of the trees, sun and water, the scents of flowers and trees with wide-eyed views.

Why did he go out as a composer? Did not musicians, artists and writers find their inspiration in nature? Does a craftsman swap his workshop for being outside in nature without need? Brahms said to this: “…there is no creation without hard work…”. The restlessness of the city drove him out into solitude, sociability lured him. At the age of 14, he was already working as a song accompanist and piano teacher…

Brahms only allowed completed works to speak. It was not until late that he made friends with symphonic works. Some of his symphonies are not easy to approach. Clara Schumann raved about his third symphony, which he wrote in the summer of 1883: “…How one is enveloped from beginning to end by the mysterious magic of forest life!… I would like to call it a forest idyll… that one feels as if one were completely enmeshed in all the delights of nature”. Dedicated to Wiesbaden, the work could also be called the “national anthem of Wiesbaden”.