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German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic eraBorn in Hamburg, Brahms became a central figure in 19th-century music. He championed absolute music amid rising programmatic trends, composing symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and lieder. After Robert Schumann's 1853 endorsement, he settled in Vienna in 1862. His works include four symphonies, 'Ein deutsches Requiem,' and the 'Hungarian Dances.'

• Brahms destroyed over 20 string quartets and other compositions due to extreme self-criticism before publishing his official First Symphony at age 43.
• His lifelong, emotionally intense friendship with Clara Schumann—widow of Robert Schumann—fueled speculation about a romance, though its true nature remains debated.
• Brahms never married, once stating: 'It is as hard to marry as to write an opera.'
• He died of liver cancer in Vienna, possibly linked to chronic alcohol consumption and heavy smoking.