(Peter, thanks for the comments on 'great conductors'.)
I started a discussion earlier on this topic re Brahms, which had been put into a wrong thread, and there was some divergence of opinion. Something has turned up to add weight to Schoenberg's view of Brahms as a "progressive" and it's this from Jan Swafford in his excellent biography of Johannes:
Swafford is discussing the early piano sonatas by Brahms, namely the C Major. He comments "even at this stage, Brahms's harmonic audacity rivalled Wagner's. The difference is that Brahms did not care to show off his audacities; usually they are integrated into the voice leading and structure, there to find for those who know where to look. Wagner placed his novelties to give the galleries goose bumps"(p.95).
I started a discussion earlier on this topic re Brahms, which had been put into a wrong thread, and there was some divergence of opinion. Something has turned up to add weight to Schoenberg's view of Brahms as a "progressive" and it's this from Jan Swafford in his excellent biography of Johannes:
Swafford is discussing the early piano sonatas by Brahms, namely the C Major. He comments "even at this stage, Brahms's harmonic audacity rivalled Wagner's. The difference is that Brahms did not care to show off his audacities; usually they are integrated into the voice leading and structure, there to find for those who know where to look. Wagner placed his novelties to give the galleries goose bumps"(p.95).
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