Brahms's father, Johann Jakob Brahms, was from the town of Heide in Holstein. The family name was also sometimes spelt 'Brahmst' or 'Brams', and derives from 'Bram', the German word for the shrub broom. … See more

Brahms maintained a classical sense of form and order in his works, in contrast to the opulence of the music of many of his contemporaries. Thus, many admirers (though not necessarily Brahms himself) saw him a… See more

Brahms was baptised into the Lutheran church as an infant, and was confirmed at the age of fifteen (at St. Michael's Church, Hamburg), but has been described as an agnostic and a humanist. The devout Catholic … See more