Billroth, Theodor

He studied medicine in Greifswald, Göttingen and Berlin. After obtaining of a doctorate, he was assistant of Langenbeck in Berlin. He concerned himself already early with music and neglected therefore his medical studies for a long time. In 1860, he was appointed professor in Zurich. In the mid-sixties, he met Brahms there. In 1867, he accepted a call to the university of Vienna to be in the second surgical chair. Despite calls to the university of Berlin, he left Vienna never again.

In Vienna, he started developing systematically almost inaccessible fields of the medicine till then. He showed new methods of operation or developed them, such as for example operations of the liver, the spleen, the urocyst and so on. But his principal merit is to have ventured on operations in the area of the stomach and the intestines and to have developed their technique.

 His humanitarian efforts are a monument to the famous surgeon at the Rudolfinerhaus, which had to serve and serves already today in an exemplary manner the teaching of the nursing. He was equally important as scholar and scientist, as clinical teacher and master of the operative technique and all this made him the most important surgeon before the turn of the century.

 Billroth lived in Zurich when he heard Brahms playing. The two men made friends rapidly. As Billroth lived in Vienna, he belonged to the closest circle of friends of the composer. The lively correspondence between the two friends is published in parts and bespeaks their deep friendship. Richard Heuberger quoted in his memories of Johannes Brahms that Brahms was very cautious concerning the publication of confidential letters: Brahms told Heuberger that he had held Billroth's best letters back. They went together to concerts and, as Billroth was an excellent musician himself, Brahms regarded his opinion about musical matters as very serious. At Billroth's apartment at Alserstraße 20, Brahms's works were often performed for the first time during private concerts. They also went traveling with Billroth's family. Brahms took his first trip to Italy with the surgeon, for instance. In summer, they visited each other at their summer domiciles.

Brüll, Ignaz

Epstein, Julius

Faber, Arthur

Fellinger, Dr. Richard

Hanslick, Eduard

Eduard Hanslick knew all the famous composers and musicians of his time, he kept track of the musical events and currents with the highest attention and tackled them. His brilliant pen, his well-founded knowledge and his power of judgment made him the leading critic of Europe at that time.

 He took the first music lessons with his father who held a chair of esthetics at the university of Prague for a while. From 1843 on, V. J. Tomásek instructed him in piano, theory and composition for four years. From 1844 on, Hanslick studied in Prague for three years, then law in Vienna - the public service career assured his livelihood, while the music became his inner profession. Already early, he wrote reviews and articles for the Wiener Musikzeitung (Viennese music journal). After obtaining of a doctorate of law, he was fiscal in Klagenfurt for two years, from 1852 on, he worked for the ministry of Culture and Education in Vienna. In 1854, his paper „Vom Musikalisch-Schönen" (about the musically beautiful) was published, which created a sensation and he was greatly acclaimed, but by this he incurred also the hatred of Richard Wagner and his fans. In 1856, was offered a chair at the faculty of philosophy of the university of Vienna as private lecturer for history and esthetics of music, he became senior lecturer in 1861 and full professor in 1870. He worked as critic for the Wiener Musikzeitung from 1846 on, for the Wiener Zeitung in 1848/49, for the Presse from 1855 to 1864 and since then for the Neue Freie Presse. He met Johannes Brahms in 1862, remained amicable to him all his life and admired his music, but not without uncritical disposition.

Hellmesberger, Joseph

Heuberger, Richard Franz Joseph senior

Kalbeck, Max

Miller-Aichholz, Viktor

Mandyczewski, Eusebius

Nottebohm, Martin Gustav

The fact that Brahms entertained friendly relations with Eduard Hanslick, the influential Viennese critic and confirmed opponent of Wagner, did not bring the two composers closer to each other. The adversaries of Wagner built up Brahms as his antagonist: The fronts between the disciples of Wagner and Brahms hardened in polemic quarreling about the character of music. Wagner reacted to the award of the honorary degree of doctor of the university of Wroclaw to Brahms with the article „Über das Dichten und Komponieren" (about writing and composing) in which he attacked Brahms publicly with vehemence. After Wagner's death, his fans regarded Anton Bruckner as new „bellwether" and made him Brahms' antagonist. Especially in later years, Brahms respected and esteemed the works of Wagner and had words of appreciation for them. Only rarely and in most cases just in his closest circle of friends, he criticized Wagner's works, but then he gave utterance to his aversion particularly for the texts of the sphere of the German mythology.