Brahms, Hungary and Liberalism

As a Hungarian folk musician, I have been asked by the NY Philharmonic twice to join them on stage to perform in programs with the Brahms Hungarian Dances. Until recently, I just assumed that Brahms wrote the Hungarian Dances simply because he thought it exotic. I failed to realized that Brahms was deeply connected to Hungary through his formative relationship with Euard Remenyi.

I have begun to realize that I, probably like most people, fail to understand the political context of Brahms' music. Here's a bit from "Brahms the Beleaguered" published by the NY Sun (R.I.P.!) back in 2004:

One critic complained of Brahms's use of "Jewish-temple triplets." Another lumped him with Eduard Hanslick (whose book, "The Beautiful in Music," argued that music was a pure form, not directly expressive of emotions), Karl Goldmark, and Adalbert Goldschmidt as "the music-loving and music-making Jewry." Popular support for Bruckner - a composer scorned by Brahms - was, wrote Mr. Swafford, "identical with the struggle to form a new society purged of the Jew-ridden liberals." Brahms, who was not Jewish, found the trend repugnant. "I can scarcely speak of it," he said. "It seems so despicable to me."

"Think of the American culture wars," said Mr. Frisch. "You could see Brahms and Bruckner lined up for congressional hearings on the arts. It's ironic, because Brahms is often viewed as the conservative one. "Yet, while he kept one foot in the past, the other was always firmly planted in the future. Brahms, reported Clara Schumann, spoke of "how the old masters had the freest form, while modern compositions move within the stiffest and most narrow limits." He was simply looking beyond the limits of the then-popular style, and he encouraged many young composers to do the same.