Johannes Brahms, an extraordinary individual with an unmistakable character, is defined by his compositions as meticulous and enlightened. His comprehensive knowledge of classical and baroque form, with his familiarity with counterpoint and musical development, allowed him to effortlessly traverse and cultivate the musical architecture outlined by the likes of Bach and Beethoven. Born in Hamburg in 1833, he was the son of Johann Jacob Brahms, who traveled from northern Germany, where the surname “Brahms(t)” became widespread (Musgrave 4). His father, being a musician by profession, instigated Brahms in his musical domination. Since Brahms' first instruments were the violin, cello, and natural horn (predecessor of the French horn), the genius was found to possess absolute pitch and had also developed his own notation system even before his formal introduction to music ( Musgrave 9). His astonishing understanding of musical rudiments was further consolidated at the age of seven by his first teacher Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel, with piano literature ranging from Bach to Schubert to Clementi (Musgrave 10). The gifted young talent matured quickly, with his compositions dutifully featuring a craftsmanship similar to the seasoned taste of aged liquor. Following in Beethoven's wake, his style of Romanticism seemed moderate and seen as limited to classical forms. With his preference towards absolute music, his works demonstrate “as [Ian] McEwan/[Clive] Linley would have it, at the intersection of emotion and reason” and of “powerful intellect and passionate expressiveness” (Platt and Smith 4). However, being the stubborn romantic that he is, he manipulated the limiting factor into an area of ​​expanse, in which he... middle of paper... Joseph Joachim (Brahms's good friend and virtuoso violinist) and Clara Schumann represented the conservatives , while the progressives were led by Franz Liszt (whom Brahms had previously known) and Richard Wagner (Burnett 111). While the main disagreement between the two parties was that radical progressives preferred new styles in writing and form, Brahms was “passionately convinced that he upheld the great and noblest traditions of German art and music” (Burnett 112). However, considered conservative, Brahms' work offers a contrasting vision. Although Brahms is rooted in tradition, there is a logic that he is not a unique classicist; his love of expression and this manifestation through his works with the aim of advancing German works into the Romantic light, is enough to consider him a progressive, rather than a deep-rooted conservative.