This has been a wonderful group of ladies to teach! Today was their 8th class and recital (with refreshments!) to bring book 1 to an end. Each of them prepared a solo and received a Piano Achievement Award for book 1.Johannes Brahms was born in the German city of Hamburg. His father was a musician who played several instruments, but never managed to earn much money. So when Johannes was young, he played the piano at inns and dance halls to help support his family.When Brahms was older, he toured as an accompanist, playing piano for a Hungarian violinist. That music -- and the gypsy bands Brahms heard later on when he traveled to Hungary -- inspired his Hungarian Dances, which were a hit with the public. He wrote 21 dances in all. The most famous one is the Hungarian Dance No. 5.Many people considered Brahms to be the successor to Beethoven. For a long time, he didn't want to write a symphony, because he was afraid his work would not be as good as Beethoven's. Brahms ended up writing four symphonies, plus pieces in every musical form except opera. You may know one of his most famous pieces, the Lullaby.
In fact, Brahms became so famous, he is now known as one of the 3 B's -- Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms -- of classical music. (Classicsforkids.com)
