约翰内斯·勃拉姆斯（Johannes Brahms，1833-1897），德国古典主义最后的作曲家，出身于汉堡的一个音乐家庭。早年曾从戈赛尔、马克逊学钢琴，一生交游颇广，尤其得到舒曼夫妇及约·阿希姆赏识与支持，是创作与演奏并重的作曲家。勃拉姆斯的作品兼有古典手法和浪漫精神，极少采用标题，交响作品中模仿贝多芬的气势宏大，然而笔法工细，情绪变化多端，时有牧歌气息的流露，仍带有自己特点。他的作品中有很多都是世界名曲，与巴赫，贝多芬并称德国音乐史上的“三B”。
A German composer of major works in all forms except opera, including symphonies, lieder, and solo piano music. Playing in rough taverns down by the docks as a teenager in order to supplement his family's humble income, Brahms persevered to become a renowned conductor of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann and a great composer, faithful to the traditional architecture and logic of classical forms but a romantic in love with German folksong. He eschewed chromaticism and told a personal and non-programmatic story in every composition.
