BRAHMS AND BRAZILIAN MODERNISM

Arthur Soffiati What link could possibly exist between Brahms, a German composer of late Romanticism, and the Brazilian modernist movement? German classical music can be compared to a mighty river that forks in the second half of the 19th century: one turbulent branch is represented by Wagner's music, and the other, serene, is expressed by Brahms's music. Wagner's Germanness is translated into sweeping operas based largely on a pre-Christian culture. Brahms's Germanness is thoughtful. It channels the entire tradition of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Brahms reads these composers' work in depth, deepening his Germanness. Mário de Andrade understood the work of the German-Austrian composer as a plunge into deep Germany that initiated a process of European music's distancing from the German tradition, a process accentuated by his successors. As Brazilian modernism sought the depths of Brazil, there could be a convergence with the project of Brahms, a composer who was hardly revolutionary compared to the young modernists. At least, in one respect, they would converge: Brahms, serene, seeking the foundations of German culture for his music, and the modernists, noisy, searching for a Brazilian culture that was no longer Portuguese outside of Portugal. As Toynbee observed, Brahms was the last representative of the splendid German cultural phase that began with the division of Germany into many small states in 1648 and ended with its militaristic unification in 1870. According to the British historian, the disintegration of Germany represented a challenge that stimulated the creativity of philosophers, poets, fiction writers, and composers. In this vein, we can say that the modernization of European culture, beginning in 1870, the First World War, and the cosmopolitanization of São Paulo, especially, led a young group of intellectuals to update Brazilian culture both abroad and within. Outward, in search of the new aesthetic movements that were springing up in Europe. Inward, in search of the spontaneous cultural foundations of Brazil. There could have been a point of convergence between Brahms's search for the depths of Germany and the modernists' search for a spontaneous Brazil, which, since the 18th century, had been distancing itself from Portuguese culture. But this convergence never materialized. In terms of music, unabashed Romanticism and Impressionism had a greater impact on Brazilian musical culture. Few modernist authors dedicated themselves to thinking and writing about classical music. Renato Almeida wrote "History of Brazilian Music," published in 1926 (Rio de Janeiro: Briguiet & Cia Editores). Among the modern artists, he cites Béla Bartók, Alfredo Casella, Claude Debussy, Manuel de Falla, Gabriel Fauré, César Frank, Edvard Grieg, Arthur Honneger, Vincent d'Indy, Francesco Malipiero, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, Albert Roussel, Eric Satie, Arnold Schoenberg, Robert Schumann, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi, and Richard Wagner, to name just a few foreigners. European Romantics, Impressionists, and Modernists nearly contemporaries of the author. Not a word about Brahms. Of the few who wrote about music, I also mention "Miniatura de História da Música" (Miniature of the History of Music) by Guilherme Figueiredo (Rio de Janeiro: CBE, 1942). He was part of the third generation of Brazilian modernism. He was a music lover, not a musicologist. Schumann, Wagner Verdi, modern Slavic, French, and Spanish figures appear in its pages. Silence about Brahms. Of all of them, Mário de Andrade was the only one to understand Brahms's contribution to music in his "Pequena História da Música," of which I use the 1942 edition (São Paulo: Martins). At a time when records were not yet widely available, Mário used public records to illustrate his book. Collections of African, American, Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Japanese, medieval European music, music without an author, and music representative of various cultures were consulted by the author and are mentioned in the edition I refer to. Brahms deserves almost two pages on his discography. He didn't count on the edition of the German's complete works. I'll tell you, and I can listen to it as many times as I want. It's an imported collection I obtained with great difficulty. Among the works Mário heard are all four symphonies, the four concertos, the orchestral pieces, almost all the chamber music, the songs, the solo piano music, the German Requiem, and pieces known only to specialists. Mário could say he knew Brahms. Even if he didn't resort to the rare records, he knew how to read music and had scores. What is your opinion of the introverted German's music? That's another story, to be told another time. I'll just say that I was critical of the direction Brahms gave German music. However, on the other hand, I recognized his work, but without linking it to Brazilian modernism.