This far, I don’t know many composers, neither living nor departed, extensively lavish in their praise towards their colleagues. This is explicable: if they had been complimenting them right and left, the latter would quite possibly write far weaker works, having a fair conceit of themselves and convinced in own would-be genius. Nevertheless, there are exceptional cases, when it is hard to keep silence, and even those most terse say everything openly; to this category I put Erik Satie and Johannes Brahms: the former, known for his acrimonious nature, appreciated music of Igor Stravinsky and even wrote two articles about his pen pal.
As concerns Brahms, he was judging own works so strict that destroyed those of imperfection – no wonder he was not inclined to speak straight from the shoulder, rating other people’s oeuvre. However, there was a man who made Brahms use adjectives such as “fine” and “splendid,” and the name of this man was Robert Fuchs. Strong point of this Austrian composer is his chamber music, and I particularly like his 62nd opus. Download this piece here: String Quartet in A Minor – Parts, Op.62.
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