Brahms has long been considered an arch-conservative, the last Classical master, but modern research reveals a troubled and self-critical Romantic whose genius united the emotionalism of his times with Classical principles. Malcolm MacDonald demonstrates how the musical and personal character of this great composer are inextricably intwined: how the man speaks in his music. There is no better book on Brahms in print, and all its succesors will be deeply in its debt ... inaugurates a new era in Brahms studies.