OK, I'll bite.  While reading the Brahms biography by Jan Swafford this
past month, I played all the Brahms cds I have and even considered
ordering more.

As I kept reading, however, I wound up ordering the Marcello and Cimarosa
Oboe Concertos, watching my video copy of "Immortal Beloved," and realizing
that Schubert and Bach, along with Beethoven, were probably unsurpassable.
Brahms knew this and I love his music because of his humility.

I even played my cds of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde," (the Karl Bohm
live recording) to get into the 19th century, historical feud between
The New German School and Brahms.  Wagner was no slouch, but Brahms
remains endearing to my sensibilities in recognizing artists cannot
throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Rosemary