[log in to unmask] writes:

>For Brahms *very* well known attitude about part writing you can consult
>any number of good sources - but I will happily plug Jan Swafford's
>*Brahms* as an excellent musical biographies.

Swafford is fun, but a bit too speculative at times.  Styra Avins'
"Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters" (Oxford University Press) is better,
I think -- more precise, and much more thorough.  The book is a bit pricey
(about US$45, as I recall) but worth it for anyone interested in Brahms.

Regards,
Bob Chen
Los Angeles, CA