Brahms Violin Concerto & Double Concerto for Violin and Cello

“I have never before come across such a major talent. He is years ahead of me.” Thus spoke the Hungarian violinist and composer Joseph Joachim of his colleague Johannes Brahms, who was his junior by two years. Joachim and Brahms had met each other in Hanover in 1853, and from that moment onwards they became inseparable.
Not only did they give many concerts together, but during 1853 and 1854 Brahms even lived in Joachim’s household for some time. In a letter to his girlfriend Gisela von Arnim, dated October 20, 1854, Joachim gives a detailed characterization of his friend. He writes the following: “Brahms is the most confirmed egotist that one can imagine, although he is not aware of it himself as, thanks to his sanguine nature, everything truly pours forth from his quill without effort in the most direct act of genius – however, now and then with a lack of consideration (not with a lack of support, as that would be all right with me!) that hurts, as it shows a lack of culture.” This