Frail, little son of poor parents, Brahms spent his first years of life in a wretched tenement in the old harbor city of Hamburg, Germany. It is here that the present story opens. His father, an irresponsible musician, forced his son to play piano at base taverns until all hours of the night, for whatever small pay he could get.

But little Johannes’ love for fine music led to better avenues. Soon composing, teaching, and playing on whatever piano was available, he found a path into finer service. Several of Brahms` best known compositions are included in this book. Numerous illustrations and pages of musical score.