This four page undergraduate paper examines the life of the German classical music composer Johannes Brahms. He is an important figure in German classical music, for his classicism offered a counterpoint to the new musical styles introduced by Wagner and Liszt. He studied the music of earlier composers, which influenced him to add conservative elements to his compositions. Brahms is best remembered around the world for the symphonies he composed, but his popularity in his homeland during his lifetime was substantial and his most famous pieces in the land of his birth were German folk songs.