Johannes Brahms was truly fascinated by Beethoven’s music and created it under his great influence, but at the same time he felt it as a huge pressure. That is why he often said that he constantly heard Beethoven’s steps behind him, which hindered him in his efforts to write his first symphony. It took him a whole twenty years, with two piano concerts being a kind of preparation for his symphony debut. The premiere of his First Piano Concerto caused a scandal and appalled the audience in Leipzig, mainly because of the excessive influence of the symphony in the concerto genre. That is why Brahms’ piano concertos represent a significant link in the chain of the development of the symphony from Beethoven to Brahms.

Arnold Schönberg, who created the Second Viennese School at the beginning of the 20th century, was also inspired in his artistic development by Beethoven and indirectly by Brahms. Working on the orchestration of Brahms’ Piano Quartet, he tried to express this work in a symphonic style, thus making a reference to the opuses of Beethoven and Mahler.

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