ng with Strauss, Wolf
and Mahler the culmination of the German Lied. In his songs there is a
warmth and depth of sentiment as yet unsurpassed, and the
accompaniment is always a highly wrought factor in the work. In
estimating the value of Brahms's compositions as a whole, it is
difficult to hold the balance true. Those to whom he is sympathetic
through an affinity of temperament revere him as one of the great
geniuses for all time, while to others his message is not of such
convincing power. The effect of inborn temperament in the personal
appeal made by any composer is vividly shown by the estimate which
Tchaikowsky and Brahms had for one another. Each felt respect for the
sincerity and artistic skill of his contemporary, at the same time
regretfully acknowledging that the essence of the music meant little
to him. To Tchaikowsky Brahms seemed cold and lacking in melodic
spontaneity; to Brahms, on the other hand, Tchaikowsky seemed
superficial, sensational. The gist of the matter is that Brahms was a
Teuton and wrote with characteristic Teutonic reserve and dignity.
Tchaikowsky, being a Slav, wrote with the impassioned lack of
restraint and volatility of mood associated with that people. How
could it be otherwise? Each was a genuine artist, expressing his
natural feelings with clearness and conviction; and each should be
respected for what he did: _not_ one at the expense of the other. In
Brahms, however, the question does arise of facility of expression
versus worthiness of expression. He had an unparalleled technique in
the manipulation of notes but whether there was always an emotional
impulse behind what he wrote is debatable. For there are these two
contrasting types in every art: works which come from the heart
(remember Beethoven's significant inscription at the end of his
Mass),[256] and those which come from the head. This brings us face to
face with the perplexing question as to the essence of music. To some
it is a record of intellectual activity tinged with emotion; to
others, an emotional outpouring controlled by intellect. These two
types of music will always exist, being the natural expression of the
corresponding classes in human nature.

[Footnote 256: "From the heart it has come, to the heart it shall
go."]

Brahms's music is sometimes called dry, but this is a misuse of terms.
To draw an analogy from another sense, we might rejoin that the best
champagne is "sec," all the superfluous, cloying sugar