Introduction
Composer Johannes Brahms liked his music to be appreciated, but if the eulogies became cloying his manner would undergo a marked change. His friend Charles Villiers Stanford tells us about one occasion when Brahms used all his ingenuity to escape a too-flattering fan.
LIKE many great men, he had a suit of armour which he put on to meet the stranger. Tennyson’s armour was brusqueness, Leighton’s was excessive polish,* Brahms’ could be downright rudeness. But all three as soon as their armour was put by, were alike in one respect - they were simple to the point of boyishness.
Brahms most of all hated the lioniser, and was for ever on the look-out for him. Returning one day from a walk at Heidelberg, he was met by a man who stopped him and asked if he were not Brahms; on receiving an affirmative reply, the stranger expanded into eulogies of his compositions. Brahms put on a puzzled look, then suddenly said, ‘Oh, you must mean my brother; he was taking a walk with me on the hill just now,’ indicating where the mythical relation had gone, and the unwelcome celebrity-hunter rushed on up the hill.
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830-1896), a distinguished painter from Scarborough who was a friend of the supreme violinist Joseph Joachim and of many other figures in the artistic world. In 1896 Leighton became the first painter to be raised to the peerage for his art.
Précis
Charles Villiers Stanford tells how German composer Johannes Brahms, who did not like over-flattering fans, managed to rid himself of one who had accosted in Heidelberg. Brahms pretended that he had been mistaken for his own brother, and sent the cloying fan off in search of the imaginary sibling. (49 / 60 words)
Charles Villiers Stanford tells how German composer Johannes Brahms, who did not like over-flattering fans, managed to rid himself of one who had accosted in Heidelberg. Brahms pretended that he had been mistaken for his own brother, and sent the cloying fan off in search of the imaginary sibling.
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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, if, may, otherwise, unless, until, whether.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
What ‘armour’ did Brahms put on to deter strangers, according to Stanford?
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Brahms’s went for a walk in Heidelberg. A fan came up to him.