5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Brahms Listen as Carlos Santana, Branford Marsalis and others pick their favorites of the moody master of 19th-century music. Credit...Angie Wang April 7, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET Now we want to convince those curious friends to love the music of Johannes Brahms (1833-97), master of stirring symphonic exclamations and moody piano solos. We hope you find lots here to discover and enjoy; leave your favorites in the comments. ◆ ◆ ◆ Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist The beginning of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is one of my favorite concerto openings. It’s got drama, intensity and emotion — and that’s before the piano even joins! The soloist doesn’t come in for almost four minutes while the orchestra has a long, thrilling introduction illustrating the themes of the movement. Brahms uses the full orchestra, with a lot of grandeur, so the entrance of the piano is always a beautiful surprise, coming in very lyrical and soft. And after such a long wait!