Brahms regularly fell in and out of love but never married. And, in spite of his sometimes brusque and arrogant manner, he also cultivated many friendships in the course of his life and inspired great loyalty in the friends he made. He formed a particularly strong bond with Elizabeth von Herzogenberg whose musical judgement he greatly valued. Donald Macleod introduces works associated with some of the most important of his friends including a Rhapsody and a vocal quartet dedicated to Elizabeth von Herzogenberg, two songs for voice, viola and piano presented as a peace offering to his lifelong friend the violin Joseph Joachim, and two songs - one woven into Brahms's second violin sonata - for the singer Hermine Spies. Show less