Johannes Brahms was born in the port city of Hamburg on May 7, 1833, into a poor but musical family. The blond, blue-eyed baby developed into a quiet, sensitive child, spending endless hours rearranging his toy lead soldiers, intrigued by the variations of the patterns he created. By his tenth year, in addition to formal education, Brahms studied music four times a week with Eduard Marxsen, a highly respected composer, who was convinced of the boy s genius and encouraged his efforts in composition and piano. When the political upheaval of 1848 caused a stream of Hungarians to flee for safety to Hamburg, Brahms first encountered the gypsy melodies he grew to adore, especially through a young refugee violinist, Eduard Remenyi. The two musicians soon formed a duo, and while on tour in Hanover, Remenyi introduced Brahms to his violinist friend, Joseph Joachim. Enchanted by Brahms artistry, Joachim immediately dashed off a letter of introduction to Franz Liszt in Weimar. Partly in jest, Joachim quietly extended an invitation to Brahms to become his pianist if things did not work out well with Remenyi. Indeed, the meeting between Brahms and Liszt was an artistic disaster. Remenyi, who idolized Liszt, was so embarrassed that he would have nothing further to do with Brahms, who then turned to Joachim for help. Joachim promptly welcomed Brahms back. After hiking with Brahms along the Rhine to speed his nature-loving friend s recuperation from the fiasco, Joachim insisted that Brahms visit Dusseldorf to meet Clara and Robert Schumann. Joachim felt confident that his illustrious friends, Clara, one of the foremost concert pianists of her time, and Robert, the distinguished composer, would surely appreciate and promote Brahms. On September 30, 1853, Brahms entered the home and hearts of the Schumann family. He turned somersaults with the children and cheerfully babysat them. He shared in the intense musical atmosphere of the household and received the confirmation he craved of his musical worth. Most importantly, he experienced true friendship and enduring, unconditional love as he supported Clara, amidst his awakening passion for her, through the tragic time of her husband s illness and death. Although Brahms ultimately chose a life alone, he and Clara were never spiritually apart. Clara wrote, I have never loved a friend as I loved him; it is the most beautiful mutual understanding of two souls. And Brahms said that Clara was the most beautiful experience of my life, its greatest wealth and its noblest content. The unique relationship of Clara and Johannes is the quintessentially enigmatic story only Brahms music holds the hidden details. In the Three Violin Sonatas, the listener is privileged to enter a private world of meaning of whispers and dreams, of two voices blended in tenderness and trust.