Johannes Brahms, the frail little son of poor parents, spent the first years of his life in a wretched tenement in the old harbor city of Hamburg. It is here that the present story opens. His father, an irresponsible musician, kept the child up, playing the piano at low taverns, until all hours of the night for whatever small payment he could get. However, little Johannes's love for fine music and for composing finally led to lessons and then to a speedy success. Composing, teaching, playing on whatever piano was found available, these filled the boy's day.

The present book closes when, at sixteen, he dedicates a beautiful piece to Lieschen, the lovely daughter of Adolf Giesemann in whose home he has spent the summer. Several of Brahms's best-known compositions are included, and the work is a rich promise for more to come in a forthcoming book.

From the dust jacket