'Styra Avins's massive selected letters, scrupulously translated in collaboration with Josef Eisinger has rapidly established itself as the classic text, with her linking narrative and annotations virtually doubling as a biography' -BBC Music Magazine 'Occasionally a book comes along which changes perceptions of its subject. This is such a book. Her annotations are not only scholarly but often witty and always full of common sense' - Michael Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph 'Delightful and absorbing. It is going to become an absolutely central work of reference: I expect to be using it for the rest of my life' -Calum MacDonald, BBC Music MagazinePublished to mark the centenary of Brahms's death in 1897, this is the first comprehensive English language collection of Brahms's letters. It contains over 550 letters, including more than a dozen previously unpublished in any language. The letters are woven together with an extended biographical narrative, and span the entire life of the composer. The book is written for the general music-lover, but is documented with scholarly care. Brahms enthusiasts will enjoy learning from his own words about the man who wrote such great music.