Brahms's Kreisleriana : Johannes Brahms's identification with Johannes Kreisler

Abstract

This study examines Johannes Brahms's identification with E.T.A. Hoffmann's fictional character, Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler. It seeks to develop a more representative understanding of the phenomenon than that which existed previously. Chapter 1 surveys existing scholarly examinations of Brahms's Kreisler identification and notes the inadequate wayin which knowledge of the phenomenon has manifested itself in the in the general literature on Brahms. It also clarifies terminology relating to Gérard Genette's theory of the paratext, which is later used to clarifiy the function of Brahms's references to Kreisler.