Jan Swafford's slablike life of Brahms is more discursive than Mr Carr's book but just as readable.

ECONOMIST: Composers�� lives: Setting it straight | The

Though Mr Swafford (unlike Mr Carr) gives a few musical examples, he writes mostly about Brahms's life.

ECONOMIST: Composers�� lives: Setting it straight | The

Mr Swafford is good on the social and political context of Brahms's life.

ECONOMIST: Composers�� lives: Setting it straight | The

He has survived because he was just progressive enough to be fresh, and because, as Mr Swafford stresses, he was a superlative craftsman.

ECONOMIST: Composers�� lives: Setting it straight | The