Three Bs

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"The Three Bs" is an English-language phrase derived from a similar phrase, in German, coined by Hans von Bülow. The phrase is generally used in discussions of classical music, and refers to the supposed primacy of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms in the field.

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[edit] Origins

The origins of the phrase lie in a pun composed by Bülow to a friend. He wrote that

Mein musikalisches Glaubensbekenntniss steht in Es dur, mit drei B-en in der Vorzeichnung: Bach, Beethoven, und Brahms![1]

"B", in German, stands for the key of B-flat; because the flat symbol resembles a lower-case "b", it may also refer to any flat. Consequently, the remark may be translated, roughly, as

My musical creed is in the key of E-flat major, and contains three flats in its key signature: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms!

Bülow had been attracted to the idea of a sort of Holy Trinity of classical music for a number of years, writing in the 1880s,

I believe in Bach, the Father, Beethoven, the Son, and Brahms, the Holy Ghost of music.[2]

He further linked Beethoven and Brahms by referring to the latter's First Symphony as Beethoven's Tenth.

Richard Wagner once proposed an alternate candidate for the third of the three Bs; this was Anton Bruckner, a devoted Wagnerian. The appellation never took, and today Brahms retains his place in the trinity.

[edit] Usage

Although the phrase "the three Bs" is generally associated with classical music, it may be found in the vocabulary of other disciplines as well. There are, for instance, three Bs of bassing[3], and three Bs of learning[4]. Generally speaking, however, the three Bs of music are the most frequently cited.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Slonimsky, p. 99
  2. ^ Slonimsky, p. 99
  3. ^ http%3a//www.bassdozer.com/articles/three-b.shtml
  4. ^ Welcome to Sophomore Initiatives
  • Nicolas Slonimsky, Slonimsky's Book of Musical Anecdotes. New York; Schirmer Books, 1998.