“ Je crois que tu ne peux plus disparaître de ma vie; c'est cela; quoi qu'il arrive tu es à jamais dans toute ma vie. ” Maria Casarès à Albert Camus

One notable aspect of Brahms' extremely-complicated personality was his resistance to the virus of anti-Semitism, which was so prevalent in Vienna. He described it as a type of "madness." It's likely that his closeness to Marxsen - who was Jewish - informed his perspective.