[Surgeon, Musician and Friend of Brahms: Theodor Billroth (1829-1894)]

Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (1829-1894) is primarily known as a pioneer of modern surgery among medical professionals today. During his entire life, however, he was also very musically inclined and was at the center of musical life wherever he worked. As a student, he was an active member of Göttingen University's musical circles, later he wrote concert reviews and organized private concerts in his home. In late 1865, he invited the composer and pianist Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) to such a soiree in Zurich. Henceforth, Brahms appreciated the surgeon as a correspondent on an equal footing - several letters to Brahms are proof of Billroth's effusive enthusiasm for new works by Brahms, and primarily also of his musical expertise. Billroth's soirees in Vienna often focused on Brahms, when luminaries such as the Hellmesberger String Quartet or Joseph Joachim played his newest works for Brahms, so that he could make final amendments before printing them. The present article sheds a light on the fascinating friendship of two central 19th-century figures.