Answer :
Final answer:
Johannes Brahms destroyed many of his early works because of the pressure he felt to live up to the standards set by previous master composers, particularly Ludwig van Beethoven.
Explanation:
Brahms was keenly aware of walking in Beethoven's shadow, as he mentioned in a letter to his friend Hermann Levi. This awareness made him very self-critical and led to a long period of germination for his works, such as his first symphony, which took over twenty years to surface.
Additionally, Brahms had a high personal standard for his music; he sought to bring new life into classical forms, combining the Romantic lyricism with rich chromatic harmonies under the weight of the compositional giants that preceded him.
