Guided $42,000-45,000 at the sale in New York on May 20, it hammered for $67,500 (£50,000).
The manuscript is for Verzweiflung (Despair), the tenth song from Die schöne Magelone (The beautiful Magelone), the only song cycle Brahms wrote. He based it on a 1797 poem by Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853). The document last appeared at auction in 1938 at Parke Bernet in New York, which has long since become part of Sotheby’s.
David Lowenherz, president of Lion Heart Autographs, said one factor that drove the bidding was its provenance.
The manuscript first belonged to the orchestra conductor Hermann Levi (1839-1900), and its chain of ownership is well-documented. “Taking the provenance back that far is rare, and added to its appeal,” he said.
Lowenherz said Brahms’ handwriting radiated “energy, pure energy: It looks rushed, but in an ‘I know what I’m doing, let’s get on with it’ way – that sort of liveliness.” When setting the estimate, his reference points were recent sales of Brahms autograph manuscripts at Sotheby’s in London.
These included an 1856 working draft of the Organ Fugue in A-flat minor that was signed, dedicated, and inscribed to Clara Schumann (£110,000 in May 2017); and a signed and inscribed 1864 manuscript for Geistliches Wiegenlied (£180,000 in October 2017).
Most recently, a manuscript for Feldeinsamkeit on decorative paper, signed and inscribed in 1879, went for £55,000 in December 2023; and a signed and dated 1858 manuscript for the songs Sehnsucht and Trost in Tränen hammered for £35,000 in December 2025.
Lion Heart formally opened the Brahms lot at $15,000 on May 20. Within a minute, an absentee bid pushed it to $42,500, just above the low end of its guide. Following a two-minute fight, a phone bidder in the US defeated an online rival for the prize.
