£441,500 for work by Brahms

London - A manuscript by composer Johannes Brahms, which experts rate as "by far the most important" to come on to the market…

London - A manuscript by composer Johannes Brahms, which experts rate as "by far the most important" to come on to the market, fetched a record £441,500 at Sotheby's yesterday.

The two compositions in the 102-year-old manuscript were inspired by the close friendship between Brahms and Richard Muhlfeld, the greatest clarinettist of his day. The manuscript was bought by a London dealer in music manuscripts.