Brehme studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. In 1928 he accepted a position at the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik where he enjoyed a long and varied career. Brehme composed in the German Romantic tradition, and his opera =Der Uhrmacher von Strassburg= was influenced by =Die Meistersinger= by Wagner. Later works such as his Second Symphony and the Second Piano Concerto are written with 12-note series.