Composer: Johannes Brahms
Performer: Barry Douglas
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN10833
Release: 2014
Size: 982 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
16 Waltzes, Op. 39
01. No. 1 in B Major – Tempo giusto
02. No. 2 in E Major
03. No. 3 in G-Sharp Minor
04. No. 4 in E Minor – Poco sostenuto
05. No. 5 in E Major – Grazioso
06. No. 6 in C-Sharp Major – Vivace
07. No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor – Poco più Andante
08. No. 8 in B-Flat Major
09. No. 9 in D Minor
10. No. 10. in G Major
11. No. 11 in B Minor
12. No. 12 in E Major
13. No. 13 in B Major
14. No. 14 in G-Sharp Minor
15. No. 15 in A-Flat Major
16. No. 16 in C-Sharp Minor
Theme and Variations in D Minor, Op. 18b
17. Theme and Variations in D Minor
4 Piano Pieces, Op. 119
18. No. 1, Intermezzo in B Minor
19. No. 3, Intermezzo in C Major
7 Fantasies, Op. 116
20. No. 5, Intermezzo in E Minor
Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2
21. I. Allegro non troppo, ma energico
22. II. Andante con espressione
23. III. Scherzo: Allegro
24. IV. Finale. Sostenuto – Allegro non troppo e rubato
Barry Douglas returns for the highly anticipated third volume in his series devoted to Brahms’s solo piano music, the first two volumes having been met with widespread critical acclaim. Of Vol. 2, International Record Review wrote, ‘this is indeed Brahms playing of the utmost integrity and authority… this cycle looks set to become a benchmark’.
The selected Intermezzi performed here come from the collections of short piano pieces which Brahms published in 1892 – 93, his last works for piano. A sense of wistful, melancholic reflection pervades these exquisitely crafted masterpieces of Brahms’s late maturity.
Composed at the other end of his life, at the age of twenty, the Piano Sonata in F sharp minor is full of a youthful, strident energy. It was among the pieces that, when he heard them privately, convinced Robert Schumann of Brahms’s genius. It was dedicated to Robert’s wife, Clara, who was to remain a key figure in Brahms’s life. Indeed it was Clara who, having heard the movement, begged Brahms for a piano transcription of the noble Andante from the String Sextet in B flat major, the Theme with Variations in D minor heard here.
Brahms’s set of sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 were originally conceived for piano four hands and were arranged, by popular demand, for solo piano soon after, in 1867. They capture the sense of joyful abandon often associated with the genre but their romanticism and nostalgia are uniquely Brahmsian.