Brahms op 105

Rudolf Buchbinder, the doyen of Austrian pianists, plays Max Reger’s rarely heard, lovingly crafted transcriptions of his idol Johannes Brahms’s most beautiful lieder, about which Reger said: “In the case of such masterpieces, any embellishment and any attempt to introduce a note of brilliance would be an unheard-of act of vandalism. I mean to adopt a different approach by bringing out the vocal line and, where possible, retaining the original accompaniment in the most faithful way that I can!”

Rudolf Buchbinder, the doyen of Austrian pianists, plays Max Reger’s rarely heard, lovingly crafted transcriptions of his idol Johannes Brahms’s most beautiful lieder, about which Reger said: “In the case of such masterpieces, any embellishment and any attempt to introduce a note of brilliance would be an unheard-of act of vandalism. I mean to adopt a different approach by bringing out the vocal line and, where possible, retaining the original accompaniment in the most faithful way that I can!”

From Brahms to Dietrich, violinist Fanny Robilliard and pianist Paloma Kouider conjure up the ghosts of the Schumanns’ destiny. The programme explores the works that left their mark on their existence, from the F-A-E Sonata to Brahms’ second Violin Sonata.

Martha Argerich & Itzhak Perlman - Schumann, Bach & Brahms (2016) {Warner Classics 0190295937898}
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© 2016 Parlophone / Warner Classics | 0190295937898
Classical / Piano / Violin

The performances heard on this recording by the superstar duo of violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Martha Argerich do not exactly form a discrete group: the first work, Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105, was recorded live in 1998, while the rest consists of 2016 studio recordings. The 1998 performance, however, was part of a concert in Saratoga Springs, New York, that provided the stimulus for the joint recording. The Schumann sonata performance was not released at that time, and the rest of the program expands on the music it presents. It's nice to have the Schumann, which has a good deal of tension and energy. As for the rest, it's hard to point to a clear decline in the skills of either of the septuagenarian performers.

This album by Finnish duo partners Tuija Hakkila and Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch features Johannes Brahms’ Violin Sonatas played on period instruments. These three sonatas by Brahms form a cornerstone of chamber music repertoire for violin. When Brahms’s Sonata for piano and violin in G major op. 78, ostensibly his first, was published, it was actually the composer’s fourth venture in this genre as far as we know. Brahms began writing Sonata in G major when he had returned from Italy and travelled to the lake district of Pörtschach – a location where “the air is so full of melodies that one has to take care not to step on them.

Brahms had already decided to retire as a composer when, on a journey to Meiningen in 1891, he was inspired and challenged by clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld’s beautiful playing. The two Sonatas, Op. 120 are part of a late flowering that resulted in some of Brahms’s finest chamber music. Brahms himself explored these pieces beyond the clarinet, and Karl-Heinz Schütz’s arrangements are based on the composer’s own alternative versions, seeking out the ideal of two equally matched instruments in constant dialogue. Also included is a selection of ‘songs without words’, further expanding the flute repertoire with arrangements of these much-loved Lieder.