this pianist, of whom i have never heard before, is a genius! internal melodies hidden with other pianists, unexpected gentleness, bringing out all of the beauty and turmoil in the soul of the great master brahms.
It's just incredibly beautiful music. Brahms was a musical genius of the first order and this pianist uncovers the very soul of this sublime music. What's remarkable about Opus 76 is it's variety. This is Brahms at his most introspective. The stormy unbridled romanticism of the first piece is followed by the suave 2nd capriccio then the dreamlike 3rd intermezzo. Just incredible stuff.
Few composers can reach the heights of Brabms. His counterpoint is exceptionally great...his harmonies incredible...his structure personal and gigantic. His works are unique..I love Brahms ...he says so much with so little.
😊 50-odd years of playing and listening to classical piano, and I'm realizing I've never listened to the op 76 set in its entirety until now. Thanks for posting!
Thank you sir thats a great reassurance that classical music has endless possibilities. I too in the 14 years I have been listening have made new discoveries every year without a disappointment. This year I enjoyed the piano transcription of the Brahms Hungarian dances and of many others.
@@dwacheopusi guess he means 14 years of piano , i personally fell for classical music since i was 8 years old so I don't see what's wrong with a younger person loving classical music
i’m glad people still visit videos like this to share comments. music like this is important even with the new music that has come out since then. there’s a certain beauty in a melody with no words that still succeeds in telling a story.
I love to see this! I fell in love with Brahms at age 3, 63 years ago. The more you listen to one of his many masterpieces, the more you discover. His music is incredibly deep - seemingly infinitely so. My favorite artist in any medium. His 3rd Symphony is my favorite work of art, period.
I love seeing people discover Brahms. His music will continue to reward you with repeated listenings. I've been at it for 63 years and I never tire of him.
Such rich, Autumnal piano music. Thank you for posting this fine recording, with the scores. These pieces are physically, intellectually, and emotionally difficult to learn and play. Brahms is never easy, but so worth the effort.
Brahms is always worth the effort to get to know, as a performer or listener. Once you open that door and enter, you will be forever rewarded with new discoveries. His music is just so deep.
What an excellent display of profound understanding of melody and Brahms. I agree that I had not heard some of the hitherto hidden melodies that he brought out. Thank you for posting.
Great posting! Thank you! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to know about this great Performer who is not promoted by the usual "commercial" artist promotion networks.
Excellent notes and comments. Please keep up the splendid work - and give us more Brahms, today surely one of the world's least understood and most underrated composers for piano?
Brahms piano music is actually diificult to play but i love the melodies because they are profound and aesthetical. It's love-themed and dedicated only to Clara Schumann, the love of his life!
The intermezzo no. 7 in a minor- actually, it's melodic line doesn't refer to Chopin nocturne op 55 no. 1, but to Brahms himself. That interval (jump of 4 notes up and descending neighbor notes) is like a signature of Brahms. You can hear it for example in intermezzo op. 118 no. 2 the middle part. Sonata for Clarinet no. 1 the beginning (it's in f minor so it sounds even more like chopin's Nocturne) the clarinet trio- the beginning. (The same key like this intermezzo) Romance op 118 no. 5. Intermezzo op. 117 no. 1. Violin sonata no. 3 the beginning and many many more. The Performer here is wonderful. Full of emotions and sensitivity. Bringing out lot's of polyphony. Really wonderful.
Thanks for the remark! I did not hear it in the clarinet-trio until now. If you cut the first two notes, right? It's stunning how Brahms, using this uniform motif, managed to create those highly different musical characters.
All the works you are citing as comparanda were composed at least ~10 years following the publication of this set of miniatures, whereas Chopin's op.55 nocturnes were published when Brahms was 11 years old. Chopin's influence here wouldn't appear wholly improbable to me.
@@vaclavmiller8032 Of course. Who knows what happened in his unconscious. But the melodic subject- the amount it appears in his late pieces- it looks like a conscious decision.
I love this opus - both playing and listening to others and especially their tempi which for Brahms is always problematical. (I like the B Flat major Intermezzo faster for example). Each and every piece is a gem and Müller gives outstanding performances. Love the "notes" - very informative. I've always practiced with a highlighter and a sharp pencil, changing figuring or marking inner melodies or hand switches. The most difficult is the C sharp minor with its "three hands" clashing with one another. Favorite - No 1
@@squirrel4727 Sorry, should have said B Flat Major (corrected). I have been on a Brahms kick for about 18 months now - intermezzos, capricces, romances, etc. In the end it's all about beauty and melody. The Capriccios are especially outstanding in their variety and (again) beauty.
That first piece is just incredible in its emotional impact. All of the pieces are wonderful, although I think Brahms went over the top in the 5th piece. Like Beethoven, this composer on occasion went all out for a "shock and awe" effect on the audience.
13:28 This Chord progression has been used often in classical music, in Chopin's Ballade (I think No. 3) and Schumanns Sonata No. 1. Also the whole passage before this moment sounds like Chopin's Ballade No. 3
I think it's going down the D sharp minor scale: D# minor, C# major, B major, Bb major, while the right hand is playing 3 note sequences. But what I wrote could be eharmonically incorrect.
@@tarikeld11 It's just going through the circle of fifths in thirds. As you've said, it pervades classical music more than perhaps any other element ; it's pretty obvious here, as in Chopin's ballade and Schumann's sonata, but you pretty much won't find a piece where it isn't used under one guise or another. It's also the easiest way to modulate, which participates to why it's so widely used (other than it being beautiful)...
@@pierredbss9638 But there's more than just going through the circle of 5th, it's also the melody - Repeating three steps up the scale, and this pattern is always sequenced one step down. Sorry if this is confusing, let me give a simple example: E F# G D E F C D E
Schumann's Humoureske is a very complex work resembling the collections of Brahm's piano collections. The Humoureske concludes with a massive coda that he titles Zum Schluss (..the conclusion). These cycles of Brahms a Schumann differ in the cohesive nature of how they conclude. Schumann seems to bring closure with his 1835+ works as a whole. Brahms does this within an individual piece, but not so much as a whole collection.
@@anosmianAcrimony Culmination of research of his letters points to that being his intention. Also he quotes Robert Schumann in the B Minor Capriccio which paraphrases the 12th piece of Davidsbündlertänze. It is especially obvious if you are a pianist and have played Op. 55 of Chopin. It’s obvious to see and you’d be stupid to dismiss it. He was an admirer of Chopin. Makes sense.
The last piece (the C major one) is actually a very special one because the music is being developed restlessly. There’s no recapitulation or something like that. This makes it difficult to deeply understand the structural logic behind this piece.
It sounds like a Chopin prelude! Brahms certainly had great affinity for the polyphonic aspects of Chopins music expressed through romantic lenses. Brahms is a different beast from Chopin altogether though, which makes it all that more intriguing.
That last capriccio is a perfect, restful ending to a rather turbulent set. It's a rhapsody in the truest sense: it's free form without any repeating phrases, although the effect is a highly controlled, structured work. This jewel of a piece foreshadows Faure and Debussy.
Do you have any references for saying 7 A theme was formed after "Chopin's f minor-Nocturne op. 55/1" ? I've always noticed the similarity but it could be a coincidence, never heard that Brahms actually did that on purpose.
I like all of them, but especially the sixth, in which the right hand is in 2/4 when the left is in 6/8 and vice versa. So typical of Brahms, who combines the cerebral with the dance.