Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi
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Composer: Johannes BrahmsPerformer: Glenn Gould
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1993-03-09
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- 4 Ballades, Op.10: No.1 In D Minor
- 4 Ballades, Op.10: No.2 In D Major
- 4 Ballades, Op.10: No.3 In B Minor
- 4 Ballades, Op.10: No.4 In B Major
- 2 Rhapsodies, Op.79: No.1 In B Minor
- 2 Rhapsodies, Op.79: No.2 In G Minor
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in E-flat major, Op. 117, No. 1
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in B-flat minor, Op. 117, No. 2
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in C-sharp minor, Op. 117, No. 3
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in E-flat minor, Op. 118, No. 6
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in E major, Op. 116, No. 4
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 76, No. 7
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in A major, Op. 76, No. 6
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in B minor, Op. 119, No. 1
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 118, No. 1
- 10 Intermezzi: Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2
Music reviews of Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi
Music Review: Ten stars for the ten intermezzi (1960)
Rating: 5 Stars
This review is primarily designed not for Gould aficionados, but for those who love Brahms piano music and enjoy great piano playing. Gould completists of which I am one (I have over 50 Gould CDs and a lot of LPs) love his original music conceptions and try to get most or all of his recordings and then decide whether that they find this or that interpretation of a given piece by Bach, Beethoven or Schoenberg convincing or not. But many true `Brahmins' and adepts of the romantic piano will miss a great recording of the XX century, if they discard Glenn Gould's 1960 sampler of Brahms intermezzi and ignore it in their wish lists.
This 2 CD set offers the outcome of two very different Gould's digressions to Brahms piano music. In 1960 he made a studio recording of 10 Intermezzi from Opp. 117, 118, 116, 76 (in September and November 1960). This is the content of CD 2 in this compilation. In February 1982 he returned to add the four ballades, Op. 10. Finally, on June 30 & July 1, 1982 he recorded both rhapsodies, Op. 79 - of one of his very last recordings: the ballades and the rhapsodies recorded in 1982 are available in this compilation on CD 1.
There is fairly little in common between these two CDs in this CD set, except for the name of the pianist. But was it really one and the same man? I doubt it. The 1960 sessions with 10 intermezzi reveal a perfect balance of the pianist's conception, dynamic markings and a gorgeous touch: Gould produces an unusually full-blooded and nuanced sound, with rich pedaling, dynamic shadings and long fermatas. His playing here is not only thought-of, but very natural - every note is a treasure. The 1982 sessions offer a more politically correct, artificial and distilled late-Gould sound - a la Gould's magnificent 6 Haydn Sonatas or Beethoven's Sonatas Op. 2: the main problem is that such an approach suits Brahms music worse than Haydn or Beethoven Op. 2. Besides, Gould's technique in 1982 deteriorated since 1960, and his individual accents, interesting as they are, mask the lack of virtuosity. Listening to some passages from the B minor rhapsody Op. 79 No. 1 or 2nd Ballade, Op. 10 No. 2, one cannot get rid of a really unpleasant feeling that Gould *could not* play them in a different way, even if he wished to. Given all this, I can rate Gould's experiments on CD 1 (1982 sessions) with some 4 stars, and am giving 5 stars (10 stars in mind) for the extraordinary sampler of 1960 intermezzi on CD 2.
Brahms intermezzi is my favorite piano music and I enjoy listening to them in many performances. I have a complete set of Brahms solo piano music with Katchen, large selections of intermezzi with Backhaus (both the pre-war and the post-war versions), Rubinstein, Gieseking, Gilels, Kempff, some pieces with Schnabel, Edwin Fischer, Richter, Elly Ney, Anda, Michelangeli, Vedernikov, Yudina, Sokolow etc. But the 10 intermezzi from Gould's 1960 sessions simply outshine the alternative versions for me.
A few words about the miniatures from this selection compared with some alternatives in their discography. Gould plays all three intermezzi from Op. 117: the first item, the E flat major intermezzo in a lullaby rhythmus is very popular, but other two pieces are not weaker. I admire the C sharp intermezzo Op 117 No. 3 with Gould: it is a strong dark piece which gets a congenial reading here. Gould also recorded Nos. 1, 2, 4 & 6 from 'six pieces, Op. 118'. I cannot express enough praise for Gould's rendering of Brahms' late masterpiece, intermezzo Op. 118 No. 6, written in the funereal tonality of E flat minor. This `Andante, largo e mesto' opens with an Orfeo-like dialogue of the left and right hands slightly reminding of Gluck or the E minor Romance from Beethoven's 4th Concerto: a sad right-hand theme played pp or p is immediately responded by menacing descending figurations in the left hand. Then this gloomy music is magically transformed into a heroic middle episode where both hands are going up for a short while and trying to develop new textures - as if protesting against the fate. But the battle is lost and the gloomy initial theme returns, to a dismal effect. One must both have a great soul and great stamina to play that: some pianists are excessively booming and appear rude, while other ones are unjustly hiding the left hand. I find Gieseking's reading of Op. 118 No. 6 too florid and mannered, and Backhaus (both in his 1932 and 1956 recordings) is too dry and emotionally restrained for my taste. Richter who plays it greatly is almost weeping in the last bars. Gould is sensitive but manlike, he holds the reins to the end. Every note in this recording is smart and every transition is logical, not a single false intonation. His sound, especially in the left hand, is very appealing, too.
On the 1982 CD, I would first of all recommend the 4th Ballade in B major, Op. 10 No. 4, where Gould's approach and his tempi make most sense, and the 2nd Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79, No. 2 - it sounds unconventional and fresh. I don't want to spread any critical comments about the playing of one of my favorite pianists in other pieces on CD 1 or advise any alternatives. I simply suggest that the art of such a great musician who could make the 1960 recordings of intermezzi deserves that you buy and listen to his later Brahms recordings yourself.
Highly recommended. A must for all who love Brahms.
Description of Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi
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