Octo_Russ

Brahms - 3 Intermezzi Op117 [Grimaud]

A few days ago i played these same pieces by Nicholas Angelich [22nd October 2010], and like promised there, i played this set of pieces also, and i find it's so good to hear another perspective in fairly close proximation, some people may question 'why do you buy another disc of the same exact work?, isn't it just a waste of money?, doesn't it sound the same really?', a good point from the uninitiated, but when you really fall in love with a work, you do find enlightening differences, which can bring a new fresh understanding to the work.

So what are the differences?, well as i said last week, Angelich's discs take 85 minutes, whereas Grimaud's disc takes 75 minutes, on this work it's Angelich 17 minutes, and Grimaud 15 minutes, Grimaud is more volatile, more angrier in places, more extreme, takes more risks, Angelich is more lyrical, speeds seem more ideal, the opening number of this work is taken a minute slower, Angelich makes it beautiful, but Grimaud still has excellent ideas, both interpretations are certainly worth listening to, one thing i do notice, is that Angelich is better recorded, a wonderful and beautiful piano sound, nice stereo image, Grimaud on the other hand has a piano that doesn't sound in perfect shape, and the left / right imaging seems a little stereo flat, but don't let that put you off, Grimaud still has an excellent modern sound, both is better than one!.

The booklet photo is great [by J Henry Fair], a wide eyed Helene Grimaud, spotlit, with a nice highlight background, dark clothing, and really nice lettering that stands out.

Well listening to these three lovely pieces again, i wasn't so wowed by the first piece, she takes it rather fast, and it loses some of its poetry, but the second piece was beautiful, starting with a gently flowing Andante on the piano [0:00-0:55], very Schumannesque, nice and lyrical, a nice hint of regret, later there's these lovely treble notes that lead back into this very opening [2:11-3:13], and this section develops towards a forte, right at the end, the whole thing slows down, and this time with some deep bass notes [3:55-4:18], that slowly trickle up to treble to finish the piece, a clever and satisfying ending, after falling in love with the first piece of these Intermezzi, it's now good to start to learn to fall in love with the second piece.

Here's Helene Grimaud playing the second piece on YouTube, a fairly quiet recording.