Octo_Russ

Brahms - 4 Ballades [Arrau]

A really lovely set of Brahms's piano music by Claudio Arrau, i listened to this last month [3rd October 2010], and his Handel Variations are wonderful, now it's the turn of his early Ballades, it already shows the young Brahms at 21, with incredible powers of lyricism, only 4 years later he would unleash his dark First Piano Concerto on the world, a very introspective set of 4 pieces, especially 2 & 4, and certainly in my mind a great improvement on his very early 3 Piano Sonatas, which are quite disappointing.

Claudio Arrau recorded these Ballades in 1977, when he was 74 years old, like i said, this is a wonderful triple box set of discs, with Arrau in a thoughtful pose [photography by Christian Steiner].

I really love all of Brahms's Ballades, but maybe some more than others, certainly 2 & 4 are gorgeous, and it's the 2nd that really touches me the most, on this listen i found myself being drawn to the 4th Ballade, it starts off with a lovely gently rolling tempo by Arrau, he picks a perfect speed for this piece [0:00+], and it develops a sweetness, with a nice treble to it in the upper range of the piano [0:56+], then comes a more extended middle section [1:51-5:27], the real heart of the piece, it's a wonderful change in direction, the music becomes much more introspective, more noble and serious, this is beautiful Brahms playing, and the real heart of Brahms, what a truly sublime invention, right after comes a more happy skipping version of the opening [5:27+], a lighter mood in the piece, but the introspection has a tendency to return, and the piece ends in gentleness.

Here's Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli playing the Fourth Ballade on YouTube.