Brahms - 4 Klavierstucke Op119 [Grimaud]Lots of Brahms solo piano works have appeared in my Blog over the last two months, and this disc has been featured twice as well [26th October 2010] & [7th November 2010], this Brahms disc is turning out to be a gem, and for some strange reason, discs of Op116-Op119 all seem to be blooming at the same time.
Helene Grimaud is now 41, she still looks so young, this recording was made in her Erato days in 1995, the front cover [photo by J Henry Fair] is excellent, excuse the dark spots on her face, my scanner has a tendency to turn images into tartan!, i like the spotlit face, wide eyed, what looks like damp hair, even the crazy lipstick, the choice of a backlight highlighting her hair like a halo, the dark background and clothing which emphasises the lighter parts [the face], the nicely proportioned lettering, even the word 'Brahms' in yellow is a nice added touch, and the discreet Erato logo gives a splash of colour, anyone might think that i buy discs like stamps, to just look at and admire!, and in a way it is part of creating a beautiful collection, but deep down it's of course the music that's the deciding factor in my collecting.
In listening to these four wonderful pieces again, i was struck by the short third piece, lasting just under two minutes, the tune is very quintessentially Brahms, it has his stamp written all over it, also it sounds so similar to something else, i just can't work out what!, the piece starts off coy and hesitating at first [0:00+], but soon breaks into its stride, there's this striking of some lovely notes early on [0:05-0:06 and again at 0:23-0:24], like ringing of bells in the treble right hand, but the uniformity is quickly lost and the effect is gone!, a lovely quicksilver moment, the piece seems to veer into all sorts of directions after [0:35+], and the whole thing is over too soon, almost a Prelude in a way, but another incredible little Brahms creation.
Here's Helene Grimaud playing the third piece on YouTube.
