Brahms - 4 Klavierstucke Op119 [Ortiz]
I've had this disc for a couple of years, and this is only the second time i've played it today, i found it on Ebay and snapped it up, the Collins label finished some years ago, but discs like this i never knew existed, until i see them pop up on Ebay, i love these short works by Brahms, they are full of wonderful invention, almost an endless kaleidoscopic range of colours and emotions, always something new to hear and discover, and a new favourite piece to fall in love with every time!, these bite-sized pieces can 'seem' easy to chew on.
Cristina Ortiz is Brazilian, she's now 65, and she recorded this disc in 1990, the front cover portrait [by Katie Vandyck], is really excellent, it's a great shot, i like the hands / arms, the lettering is great as well, it's a shame that the Collins label is now defunct.
Collectively known as 'Klavierstucke', which consists of three Intermezzi, and then a Rhapsodie at the end, this work got better the longer i played it, and it was the last of these pieces that i found the most thrilling, it's in the 'heroic' key of E Flat Major, and here Brahms gives us a barnstorming 'finale', it starts with hammering chords, punctuated with short treble runs [0:00-1:00], in the middle section there's this delicate waltz like number in the treble [1:38-2:20], and later a bass version of the main tune [2:48-3:03], that's a really neat touch, a quirky variation, it doesn't last for long, and sort of transforms into something different, and this is the nature of the piece, it's a Rhapsody, and it goes all over the place, the opening comes back, like a carillon of bells in a bell tower, Brahms gives us a finale where the chords go from the bass to the treble [4:26-4:35], a very emphatic piece of music.
Here's Ryan Malone playing the Rhapsodie on YouTube.
Cristina Ortiz is Brazilian, she's now 65, and she recorded this disc in 1990, the front cover portrait [by Katie Vandyck], is really excellent, it's a great shot, i like the hands / arms, the lettering is great as well, it's a shame that the Collins label is now defunct.
Collectively known as 'Klavierstucke', which consists of three Intermezzi, and then a Rhapsodie at the end, this work got better the longer i played it, and it was the last of these pieces that i found the most thrilling, it's in the 'heroic' key of E Flat Major, and here Brahms gives us a barnstorming 'finale', it starts with hammering chords, punctuated with short treble runs [0:00-1:00], in the middle section there's this delicate waltz like number in the treble [1:38-2:20], and later a bass version of the main tune [2:48-3:03], that's a really neat touch, a quirky variation, it doesn't last for long, and sort of transforms into something different, and this is the nature of the piece, it's a Rhapsody, and it goes all over the place, the opening comes back, like a carillon of bells in a bell tower, Brahms gives us a finale where the chords go from the bass to the treble [4:26-4:35], a very emphatic piece of music.
Here's Ryan Malone playing the Rhapsodie on YouTube.
