Op. 76 finds Brahms at a point in his piano composition career trying new directions, well documented in his writing to friends and colleagues at the time. There are subtle influences of past composers and his contemporaries, but with some more intricate piano writing than before. It’s a challenge to pianists. The temptation to bring to the fore motivic elements or to exemplify the structure of each piece is something a lot of pianists fail to resist, causing some didactic performances. Others forgo all academic scent and opt for the freewheeling 19th-century pianism, which, to say the least, is not fully in line with Brahms’ musical character.
Young pianist Fabian Müller seems to find just the right balance; from the first bars of the first Capriccio, there is a sense of forward-looking dynamics, but never rushed nor spare in details. We tend to take for granted today’s high technical command of young classical music talents, but hear how No. 3 in this opus separates the two main characters of the themes by using intricate voicing and pedal techniques. This is mainly attributed to Mr. Müller, but also to the instrument of choice, which is said to be a Steinway from 1956, meticulously handled by the celebrated piano technician Stefan Knüpfer (Subject of the documentary “Pianomania”). The instrument is a perfect fit to Müller’s approach and touch, with dark singing tone, no cutting edges and an old-fashioned bass, that resonances after a small delay, enforced by overtones. A well-engineered recording serves the pianist (and instrument) as well. It’s an absolutely wonderful version of the opus 76, one of the best in recent memory – Angelich’s superb version for Erato and Volodos partial for Sony can stand the comparison.
The album starts with the dark Op. 10 ballads, another challenge which Müller meets with pride. It’s a more outward, dramatic performance than usual – The second ballade middle “Allegro non Troppo” is at the edge of being too hectic, but how well it blends with the Andante that surrounds it (one has to wonder about the Chopin connection of this second Ballade to the Polish composer’s own, which is built on a very similar contrast model). In this instance, the Op. 10 works well when listening to in one sit. The last, fourth ballade sounds like a culmination to the previous, more dramatic three pieces. It is also the best performed out to the four, again thanks to Müller masterful voicing abilities (hear from 5:43 onward how each finger has it’s own shade of color).
Masterful Control
Going from early to late Brahms, Op. 117 Müller yet again displays masterful control of touch, saying it all in the realm of pp to p, yet never without full-bodied sound. And he manages to bring the movement to its peek without any hint of forcefulness – one of the reasons why an odd studio crack at 3:20 stands out.
The tempo of the famous Op. 117 No. 2 sounds exactly like the instructed Andante non troppo, and makes the central contrast highly effective. This piece can easily drag when the tempo is not chosen wisely, and happily it doesn’t here. The same can be said of the piece that closes this impressive album – there seems to be naturalness to the playing and atmosphere here, like there is practically no other way of playing this music. The closing bars are not a desperate cry that made Maria João Pires version so touching, but it has a sense of inevitability to it, no less heartbreaking.
The past few years have seen some well-publicized Brahms piano releases, Perahia and Volodos on Sony are the first to come to mind, and some new complete sets, with varied results. Barry Douglas fine accounts on Chandos will bring endless joy to listeners, but also split the opuses to some 6 recitals, which some will find annoying. Jonathan Plowright complete set had a new kind of Brahms, maybe “historically aware”, going light on the pedal and dynamic range, which I for one found less convincing. There are too many versions to count to compare with the opuses we have here. But if we have to mention few it will be Angelich for Op. 76 and 117, and who can really put out of mind Michelangeli’s Op. 10 ballads after hearing them from his hands (Rubinstein is another master of the Op. 10). And let’s not forget Radu Lupu’s legendary recital, including the Op. 117 – But this new album will not disappoint any veteran or new listener to these great Brahms masterpieces. It’s simply that good.
Brahms – Piano Works Op. 10, 76, 117
Fabian Müller – Piano
Berlin Classics (Edel)
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