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1162.0. "Brahms late piano pieces" by TECUN::BRADFORD () Wed Apr 20 1988 14:13

Brahms Piano Pieces Op. 76, 116, 119
Richard Goode, pianist
Nonesuch     DDD

It's a mystery to me why these pieces are not recorded more. They are important
and beautiful music: pianists cut their baby teeth on them, yet
they're seldom recorded. While they may be too intimate for the large concert 
hall, they seem perfectly suited to the hi fi medium.  Maybe it's because they 
are conceived on such a modest scale, and so the late piano works are not what 
most people expect of Brahms the symphonist.  Their night mood and informal 
but deliberate structure make me think of a darker sequel to the Chopin 
Nocturnes.  Like the Nocturnes, these little gems are carefully crafted 
miniatures whose small scale and economy belies their deep texture and their 
scope and power of expression.

There is nothing overstudied or precious about this performance by the 
American Richard Goode. Like the music itself, it's a perfect blend of heart 
and mind.  Even the liner notes are a treat: they are done by the pianist 
instead of some critic or moonlighting academic, and include interesting 
personal observations about the music and anecdotes about Clara Schumann's 
dislike for a couple of the pieces.  This is a priceless addition to anyone's 
collection.  The recording is flawless: the piano sounds true, not 
artificially brightened. The only things lacking are the other opus numbers, 
79, 117, and 118.  It would be nice if Goode recorded the rest of the pieces 
at the same time, and releases them soon.  

This recording, together with a sudden rash of others of this music in the 
Schwann (by Stephen Bishop K*?*vich and Radu Lupu), fills an important gap in 
the discography.  For 30 years the only fairly complete set has been the 
wonderful performance by Walter Geiseking for Angel, recorded in the mid-50s 
(I refuse to count Glenn Gould's massacre of this music, which I notice has 
just been reissued on cd).  Unfortunately, Geiseking's recording was fatally 
flawed, having been mastered with such dynamic distortion that sometimes you 
couldn't tell you were hearing a piano being played or dropped from the second
story.  I doubt it will ever be salvaged for a decent cd (though I'd probably
buy it anyway if it came out).

I got mine at Lechmere in the Pheasant Lane Mall (Nashua), also saw it at 
Tower. Tower also has the other collections I mentioned above.

    There was a London release of the complete piano music of Brahms
    recorded in stereo and very well performed by Julius Katchen. The
    "box" it came in was actually a slipcase that held the seven or
    eight separate Lps in the series. I haven't seen any of those
    recordings on CDs yet, but if anyone is interested, I can give you
    the catalog numbers for the albums in the set along with the contents
    of each album. Just send Mail to DELNI::TRUSLOW.
    
    Jack Truslow
    

    You're right, thanks for the correction.  The Katchen recording has been
    around a long time, and given the technical problems of the Gieseking
    recording, would have been the record of choice for many people.
    Also, as you say, that was a complete set, while the Gieseking set
    was strangely missing the Opus 116 or 117, for some unexplained
    reason.
    
    Denis