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Piano Classics

Brahms

$19.99

Details

Composer
Johannes Brahms
Artist
Vincenzo Maltempo
Format
CD
Label
Piano Classics
Released
May 15, 2026
Catalog #
PCL10368
UPC
5063758103688

About

Vincenzo Maltempo's considerable catalogue of recordings for Piano Classics includes a much-admired set of the two concertos by Brahms. According to Fanfare, 'Maltempo... plays with commanding technique, grand gestural sweep throughout, and real tonal bloom.' For this second volume of the composer's solo output for the piano, Maltempo has devised a compelling journey for the listener, from the noble and often heroic profile of the Ballades Op. 10 to the late and distilled collections Opp. 116-119, taking in en route the Variations on an Original Theme Op. 21 No. 1 and the eight Klavierstücke Op. 76. In his performances, Maltempo brings out this stylistic evolution of both piano-writing and harmony, enabling us to appreciate for ourselves the degree to which Brahms continually challenged himself to enrich and experiment with his style, as well as ruthlessly exercising on himself the red pen and the sharp ear which made him so shrewd a critic of fellow composers. The scholar Denis Matthews identified three phases, or styles, in Brahms, not necessarily equating to the conventional division of early, middle, and late: the architectural, contrapuntal, and lyrical. On the surface, beyond a more intense chromaticism and openness to dissonance, there is relatively little to separate the Ballades from the late works. Much the least-often heard piece in this collection is the Variations Op. 21, and the teasing ingenuity of Brahms's treatment of his theme - initially quiet and introspective - is based on a rigorous exploration of contrapuntal possibilities. The Variations date from a period immediately after his fateful meeting with Robert and Clara Schumann in Dusseldorf, when he found himself stretched to live up to the Schumanns' extravagant praise of him as the pre-eminent successor to Beethoven. They and others were captivated by the composer's own mastery of his instrument as a performer, too, and the Op. 21 Variations show Brahms moving on from the extrovert keyboard lionism of works such as the First Concerto while still using the variation principle to celebrate virtuosity as both a composer and a pianist.

Tracklist 33 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1 in D Minor, "Edward" 04:14
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1 in D Minor, "Edward"
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  2. 2 No. 2 in D Major 05:45
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2 in D Major
    Duration
    05:45
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  3. 3 No. 3 in B Minor 04:06
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3 in B Minor
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  4. 4 No. 4 in B Major 07:31
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4 in B Major
    Duration
    07:31
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  5. 5 No. 1. Capriccio in F-Sharp Minor 03:25
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 1. Capriccio in F-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    03:25
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  6. 6 No. 2. Capriccio in B Minor 03:30
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 2. Capriccio in B Minor
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  7. 7 No. 3. Intermezzo in A-Flat Major 02:04
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 3. Intermezzo in A-Flat Major
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  8. 8 No. 4. Intermezzo in B-Flat Major 02:27
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 4. Intermezzo in B-Flat Major
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  9. 9 No. 5. Capriccio in C-Sharp Minor 03:00
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 5. Capriccio in C-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  10. 10 No. 6. Intermezzo in A Major 03:29
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 6. Intermezzo in A Major
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  11. 11 No. 7. Intermezzo in A Minor 02:48
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 7. Intermezzo in A Minor
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  12. 12 No. 8. Capriccio in C Major 03:23
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 8. Capriccio in C Major
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  13. 13 No. 1. Capriccio in D Minor 02:13
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 1. Capriccio in D Minor
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  14. 14 No. 2. Intermezzo in A Minor 03:28
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in A Minor
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  15. 15 No. 3. Capriccio in G Minor 03:22
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 3. Capriccio in G Minor
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  16. 16 No. 4. Intermezzo in E Major 04:34
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 4. Intermezzo in E Major
    Duration
    04:34
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  17. 17 No. 5. Intermezzo in E Minor 02:51
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 5. Intermezzo in E Minor
    Duration
    02:51
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  18. 18 No. 6. Intermezzo in E Major 03:21
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 6. Intermezzo in E Major
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  19. 19 No. 7. Capriccio in D Minor 02:17
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 7. Capriccio in D Minor
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  20. 20 Variations on an Original Theme in D Major, Op. 21, No. 1 15:41
    Track
    20
    Title
    Variations on an Original Theme in D Major, Op. 21, No. 1
    Duration
    15:41
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  21. 21 No. 1 in E-Flat Major 04:56
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 1 in E-Flat Major
    Duration
    04:56
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  22. 22 No. 2 in B-Flat Minor 05:09
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 2 in B-Flat Minor
    Duration
    05:09
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  23. 23 No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor 05:33
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    05:33
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  24. 24 No. 1. Intermezzo in A Minor 01:59
    Track
    24
    Title
    No. 1. Intermezzo in A Minor
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  25. 25 No. 2. Intermezzo in A Major 05:40
    Track
    25
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in A Major
    Duration
    05:40
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  26. 26 No. 3. Ballade in G Minor 03:29
    Track
    26
    Title
    No. 3. Ballade in G Minor
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  27. 27 No. 4. Intermezzo in F Minor 03:00
    Track
    27
    Title
    No. 4. Intermezzo in F Minor
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  28. 28 No. 5. Romanze in F Major 03:49
    Track
    28
    Title
    No. 5. Romanze in F Major
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  29. 29 No. 6. Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor 04:48
    Track
    29
    Title
    No. 6. Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor
    Duration
    04:48
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  30. 30 No. 1. Intermezzo in B Minor 04:15
    Track
    30
    Title
    No. 1. Intermezzo in B Minor
    Duration
    04:15
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  31. 31 No. 2. Intermezzo in E Minor 04:09
    Track
    31
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in E Minor
    Duration
    04:09
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  32. 32 No. 3. Intermezzo in C Major 01:41
    Track
    32
    Title
    No. 3. Intermezzo in C Major
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo
  33. 33 No. 4. Rhapsody in E-Flat Major 04:46
    Track
    33
    Title
    No. 4. Rhapsody in E-Flat Major
    Duration
    04:46
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Vincenzo Maltempo