Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Final Thoughts: The Last Piano Works of Schubert & Brahms / Osorio
Cedille

Final Thoughts: The Last Piano Works of Schubert & Brahms / Osorio

$19.99

Details

Composer
BRAHMS SCHUBERT
Artist
Jorge Federico Osorio
Format
CD
Label
Cedille
Released
May 12, 2017
Catalog #
CDR 171
UPC
735131917124

About

Jorge Federico Osorio, “an imaginative interpreter with a powerful technique (The New York Times), deftly pairs Brahms’s final solo piano works with those by Schubert for an inventive program of richly satisfying works that capture the essence of each composer’s towering individuality. Here, Osorio records Brahms’s Three Intermezzos, Op. 117, and Six Piano Pieces, Op 118, which he last recorded nearly two decades ago, to great acclaim: “Quite marvelous,” said BBC Music Magazine. “It’s clear that Jorge Federico Osorio is an important Brahmsian,” proclaimed the Chicago Tribune. On his new album, Osorio’s penchant for color accentuates the individual character of these concentrated miniatures. Osorio has also chosen to record Schubert’s final two Piano Sonatas, D. 959 and D. 960, epic in scale and brimming with melodic invention. His insights into the music’s architecture yield eloquent performances of these spacious, ambitious masterworks.

REVIEW:

A generous feast: All of Brahms’ last piano pieces bracketed in between Schubert’s last two sonatas, performed by a musicianly virtuoso, captured in intimately close yet amply robust sonics. Jorge Federico Osorio’s mastery beckons your attention. The Schubert D. 959 A major sonata’s sprawling first movement receives a fluid and intelligently nuanced reading, followed by an Andantino that assiduously builds up to and decompresses after its shattering central climax. The scherzo’s easy lilt and winsomely varied chord arpeggiations justify a more easygoing, less precipitous tempo than usual. While the Rondo finale doesn’t quite match Pollini’s winged poetry, one cannot ignore Osorio’s firm left-hand underpinning and clear voice leading.

At times his rhythmic inflections in the D. 960 B-flat sonata Molto moderato’s exposition pull focus from the narrative flow, yet these gestures still sound internalized and well considered. In contrast, Osorio unifies his expansive conception of the Andante sostenuto with a hypnotic, resolutely steady accompanying ostinato figure. The Scherzo is curvy and playful, as Osorio leaves you guessing as to which of the Trio’s off-beat bass notes he will accent. On the other hand, the left-hand syncopations in the Rondo’s second theme recede too much in the background, although once the tumultuous minor-key theme kicks in, Osorio’s poetic and dramatic powers decisively click into focus.

In the main, Osorio’s late Brahms charts a direct path that differs from Arcadi Volodos’ poetic ruminations. Compare, for example, Volodos’ discursive rendering of Op. 117 No. 1’s central episode alongside Osorio’s comparatively stronger rhythmic delineation of the same passage and you’ll hear what I mean. Still, Osorio offers illuminating rhetorical touches: notice his yearning hesitation on certain of Op. 119 No. 2’s upbeats, Op. 118 No. 4’s thoughtful contrapuntal interplay between the hands with barely a trace of pedal, the pinpointed control of Op. 116 No. 5’s short phrases, not to mention the strong tenor voice presence in Op. 116 No. 6. And his angular parsing of Op. 117 No. 3’s main theme underlines the music’s unsettled qualities that more than a few pianists too willingly flatten out. Even in a catalog crowded with excellent recordings of these works, Osorio’s cultured artistry offers much to savor over repeated hearings.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Allegro 14:51
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    14:51
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  3. 2 II. Andantino 08:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andantino
    Duration
    08:04
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  4. 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 04:53
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  5. 4 IV. Rondo: Allegretto 11:20
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Rondo: Allegretto
    Duration
    11:20
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  6. 5 No. 1. Capriccio in D Minor 02:19
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 1. Capriccio in D Minor
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  7. 6 No. 2. Intermezzo in A Minor 03:18
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in A Minor
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  8. 7 No. 3. Capriccio in G Minor 02:59
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 3. Capriccio in G Minor
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  9. 8 No. 4. Intermezzo in E Major 04:31
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 4. Intermezzo in E Major
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  10. 9 No. 5. Intermezzo in E Minor 03:16
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 5. Intermezzo in E Minor
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  11. 10 No. 6. Intermezzo in E Major 02:58
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 6. Intermezzo in E Major
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  12. 11 No. 7. Capriccio in D Minor 02:16
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 7. Capriccio in D Minor
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  13. 12 No. 1 in E-Flat Major 04:53
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 1 in E-Flat Major
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  14. 13 No. 2 in B-Flat Minor 04:34
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 2 in B-Flat Minor
    Duration
    04:34
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  15. 14 No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor 05:55
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  16. Disc 2
  17. 1 No. 1. Intermezzo in A Minor 01:54
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Intermezzo in A Minor
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  18. 2 No. 2. Intermezzo in A Major 05:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in A Major
    Duration
    05:49
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  19. 3 No. 3. Ballade in G Minor 03:21
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Ballade in G Minor
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  20. 4 No. 4. Intermezzo in F Minor 02:27
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Intermezzo in F Minor
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  21. 5 No. 5. Romanze in F Major 04:06
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Romanze in F Major
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  22. 6 No. 6. Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor 05:02
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 6. Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor
    Duration
    05:02
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  23. 7 No. 1. Intermezzo in B Minor 03:50
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 1. Intermezzo in B Minor
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  24. 8 No. 2. Intermezzo in E Minor 04:39
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 2. Intermezzo in E Minor
    Duration
    04:39
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  25. 9 No. 3. Intermezzo in C Major 01:48
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 3. Intermezzo in C Major
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  26. 10 No. 4. Rhapsody in E-Flat Major 04:31
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 4. Rhapsody in E-Flat Major
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  27. 11 I. Molto moderato 19:03
    Track
    11
    Title
    I. Molto moderato
    Duration
    19:03
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  28. 12 II. Andante sostenuto 10:10
    Track
    12
    Title
    II. Andante sostenuto
    Duration
    10:10
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  29. 13 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza 03:58
    Track
    13
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza
    Duration
    03:58
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio
  30. 14 IV. Allegro ma non troppo 07:50
    Track
    14
    Title
    IV. Allegro ma non troppo
    Duration
    07:50
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Jorge Federico Osorio