COMPOSERS: Brahms
LABELS: RCA Victor Red Seal
WORKS: Variations on a Theme of Paganini; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel
PERFORMER: Gerhard Oppitz (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 09026 61811 2 DDD (1989)
Patrician grandeur from Oppitz, the more authoritative for the fact that he plays a Bösendorfer Imperial, the kind of instrument familiar to Brahms himself. Brahms’s solo piano music concentrated on variation form during the 1860s, resulting in the two massive works performed here. Oppitz responds brilliantly to virtuoso opportunities; sumptuous and aptly chivalrous pianism, in a recording of breathtaking fidelity. Michael Jameson
Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Paganini; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel
Patrician grandeur from Oppitz, the more authoritative for the fact that he plays a Bösendorfer Imperial, the kind of instrument familiar to Brahms himself. Brahms’s solo piano music concentrated on variation form during the 1860s, resulting in the two massive works performed here. Oppitz responds brilliantly to virtuoso opportunities; sumptuous and aptly chivalrous pianism, in a recording of breathtaking fidelity. Michael Jameson
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm