Brahms Inspired: Piano Pieces Op 117, 118, 119; plus works by J.S. Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Schoenberg, Avner Dorman, Bruce Adolphe and Brett Dean — Orli Shaham, piano (Canary 15)
Johannes Brahms didn’t have a lot of patience with descriptive titles for his piano miniatures. Words like ‘intermezzo’, ‘ballade’ and ‘rhapsody’ were more or less interchangeable to him. He preferred ‘ Klavierstuck’ or ‘piano piece’. On this brand new disc, Orli Shaham offers Brahms Klavierstücke from late in his career, along with some pieces he admired, plus more modern works which link directly or indirectly to Brahms’s esthetic. Direct inspirations come in After Brahms by CityMusic Cleveland artistic director Avner Dorman and My Inner Brahms by Bruce Adolphe (famous for his ‘Piano Puzzlers’ on Performance Today Weekend here on WCLV). And Hommage à Brahms by Australian composer Brett Dean is a set of three intermezzi designed to be played within the four Op 119 Klavierstücke! "Like works of art grouped in the same room,” says Orli Shaham, “I find the works on this album speak to and illuminate each other. I hope this juxtaposition helps further our understanding of the magnitude of Brahms's genius."
Featured Mon 1/11, Mon 1/25 (originally featured in July 2015)