Final Thoughts: The Last Piano Works of Schubert & Brahms—Jorge Federico Osorio, piano (Cedille 171)
Jorge Federico Osorio pairs Brahms's final solo piano works with the two last great sonatas by Schubert for an inventive program capturing the essence of each composer's towering individuality. On this May 12 th release, Osorio offers Brahms's Three Intermezzos, Op. 117, and Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118, for the first time, and revisits Brahms's Seven Fantasies, Op. 116, and Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119, which he last recorded nearly two decades ago. That disc prompted this from the Chicago Tribune: "It's clear that Jorge Federico Osorio is an important Brahmsian." In this, Osorio's first Schubert recording, he presents the composer's final two sonatas, D 959 and D 960, epic in scale and brimming with melodic invention. Osorio's insights into the music's architecture yield eloquent performances of these spacious, ambitious masterworks. Oh what Schubert might have written had he lived beyond his 31 years!