Roderick Williams and Andrew West: Birdsong review – meaningful moments worth savouring

Baritone Williams brings his characteristic attention to text and tone to pieces usually sung by young women, including works by Schumann and Brahms

Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 review – wonderfully rounded and mature performances

Having gone back to the original manuscripts, Schiff’s work belongs in the front rank of recent recordings

Brahms: The Schoenberg Effect review – symphonic reduction brings expansion

Arranged for piano quartet, Brahm’s third symphony gains insights and richness in this superb new recording by the Notos Quartett

BBCSO/Gardner review – Viennese romanticism in assured hands

A programme of Schoenberg, Brahms and Fried afforded wonderful discoveries and some emotional twists and turns

Västerås Sinfonietta/Crawford-Phillips review – a force of nature

The Swedish orchestra may lack polish but their warm personality shone through in this programme of Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Brahms and Mozart

Brahms: Symphonies No 1-4 review – peak connection in bewitching Brahms

Conductor Robin Ticciati creates a distinct sound world for each symphony, while Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s playing is unfailingly vivid

Nelly Akopian-Tamarina: Brahms review – enchanting, intimate and irresistible

This is something special. Nelly Akopian-Tamarina is a pianist of the Russian old school, part of a tradition stretching back to Rubinstein and Rachmaninov, and was winning competitions in the 1960s. But since the early years her public performances have … Continue reading →

Britten Sinfonia/Elder review – grace and poise as Brahms gets back to basics

Mark Elder’s first Brahms symphony cycle concert swapped weightiness for electric clarity and was prefaced with works by Mahler, Britten and Finzi

Nelson Freire: Brahms CD review – a virtuoso show of flair and finesse

Brahms’ titanic F minor Piano Sonata was the centrepiece of Nelson Freire’s first ever solo recording, which was made in 1967 when he was 23 and released on LP by Columbia/CBS. It’s now available as part of a seven-disc Sony … Continue reading →

Brahms: String Sextets review – hefty, melancholic ensemble work

Brahms held off writing string quartets in his 20s: maybe he was nervous to touch the venerated form that Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven had all made their own. He would get there eventually, but first he turned his hand … Continue reading →

Brahms: Piano Concertos CD review – Sunwook Kim on magisterial form

Sunwook Kim (piano), Hallé/Elder (Hallé) (2 CDs)

Brahms: Piano Pieces CD review – Volodos’ playing is gently controlled and subtly shaded

For all the flawless magnificence of his keyboard technique, the sharply contrasted aspects of Arcadi Volodos’s playing are sometimes hard to reconcile. There is the insistent, brittle way in which he sees off bravura pieces, as though the sheer accomplishment … Continue reading →

Schumann; Liszt; Janáček; Brahms CD review – an intimate, artful piano recital

Haochen Zhang is both a prodigiously award-winning pianist and a self-confessed introvert, and the wide-ranging choice of repertoire on his first studio disc reflects this. He captures the childish, quickly dissipating seriousness of Schumann’s Kinderszenen, and plays it with the … Continue reading →

Brahms-Glanert: Four Serious Songs, etc CD review – dark, brilliant intensifications

Detlev Glanert’s affinity with Brahms crystallised to extraordinary effect in his masterly 2005 version of the great composer’s Four Serious Songs. Part composer, part curator, Glanert frames the songs with four preludes and a postlude to create one continuous score … Continue reading →

Simon Trpčeski: Brahms/Ravel/Poulenc CD review – a disc to savour

Simon Trpčeski (piano)(Wigmore Hall Live)