Search - Johannes Brahms, Krystian Zimerman :: Brahms: 3 Klaviersonaten (Piano Sonatas); Scherzo; 4 Balladen (Ballads)

Most likely one of the five greatest piano recordings of all

Bernd Grill | Königsbronn, Germany | 04/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms' early piano works were recorded by major pianists such as Arrau, Curzon or Katchen, to name only a few. Although each of them achieved quite stunning results (although often omitting the Scherzo in E flat minor), Zimerman's recording has remained unsurpassed and falls short to the status of a miracle.

For example, if you have always thought that Michelangeli or Sokolov recorded the definitive version of Brahms' Ballads op. 10, then you haven't heard this yet. It's simply amazing how much more details and subtle colors Zimerman digs up than Michelangeli (although the latter was well known just because of his subtle nuances himself!). Zimerman's reading is about as idiomatic a Romantic reading as it can get: wonderfully balanced melodies and counter-voicing, a mesmerizing feeling for ideal pace, moods, flow of the music and its highly original registers.

Zimerman's technique is simply dazzling in the aforementioned Scherzo, which is, by the way, far too often neglected. Volatile and more serious passages are linked together convincingly and create a highly pleasing and organic style of reading this titanic work.

The F minor sonata has, as far as I know, never been equalled either. Be it Rubinstein, Arrau, Sokolov, Annie Fischer or Curzon - they all played the work wonderfully, but nevertheless Zimerman is still a class of his own. His flawless technique and his tremendous understanding of the work lead to an extremely colorful, but nonetheless intense interpretation. The real gems are in my opinion the slow movements which are so superbly played that they can make you cry.

The earlier two sonatas were played by the late Richter (Decca) very nicely, but Zimerman remains my favorite here as well. His approach to these horribly difficult pieces is simply towering and remains unrivaled - a stunner of a recording! You shouldn't hesitate if you're lucky enough to grab this extremely rare recording one day."