Search - Johannes Brahms, Silke-Thora Matthies, Christian Kohn :: Brahms: Requiem Four Hand Piano Music Vol. 5

Brahms's Choral Monument as Piano Epic

Hexameron | 07/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos continues its excellent survey of Brahms's own four-hand piano arrangements with the gigantic German Requiem. Some may question if a piano duo can meet the challenge of conveying the orchestral effects, the grandeur of the soloists, and the whole religiosity of this choral masterpiece. Well, of course a piano arrangement is not going to be the real thing, but that's not what piano transcriptions are for.



Nevertheless, I personally enjoy Brahms's piano duet arrangement as much as the choral version. Why? Brahms's German Requiem follows the Baroque spirit of Handel and Bach and exhibits some of the best fugal writing and contrapuntal virtuosity of the 19th century. Sometimes this masterful counterpoint can be cloudy and lost in the midst of a soaring chorus and orchestral climaxes. Through the musicianship of Matthies and Köhn, all of Brahms's grandiose fugal passages are made clear; frankly, they also sound great on the piano.



Josef Weiss placed Brahms's German Requiem "among the immortals. Even the three great predecessors, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven must do obeisance to this unequaled and holy monument of Christian love and greatness." On the piano, this work retains its expressive power and emotional impact. The soprano and baritone soloists may be absent, but the melodic line and gorgeous harmonies of Brahms sound tremendously refreshing on the piano. The first three movements of this Requiem are utterly profound and the piano duo plays with stirring drama and passion. I was never pining for the sound of the chorus because the sonorities of the piano are just as impressive. The bass rumblings, the transcendental harmonic progressions, and the astounding fugal sections resound beautifully on the piano.



I think this recording is recommendable to both fans and novices of Brahms. Some would call a piano arrangement of such a work "skeletal," but I think the piano duo fleshes out the music quite well. New angles of the sixth movement's double fugue are revealed on the piano; the texture of the third movement becomes marvelously pianistic; the harmonic and contrapuntal language can be heard with a different ear. Yet this solemn work maintains its authentic religiosity while sounding like an incredible and original piano composition.



Bottom line: Those with an affinity for piano arrangements and transcriptions should be watering at the mouth. But Brahmsians and other classical music fans also have much to look forward to here. This disc is a rarity and the piano duo is exceptionally gifted, putting forth a brilliant performance and a profound interpretation of this great work."

Doesn't compare with the original, but a an interesting nove

Mithrandir | Massachusetts | 03/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem is a profoundly moving masterpiece written by the composer after his mother's death. I do not share an earlier reviewer's feeling that this 2-piano version is equally as enjoyable as the original for chorus and orchestra. While there are occasional moments where counterpoint obscured in some (but not all) performances is vividly recreated in the piano texture -- and these are, to be sure, delightful to hear -- one misses the beauty of the choral and vocal writing (i.e., the soloists) and the emotional impact of this music, which the keyboards simply cannot adequately convey. Not that I'm faulting the performers -- they are excellent, as is the recorded piano sound. But if you're looking for new insights into the music, you're likely to be disappointed. Also, one misses certain sublime moments due to the decay of piano sound. Those high A's in the soprano part, echoed by A's from the tenors at the culmination of the first movement and the seventh movement, just do not materialize in any remotely satisfying way.



Still, four stars are well merited, because this disc enables us to imagine ourselves in a 19th century drawing room, listening to a masterful transcription of a work that likely is not often publicly performed (and, of course, there were no recordings then!). Just as the Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven Symphonies, Schubert lieder, and fragments from Wagner, Verdi, and other opera composers, are entertaining and provide a window into musical life in those selfsame drawing rooms, this transcription, graced with a marvelous performance, contrapuntal clarity, has enormous novelty value and can be recommended on that basis. But it's just a novelty, to be listened to once in a blue moon. You would no more listen to this in preference to the original than you would to the Liszt Beethoven symphony transcriptions in preference to the originals.



As to the originals: I recommend Karajan's DG recording (with Gundula Janowitz's inimitable bell-like tones in the fourth movement) or, as a relatively close second, his EMI performance (where Jose Van Dam in the third and fifth movements is the star of the show). Some people prefer Klemperer's EMI recording. I like it, but I prefer the Karajan performances. Shaw on Telarc (with the wonderful Arleen Auger and Richard Stilwell) turns in his customary excellent performance, but it lacks the gravitas of the performances mentioned above. Solti with Te Kanawa is better than an also ran but not by much. Levine is uncharacteristically uninspiring. I'm a fan of Thomas Quasthoff, but his performance in this piece, together with that of conductor Simon Rattle, is just a waste of your money. There are other novelties, of course -- Gardiner and his ilk. Unless you absolutely must have every recorded performance of this work, stick with the mainstream. If you want DVD, again Karajan is heartily recommended, and the Abbado performance (with Barbara Bonney and Bryn Terfel) is also very fine indeed."

Thank goodness for this 2-piano version.

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 04/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have tried to listen to the regular version of A GERMAN REQUIEM a number of times in the past, but I was not able to distinguish what was going on. The orchestral/choral version of A GERMAN REQUIEM, at least to my ear, sounds like a featureless wall of sound. The piece is like Phil Spector's legendary "wall of sound." The "wall of sound" has an attractive quality to it, but it is hard to tell what is going on. Now that the 2-piano version of A GERMAN REQUIEM is available, it is easy for the layperson to distinguish between the various tunes, rhythms, and moods. The piece contains seven movements. In a nutshell, I liked the second movement and the sixth movement the best.



1. SELIG SIND (9 minutes, 57 seconds) begins with a slow tune, based on an ascending motif. At 2 minutes, 20 seconds, the speed doubles, but only for several seconds. At 2 min, 50 sec, the key changes, then the rate and volume speed up, but only for several seconds. The entire first movement is stately, slow, and quiet.



2. DENN ALLES FLIESCH (13 min, 12 sec) begins with a 2-note theme, chiming over and over like a humongous bell in a bell tower. Along with the 2-note theme there isa 4-note repeat, and also a 3-note repeat. These repeats provide a kind of nervous, ominous tension. At 2 min, 30 sec, the moderate volume turns into high volume. Then, at 3 min, there is a lovely tune. At 5 min, the 2-note chiming bell theme returns. The nervous 3-note repeat motif appears again, and at 7 minutes, the nervous 4-note repeat motif appears again. At 7 1/2 minutes, the 2-note theme gets very loud, but only for several seconds. At 8 1/2 minutes, the character changes entirely, and we are treated with a jolly fugue, suitable for a graduation day processional march. The jolly fugue continues until the end.



3. HERR LEHRE DOCH MICH (10 min, 19 sec) is distinguished by a 3-note theme that takes the form of a little trill. At seven minutes, this quiet movement picks up a bit, and gets boisterous for around 20 seconds. At 8 min, 15 sec, things pick up again and the piece romps along like part of Beethoven's HAMMERKLAVIER SONATA. This movement is lively and romping until the end.



4. WIE LIEBLICH (4 min, 42 sec) is a pleasant diversion. This movement is Brahms-lite.



5. IHR HABT NUN TRAURIGKEIT (7 min, 42 sec) is calm and somewhat quiet. A stately theme appears here and there, that ascends and descends like a bridge.



6. DENN WIR HABEN (10 min, 55 sec) is calm and on the quiet side. But at 3 minutes, the piece picks up and gets noisy, and pummels the listener with little crescendos. This part brings to mind the ALLEGRO movement of the PIANO QUARTET No.3. Brahms at his noisiest can be found at the five minute point in the ALLEGRO movement of Brahms' PIANO QUARTET NO.3. At 6 min, 20 sec of A GERMAN REQUIEM, a rousing fugue makes an appearance, and this movement remains lively and rousing until the very end.



7. SELIG SIND DIE TOTEN (11 min, 57 sec) begins with an ascending theme of moderate volume. The ascending theme comprises a stream of chords (each chord sounded twice). If you like chords to be repeated twice, then this movement is for you. At 2 min, 50 sec, there is a transition where the piano gets very slow and quiet, and at 3 minutes and 30 seconds, what appears is an "optimistic theme." But at 5 min, things get bogged down again. At 6 min, 45 sec, the keychanges,and a steady, moderate-paced episode appears. Here again, what is provided is a stream of chords, with each chord repeated twice. Theis 2-chord episode lasts around three minutes, after which occurs a slow but moderately loud narrative in sound.



CONCLUSION. Finally, with the 2-piano version of A GERMAN REQUIEM, I am able to discern the themes, rhythms, and tunes in the piece. With the orchestral and choral version, the piece has an indistinct quality, and it is more difficult to tell what is going on. At any rate, I am going to listen to 2-piano version of the DENN ALLES FLEISHCH movement, and the DENN WIR HABEN movement, again and again.



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