Brahms: The Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 4 – Jonathan Plowright

   in Piano International (Jul, 2017)
In parallel with Barry Douglas’ fine survey for Chandos, Jonathan Plowright has been setting down his own complete Brahms cycle for BIS. Douglas purposefully mixed individual items from different collections into what amounts to personal playlists – very convincingly, it must be said; Plowright, on the other hand, adopts the conventional approach of complete works, sets/opus numbers. It is the only straightforward aspect of his presentation of these marvellous works: let’s be clear, this is a magisterially performed and revelatory programme, comprising one early, one middle-period and one late set framed by the two books of the 1863 Paganini Variations.

Earlier instalments in Plowright’s series, the first of which was released …