Brahms: Piano Works (8 Piano Pieces op. 76, 3 Intermezzi op. 117, 6 Piano Pieces op. 118) – Lucia Paradiso

After the virtuoso feats of his youthful years, Brahms seemed to have abandoned the piano as a solo instrument for a long time. He resumed his activity as a piano composer only in his late years, when he would write some memorable collections of short piano pieces, three of which are recorded here. Among the Klavierstücke op. 76, the Intermezzi op. 118 and the Klavierstücke op. 119 there are some of the finest pieces ever written for the piano. Their prevailing mood and feeling are nostalgia, regret, tenderness. In them, Brahms expresses the longing for what could have been but did not come to realization. Yet, he also suffuses this melancholy mood with warmth and mercy, as if the mature man’s contemplation of time past could transform it into piety and love.