In the year 1828, Franz Schubert stared down his impending death from syphilis and produced an astonishing amount of music. In his desperation, with the clock running out, he achieved some of his greatest art (see my post about his B-flat sonata). Thankfully, he also left most of it in a finished state, but the... Continue Reading →
Johannes Brahms loved variation form. This is clear from the number of standalone variation sets he composed, as well as the numerous times he turned to variation form for a movement of a sonata or other work. All of these pieces are quite fine, but there’s something about Op. 21, No. 1 that I keep... Continue Reading →
#3: Brahms - Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 (1853) Even though Brahms’s Second Symphony still gets overplayed, and chamber musicians get excited about pieces like the Horn Trio Op. 40 or the Piano Quartet Op. 60, lately I’ve perceived that Brahms is losing popularity in the solo piano world. Maybe his high-minded,... Continue Reading →
