Brahms: Piano Works Jonathan Plowright

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1:
• 1 Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: I. Allegro 11:28
• 2 Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: II. Andante 05:59
• 3 Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: III. Scherzo. Allegro molto e con fuoco 05:38
• 4 Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco 06:28
• 7 Fantasies, Op. 116:
• 5 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 1, Capriccio in D Minor. Presto energico 02:06
• 6 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 2, Intermezzo in A Minor. Andante 03:30
• 7 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 3, Capriccio in G Minor. Allegro passionato 03:08
• 8 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 4, Intermezzo in E Major. Adagio 04:20
• 9 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 5, Intermezzo in E Minor. Andante con grazia ed intimissimo sentimento 02:01
• 10 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 6, Intermezzo in E Major. Andantino teneramente 03:10
• 11 7 Fantasies, Op. 116: No. 7, Capriccio in D Minor. Allegro agitato 01:52
• Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9:
• 12 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Theme. Ziemlich langsam 01:09
• 13 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 1, L'istesso tempo 01:05
• 14 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 2, Poco più mosso 00:29
• 15 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 3, Tempo di tema 01:02
• 16 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 4, Poco più mosso 00:41
• 17 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 5, Allegro capriccioso 00:45
• 18 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 6, Allegro 00:46
• 19 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 7, Andante 00:59
• 20 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 8, Andante non troppo lento 01:18
• 21 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 9, Schnell 00:30
• 22 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 10, Poco adagio 02:06
• 23 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 11, Un poco più animato 00:52
• 24 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 12, Allegretto poco scherzando 00:40
• 25 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 13, Non troppo presto 00:30
• 26 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 14, Andante 00:55
• 27 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 15, Poco adagio 01:48
• 28 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9: Var. 16, Adagio 01:50
• Total Runtime 01:07:05

Info for Brahms: Piano Works

Having opened his survey of Brahms's music for solo piano with the third piano sonata, Jonathan Plowright has saved the composer's Opus 1, Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, for the closing disc in the series. Brahms brought the sonata with him when he went to Düsseldorf in October 1853 in order to meet Robert and Clara Schumann – an encounter which has gone down in music history. It was possibly the C major sonata, with its opening reminiscent of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, which caused Schumann to liken Brahms to ‘a young eagle’ and a ‘true apostle’.

Very soon after the meeting, Schumann’s mental health began to decline, to the point of him attempting suicide in February 1854. Composed in the same year, Brahms’s Op. 9 Schumann Variations were closely connected with these events and with Robert and Clara. Brahms chose a theme – from Schumann’s collection Bunte Blätter – which Clara herself had composed a set of variations on, and dedicated it to her. Schumann died, hospitalized, in 1856, but Clara and Brahms remained intimate friends and some forty years later, Clara was one of the first persons to whom Brahms showed the newly composed set of Fantasies, Op. 116: ‘wonderfully original’ was her reaction, and later performers and listeners have agreed with her.

Jonathan Plowright has been described as ‘a true and moving poet of the keyboard’ by Gramophone magazine and his Brahms cycle has received critical acclaim, with instalments being singled out in Gramophone (Editor’s Choice), BBC Music Magazine (Instrumental Choice of the Month) and on ClassicsToday.com.

Jonathan Plowright, piano

Jonathan Plowright
Hailed by reviewers as "a colossal musical mind" with a "transcendent technique", Jonathan Plowright is recognised globally as a truly exceptional pianist.

Gold Medallist at the Royal Academy of Music and a Fulbright Scholar, prize winner in many competitions, Jonathan won Gold Medal First Prize at the Royal Overseas League Competition as well as the European Piano Competition, since when he has been in demand all over the world as recitalist, appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles and given numerous radio broadcasts.

Jonathan's last nine CD recordings have all been hugely successful and exclusively for Hyperion Records. His 2010 commemorative 'Hommage a Chopin' recording was one of their best sellers and attracted unanimous praise, including the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, and Diapason D'Or, as well as CD of the Week on ClassicFM and ABC Classic FM.

His most recent solo recording 'Homage to Paderewski' was released in November 2011, also to great critical acclaim, including a 5 star Classical CD of the Week in the Daily Telegraph.

His tenth, (and his first chamber music recording for Hyperion), the Zarebski Piano Quintet and Zelenski Piano Quartet with the Szymanowski Quartet, recently released is BBC Music Magazine Chamber Choice for December 2012.

He will be releasing his first disc of Brahms solo piano music for BIS Records in December 2012 in Sweden (February 2013 in the UK), and his third Romantic Piano Concerto recording for Hyperion in May 2013.

Jonathan has been a member of international piano competition juries, given numerous masterclasses, taught at summer schools and is currently Head of Keyboard at the University of Chichester and on the Keyboard Faculty of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

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