STEREO STS 15047

BRAHMS_ PIANO MUSIC_ WILHELM BACKHAUS (PIANO)

stereo Treasury) series

BRAHMS PIANO RECITAL WILHELM BACKHAUS

SIX PIECES, Op. 118

No. 1 Intermezzo in A minor

No. 2 Intermezzo in A mojor

No. 3 Ballade in 6 minor

No. 4 Intermezzo in F minor

No. 5 Romanze in F major

No. 6 Intermezzo in E flat minor

Capriccio in B minor, Op. 76, No. 2

Intermezzo in E flat major, Op. 117, No. 1

Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1

Intermezzo in E major, Op. 116 No. 6

Intermezzo in E minor. Op. 119, No. 2

Intermezzo in C major, Op. 119, No. 3

Brahms’s pianoforte music falls conveniently into two

groups. In the first are the sonatas and sets of vari¬

ations—large works into which he poured all the ex¬

uberant passion of a young romantic, often straining

the music, especially in the earlier works, beyond

the capacity of the instrument. Also in the first group

are the Paganini Variations, or ‘Studies’ as Brahms

originally called them, which came out in 1866. They

are at once an essay in virtuoso technique and a

final grand display of his youthful ardour.

A gap of twelve years followed before Brahms

wrote any more solo pianoforte music. The second

period opens with the eight Klavierstiicke, Opus 76

followed by the two Rhapsodies of Opus 79. Again

there was an interval of a dozen years until in 1892-3

there appeared the final group of works, Opp. 116,

117, 118 and 119, all consisting of short pieces most of

which are entitled either Intermezzo or Capriccio. In

this second period Brahms’s manner had shed its

early ebullience. The music is more concentrated, at

once severer and more profound in thought. In the

last books it has become an intimate self-communion,

the aging composer exposing his own soul with a

rugged honesty comparable with Rembrandt’s self-

portraits at the end of his life.

Six Pieces, Op. 118

Opus 118, which is played complete on one side of

this record, contains six pieces—four Intermezzi, the

Ballade in G minor, which is the most extensive of

these later pieces, and the Romanze in F major.

Brahms used the titles Intermezzo and Capriccio without regard tor their exact meaning. The Inter¬ mezzi are not interludes between larger pieces, nor do the Capricci greatly differ from them in character, except in generally being faster; and they are not noticeably ‘capricious’. The Ballade, on the other

hand, justifies its title by its dramatic style, though

it is less obviously narrative than the earlier Ballades

of Opus 10. The Romanze also fulfills its title with

a song-like melody, which is at first characteristically

placed not in the treble, but in the middle part.

All the pieces are in simple ternary form, the

central sections providing contrast of mood and tonali¬

ty and always being handled with an imagination and

invention that avoids any suggestion of a stereotyped

formula. The B major section of the energetic Bal¬

lade is an example of the composer’s sureness of touch.

It is a remote key and yet how right it sounds in

the context! And for all its pianissimo marking there

is no relaxation of energy or tension.

The first two Intermezzi make a natural pair in A

minor and major, the first powerful and masculine,

the second gracious and feminine. The A minor piece

is an example of the influence of Brahms’s physical

characteristics on his music. His hands were large

and powerful, and he evolved for them a technique

of his own which pianists less amply endowed, es¬

pecially in the strength of the left hand, find it dif¬

ficult to master.

The Intermezzo in F minor is one of the most dif¬

ficult to bring off. Its rhythm is flexible and it is

built up of short phrases, often in canon, whose im¬

portant notes (i.e. the notes that form the fragmentary

melody) are an octave apart. The last Intermezzo,

in E flat minor is, on the other hand, the most re¬

warding. This profoundly tragic piece is perhaps the

most beautiful and the most deeply inspired in

Brahm’s late pianoforte music—a self-portrait in the

Rembrandt style. It was this Intermezzo that Brahms

sent to Clara Schumann as a present on his own

sixtieth birthday.

Capriccio in B minor, Op. 76, No. 2

This is the most light-hearted and delicate piece in

the present recital, and one that is exceptionally

straightforward in rhythm.

Intermezzo in E flat major, Op. 117, No. 1

The first of the three pieces in Opus 117 makes a

perfect contrast to the preceding Capriccio with its

tranquil, lyrical utterance. Its main theme is derived from a German venion of a Scottish ballad, ‘Lady Anne Bothwell’s Lament*, contained in Herder’s col¬

lection of VolksUeder.

Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1

The Rhapsodies are more extensive than the other

pieces in this recital, excepting the Ballade in Opus

118. Although it is ‘rhapsodical’ in manner, the

Rhapsbdy in B minor is carefully constructed in a

free sonata-form (there is even a repeat of the ex¬

position which is, however, rarely observed), into

which two brief ‘Trios’ are introduced, thus produc¬

ing the effect of a cross between sonata-form and

rondo. The material is finally summed up in a

rather sombre coda.

Intermezzo in E major. Op. 116, No. 6

This piece is marked Andantino teneramente and

takes the form of a gentle minuet-movement with a

graceful Trio in G sharp minor.

Intermezzo in E minor. Op. 119, No. 2

The second of the four pieces in Brahms’s last book

of Klavierstiicke is one of his most subtle. The main

movement is agitated, the theme appearing in three

different guises. In the Trio in E major it is further

completely transformed into a waltz (Andantino

grazioso).

Intermezzo in C major, Op. 119, No. 3

By contrast with the Intermezzo in E minor, this is

a blithe, open-hearted piece, though by no means

without rhythmical complexities. Its marking grazi¬

oso e giocoso indicates its good-humoured nature.

DYNELEY HUSSEY

i j

STS *5047 Distributed by LONDON RECORDS iNC.

539 West 25th Street, N.Y.C., N.V. 10001 PRINTED IN U.S.A.

Trademarks Reg.U.S. Pat. Off.

THE S YMBOL OF SOUND PROGRESS

The greatest single advance in sound reproduction since the invention of the phonograph was ffn; (full frequency range recording), introduced on 78 rpm discs shortly after World War II. For the first time, the full fre¬ quency range of audible sound (30 cps.—l 4,000 cps.) was captured on a disc via a meticulous and highly advanced technology which began at the recording studio and followed through all the mastering and manufacturing stages down to the pressing of the finished disc. Since that time ffrr has been recognized as THE SYMBOL OF SOUND PROGRESS.

With the advent of the London ffrr long playing disc in 1949, ffrr sound was again acknowledged to be the finest in the recording industry. Approximately eight years later, London's engineers began to develop and perfect stereophonic recording embodying the ffrr principle and, when in 1958 this unique system of stereophonic recorded sound was introduced to the public, it represented the utmost in sophisticated technology. Since then many im¬ provements have been introduced by London's engineers to keep London technology in the forefront.

With ffrr you are listening to the finest in sound reproduction, for at London, progress never stops.

MADE IN ENGLAND R.S. 8 -78 U.K. Patent No. 1,072,844 Brevete SGDG 1,405,719 Eire 28160

Trademarks Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.

FULL FREQ UENC Y RANGE RECORDING

^KSEWED-UNAUmo^

YWxww FULL FREOUSNCY

CORO//VG

stereo Treasury) series SPEED 33)4 S«te ^ ^

, tZAL.3442

1 W STS. 1504:

BRAHMS PIANO RECITAL Six Pieces. Op. 118

N°. 1. INTERMEZZO ic A minor (1.40)

N“j 2'lNJ^f,ME2zo ln A major (4.601 No. 3, BALLADE in G minor (3.35)

N°' VN„T„ERMEZZ0 in F minor (2 IS) m roiv’aNZE in F major (3.25) No. 6, INTERMEZZO in E flat minor 14.151

WILHELM BACKHAUS

4tereo Treasury series T ^ ^ +7 a i -iaa;

SPEED 33 Va Side

2

• tZAL.3443t

STS.15047

BRAHMS PIANO RECITAL 1 cAPRICCiO in B minor. Op. 76. No.2 (2-60)

2 iNTERMEZZOinEJiatmaior.OpM17.No 1(4

3. RHAPSODY in B minor. Op. 79.N0.1 (7.4 5) 4. INTERMEZZO in E ma,or. Op. 116. No. 6 2.35 5. INTERMEZZO in E minor. Op. 119. No. Z 4. u K INTERMEZZO in C ma|or. Op. 119. No. 3'1 zu)

PROH

IBITED