A famous set of variations by Brahms is ahead later in the hour. First, we've got a Brahms Intermezzo that was inspired by a Scottish folk tune. Pianist Helene Grimaud plays the Intermezzo, Op. 117, ...

This is FRESH AIR. The Brazilian pianist Nathan Freire (ph) is one of classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz's favorite pianists. His latest recording is an album of piano music by Brahms. Lloyd ...

In his last three sets of piano pieces, all unnecessary rhetoric is purged from Brahms's music. There is no hectoring or lecturing, no celebration of virtuosity for its own sake. Lars Vogt is the ...

Pianist Gwendolyn Mok is into the Big Bang behind musical compositions. What was it that led Beethoven or Ravel to create their “sound worlds?” she asks. Here’s what she thinks: Music often rises out ...

Jonathan Plowright’s survey of Brahms’s piano music for BIS could hardly have got off to a more auspicious start. The main piece here is the F sharp minor Piano Sonata Op 2, and from the first few ...

(7) Pieces, Movements: No. 6, Intermezzo in E Jonas Vitaud, Piano Johannes Brahms, Composer Op 118 hits and misses. The A major Intermezzo, for example, is sombre and withdrawn compared to Lars Vogt’s ...

Performances in N.Y.C. Advertisement Supported by Listen as Carlos Santana, Branford Marsalis and others pick their favorites of the moody master of 19th-century music. In the past, we’ve chosen the ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The ageing process was not kind to Brahms. As a young adult he still looked juvenile but, by the time he ...

Freire plays tribute to the noted German composer on his new album. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz doesn't always love Brahms, but he loves this recording. This is FRESH AIR. The Brazilian pianist Nathan ...