Brahms: Complete Piano Sonatas François-Frederic Guy

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2:
• 1 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: I. Allegro non troppo (Ma energico) 06:06
• 2 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: II. Andante con espressione 05:24
• 3 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: III. Scherzo (Allegro) 03:57
• 4 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: IV. Finale (Sostenuto - Allegro non troppo) 11:44
• Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1:
• 5 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: I. Allegro 11:37
• 6 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: II. Andante con espressione 05:47
• 7 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: III. Scherzo (Allegro molto e con fuoco) 05:58
• 8 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1: IV. Finale (Allegro con fuoco) 07:10
• Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5:
• 9 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro maestoso 10:34
• 10 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: II. Andante (Andante espressivo) 11:31
• 11 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: III. Scherzo (Allegro energico) 04:39
• 12 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: IV. Intermezzo (Andante molto) 03:32
• 13 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: V. Finale (Allegro moderato ma rubato) 07:40
• Total Runtime 01:35:39

Info for Brahms: Complete Piano Sonatas

Following up his recent Beethoven project, pianist Francois-Frederic Guy turns his focus to the music of Brahms. This two album set from Evidence features the complete Piano Sonatas. This is a landmark recording from one of the major pianists of our time.

"Brahms is, after Beethoven, my favourite composer. He has accompanied me all my life, and the first work with orchestra that I performed in public was his First Concerto. The Brahms Project is not an exhaustive complete recording. It is organised around the piano, the veritable common denominator of an original itinerary combining chamber music, the Lied, the concertos and solo piano works. It proposes to take the listener on a journey to the heart of German Romanticism…

Brahms’s works with piano turn from sonatas into ballads, from variations into Klavierstücke, and include trios, quartets, quintet and concertos in keeping with his evolution, with form adapting to the novelty and richness of his intoxicating melodic inspiration. This seeming disparity is found in the works’ dimensions. The three great, formidable sonatas, along with the two piano concertos are imposing monuments, whereas the Klavierstücke of the last period are presented as confidences, not to say intimate confessions. This piano, in turn abrupt and lilting, melodic and symphonic, is of such boldness and originality that it led Robert Schumann, upon hearing the first sketches of Brahms’s sonatas, to hail ‘the new prophet of German music!’" François-Frédéric Guy, 5 January 2016

Since his debut performances François-Frédéric Guy has established himself as one of the most fascinating pianists of his generation. He is regarded first and foremost as a specialist of the German romantics and above all of Beethoven. He is also a dedicated chamber musician and regularly performs Beethoven’s chamber music for strings and piano with the violinist Tedi Papavrami and the cellist Xavier Phillips.

"To say that François-Frédéric Guy treats the young Brahms’s three piano sonatas to a range of colours more readily associated with the piano music of Debussy is an understatement...Above all, Guy gives the impression that he really loves Brahms’s piano music and is hungry for more. Let’s hope for our sakes that he is." (Classical Ear)

François-Frederic Guy,