Search - Johannes Brahms, Wilhelm Kempff :: Brahms: Fantasien Op.116/Intermezzi Op.117/Klavierstücke Op.118 & 119

The right "tool" for the job

Ray | USA | 10/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In carpentry and other skilled endeavors, it's important to select the right tool for the job. The same can be said for pianists. If you have something powerful and dramatic, such as Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto, you want someone like Horowitz or Argerich to do it justice. For subtle and dreamy work, such as Chopin's nocturnes, Rubinstein is a better choice.



For the delicate solo pieces on this disk that Brahms wrote late in his life, Wilhelm Kempff is perfect. Not sure I'd want him doing Beethoven sonatas (for which he is better known), but his easy-going gentle gracefulness is just right for these intermezzos and the other pieces on this disk.



For a full preview, rather than Amazon's 30 second sample, you can search for Kempff Brahms on YouTube. There are several samples of his work on Opus 117, 118, and 119. Just beautiful - couldn't be done better."