Brahms's Händel Variations

[arielpiano]

Here is a really fun piece to play:

Brahms at 28, full of zest and energy (dedicated to Clara).
From a recital at the Mill Hill Music Club in London, last Sunday.

[schumaniac]

I'm not sure why nobody has replied to this post; maybe it's b/c this is such a monumental work and it's hard to listen to all the way. Like the rest of your playing, this is a very professional, mature piece; it is amazing how you learn such large-scale works like these variations, Gaspard, Schubert D960... you clearly have spent a lot of time on it! The "energy" you described comes out very well. Your playing is organized but still has a lot of flexibility (e.g. Var 1) & emotional richness (throughout). I might have lost focus in Var. 9- a sense of where the music is "going" (but maybe that's just the nature of the variation; don't take this to heart too much! Especially if you know what you're doing... plus, I am younger than you by so much).

I skipped to the fugue after listening about halfway through the piece. I liked how you made "sense" of the constant modulations, so that formed a coherent work. I could hear the motif/subject throughout and it was a great feeling to hear it come back triumphantly in Bb (Just curious, by the way, how many voices are in this fugue? It doesn't seem like a fugue written in the style of, say, Bach or Handel himself...)

Anyway this was a great listening experience; I thoroughly enjoyed your playing!

[emill]

Hello Ariel,

When I saw piece was 28 minutes long decided to postpone listening to it over a week ago.
Finally did this morning .... I was surprised, quite enjoyable all throughout the 28 minutes! 
Excellent playing as usual. Thanks for posting.