Alvanis follows his earlier CD containing the first ten Hungarian
Dances (plus Studies and Rhapsodies) with this recording of the
less well known examples from Books 3 and 4. I haven’t had a chance
to consult the New Grove but I am not entirely convinced that
the transcriptions for solo piano are the work of Brahms himself,
unlike the formidably difficult versions of numbers 1 to 10. The
list of works I consulted was somewhat ambiguous. The more familiar
Books 1 and 2 have been the subject of
solo recordings from Kissin and Budiardjo
within the last couple of years but, as far as I know, the later
sets have received scant attention in the two-hand versions.
Whether
or not Alvanis made his own transcriptions, it matters little for
these are fine accounts of music that deserves to be better known.
Of course, four-hand players will know them well already, and
may feel that the original form is good enough, not to mention
the orchestral versions.
This
CD has something of the air of a completist’s
edition about it. The sarabandes, gavottes
for piano and gigues are all student works composed when Brahms
was studying the music of J.S. Bach; as such, they are skilful
exercises, worth hearing but hardly for repeated listening.
The study on Schubert’s E flat impromptu reminds us how
important was Brahms’ contribution to the catalogue of musically
worthwhile study material, although, musically speaking, there
is no way I would prefer to listen to this version rather than
Schubert’s.
The ‘Gluck
Gavotte’ is much more memorable, while the Variations in D minor
is a serious, truly ‘Brahmsian’ work, though again, I would always
prefer to hear the far greater diversity of his Variations on
a Theme of Handel.
All the
music is well played and worth having for the Hungarian Dances
and the D minor Variations. The student material may be useful
for those who want to see how Brahms somehow integrated Baroque
instincts into a Romantic context.
Roger Blackburn
