# 100 Favorites: # 21



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Brahms: Piano Music; Schumann: Etudes Symphoniques
Dmitri Alexeev (EMI)*











Brahms: Klavierstücke, Op. 76
Brahms: Fantasien, Op. 116
Brahms: Intermezzi, Op. 117
Brahms: Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Brahms: Klavierstücke, Op. 119
Schumann: Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13
You can't go wrong with Julius Katchen's Brahms. But I think he's at his best in the early, thunder-and-lightning works like the Handel Variations and Paganini Variations. For the more pensive, reflective later piano pieces, I prefer Dmitri Alexeev. When I first heard Alexeev's Brahms, it didn't make much of an impression. Years later, I pulled the LP off the shelf and was _electrified_ by what I heard. I guess my "ear" had matured in the interim. Alexeev doesn't play for flash or effect. Just like this music, Alexeev's playing appears straightforward at first glance -- but, if you listen closely, you'll easily hear all sorts of feelings that are streaming just beneath the surface.

Alexeev's recording of Schumann's Op. 13 is also excellent. Along with Murray Perahia's recording, it's easy to recommend. That said, the big draw here is the Brahms. Alexeev may not have the notoriety that other, more famous pianists have in this repertoire (i.e., Radu Lupu or Wilhelm Kempff), but no one else has impressed me more.


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