Ivory Classics CD-74004
Brahms Variations for Piano
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):
01. Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 918:32 ('04)
02. Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 116:54 ('04)
03. Variations on a Hungarian Song, Op. 21, No. 207:02 ('04)
04. Variations in D Minor (from Sextet in B-Flat, Op. 18)09:03 ('04)
05. Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 2426:27 ('04)
Piano: David Korevaar
Producer: Michael Rolland Davis
Engineer: Ed Thompson
Piano Technician: Takanori Otake
Total Time: 78:23
Recorded at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo, New York - May 26, 27 and 28, 2004
Original 24-Bit Master Recorded direct to the Sadie Artemis 24-Bit High Resolution disk editor.
Piano: Shigeru Kawai EX Concert Grand #2425001
David Korevaar photos by: Casey Cass / University of Colorado
Liner Notes: David Korevaar
Special thanks to Pastor Charles Bang of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo, New York, and Brian Chung, Senior Vice President of Kawai of America
This recording was made possible through the support of The Ivory Classics Foundation and the Council on Research and Creative Work as well as the Graduate Council for the Arts and Humanities at the University of Colorado
In September 1853, Johannes Brahms arrived for his first meeting with Robert and Clara Schumann at their home in Düseldorf. Brahms, a youthful age of twenty ("hardly more than a boy" were the words of Robert Schumann's protégé Albert Dietrich), made an immediate and powerful impression on the older master, who in October wrote his famous essay, New Paths proclaiming...
Disc.Reviews
David Korevaar's big, full-throated pianism perfectly suits Brahms' variation sets, with their thick textures and orchestrally inspired sonorities. In contrast to the long arcs and cumulative momentum distinguishing others in this repertoire (Katchen and Fischer in Op. 21 No. 1, Lupu in the D minor Variations, or Serkin, Ax, and Fleisher in the Op. 24), Korevaar likes to ease up on phrase endings or bend lines in order to probe the music's poetic implications and textural diversity. That Korevaar does so without spilling over into self-indulgence or mannerism is a tribute to his intelligence, clarity of purpose, and of course, his absolute command of the instrument. If you're seeking all of Brahms' variation sets (minus the Op. 35 Paganini Variations) on one disc in masterfully executed, resplendently engineered performances, consider this first-class release, graced with lucid, insightful booklet notes by Korevaar himself.
Jed Distler, Classics Today, Feb. 2005
