Album

On the last things

With Operas 119 and 120, Brahms' last piano work and chamber music work are directly juxtaposed. Two genres that are very central to Brahms' oeuvre, the conclusion of which is unmistakable in these works. The inexhaustible cosmos of an entire composer's life is revealed in both works, despite the great contrast in form (sonata versus short pieces).

Between the two monumental sonatas, which are characterised by intense dialogue, the monologue piano intermezzi look inwards, so to speak.

We undoubtedly owe the creation of Johannes Brahms' last piano and chamber music works to his encounter with the exceptional Meiningen clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, who inspired Brahms to new creativity. His complementary, interwoven sonatas op. 120 are full of exuberant joy, urgent passion and moments of picturesque calm in equal measure. A kaleidoscope of emotions - and a magnificent, groundbreaking gift for his lovers and musical successors.

In a subtle musical dialogue, Nicolai Pfeffer and Felix Wahl paint a refreshingly contrasting picture of these late works full of powerful yet cantabile nuances.