Light & night sides
“Alongside the light side, the night side of human nature sometimes appears abruptly, but at times a twilight spreads out from both, which would like to unhinge time.” What Brahms’ early biographer Max Kalbeck wrote in the flowery language of the 19th century about the C major Piano Trio may apply to all the works in this new recording: In the chamber works, Brahms plays particularly sensitively with the alternation of subtle nuances of colour and sudden sharp contrasts. The trios span 35 years of his composer’s biography, exemplifying Brahms’s development from the youthful, rapturous 21-year-old to the enormously condensed concentration of the late works. With this tour de force of interpretation, the soloists of the Villa Musica prove that, in addition to their pedagogical work, which cannot be overestimated, they are also world-class artists.