Credits:

Bohme / Hofs

Description:

Mari Kodama's first Brahms album, in which the mature Mari Kodama depicts the encounter and dedication of Brahms and Mr. and Mrs. Schumann. She has been warming to Brahms' works for many years, and this is the perfect time for her to release them. The main work on this album is Brahms' "Op. 1," Piano Sonata No. 1, which Brahms is said to have performed on October 1, 1853, during his first visit to Mr. and Mrs. Schumann. It is known that Robert Schumann started to listen to it alone at first, but then asked him to stop, saying that he wanted Clara to hear it as well. Schumann was suffering from an illness in his later years, but at the end of his life, he enthusiastically introduced Brahms to the music world under the title "A New Way. Mari Kodama has captured a moment of that encounter in this album. This led Brahms to compose "Variations Op.9" the following year, based on the first of the "Five Album Spellings" from Schumann's "Colorful Pieces Op.99" and "Improvisation on a Theme by Clara Wieck, Op.5," which he dedicated to Clara. Six years later, he dedicated Variations on the Second Movement of String Sextet No. 1, also to Clara, which was famously used in the Louis Malle film "The Lovers. The latter piece is full of Brahms' troubled emotions, and one can sense his longing for Clara. It is thought that Clara played something for him as a thank-you during their first meeting, but this has not been reported.Here, the first song "Dedication" from Rohbert's song cycle "Milte's Flowers" is performed as an encore. It is also a rare opportunity to hear Clara's arrangement of the moving music that Rohrbert is said to have sent to his bride on the eve of their wedding. Although Liszt's arrangement of this piece is well known, Clara is said to have disliked that version, and her arrangement is a piano piece that conveys Rohbert's feelings even more. It is a luxury to be able to enjoy it with Mari Kodama's mature performance. King International

Tracklisting:

1.Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1~I. Allegro
2.Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1~II. Andante
3.Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1~III. Allegro molto e con fuoco - Piu mosso
4.Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1~IV. Allegro con fuoco - Presto non troppo ed agitato
5.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Thema. Ziemlich langsam
6.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 1. L'istesso tempo
7.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 2. Poco piu moto
8.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 3. Tempo di tema
9.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 4. Poco piu moto
10.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 5. Allegro capriccioso
11.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 6. Allegro
12.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 7. Andante
13.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 8. Andante (non troppo lento)
14.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 9. Schnell
15.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 10. Poco adagio
16.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 11. Un poco piu animato
17.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 12. Allegretto, poco scherzando - Presto
18.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 13. Non troppo Presto
19.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 14. Andante
20.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 15. Poco adagio
21.Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9~Variation 16. [Adagio]
22.Theme and Variations, Op. 18B
23.Myrthen, Op. 25, No. 1: Widmung