Both sonatas recorded here are the work of the young Brahms—still a teenager when he wrote Op 2—and perfectly complement the much later rhapsodies. These are magisterial accounts from a pianist noted for his mastery of the Romantics.
CDA68334 69 minutes 5 seconds
‘[Ohlsson] has power and agility in reserve, which means that he can take fences in his stride that find others huffing and blowing … nor is Ohlsson afraid of plain speaking, so that the evident ... ‘Garrick Ohlsson’s account [of Op 1] … is full and faithful. He has a fine feeling for the music’s scope and scale’ (BBC Music Magazine) ‘Garrick Ohlsson's Brahms recordings have impressed us here before, with their fiery passion, powerful virtuosity, eloquence and intensity—all of which he needs in the two Brahms sonatas on the new re ...