New YouTube Video on Brahms and Katchen!

Hi everyone!

A couple weeks ago I finished a new video on Brahms’s final piano works, and this one feels especially close to me.

These pieces have been with me since I was a teenager! Op. 119 No. 4 was the first Brahms piece I ever learned, long before I really understood what he was going through at the end of his life. Coming back to them now, with more perspective, they strike me so differently. They are fragile, ambiguous, and marvelous.

In the video I also talk about Julius Katchen, whose story connects so movingly with this music. His recordings have shaped the way I hear Brahms, and I wanted to share some of that with you all.

The video also features some commentary by the most colorful characters of the Brahms extended universe - Clara Schumann, Garrick Ohlsson, Ethel Smythe, and more!

If you have time to watch, I’d love to know how you hear these late pieces and which recordings are your favorite!