One of the most introspective and moving sets of piano miniatures of the Romantic period. The Op.118 pieces feature the thematic density and contrapuntal mastery that typifies Brahms, and these two recordings, full of depth and imagination, are rightly recognised as benchmark performances. [Descriptions below]
The first Intermezzo in A minor is written in a highly condensed sonata form, and yet retains a harmonic restlessness than indicates that this is merely the first piece in a set. (Note the initial feint towards F in the opening, before the D# apparently heralds the real tonality of A minor before yet again sidestepping to C major to close the opening section.
The second is a sort-of-nocturne in broad ternary form, and one of Brahms’ most lyrical sections. In the outer sections, it should be noted that the “second” melody you hear [24:40] is an inversion of the first [23:12], and that it is, if anything, more heart-stoppingly beautiful than the first. The middle section features some effortless canonic writing. The F-sharp minor melody is in the RH, while woven into the broken chords of the left is an imitation two beats later [25:24]. The theme and its imitation is next rendered in block chords [26:00], and then the theme is subordinated to the middle voice while the imitation is placed in the treble [26:32].
The third piece, a Ballade, is rather oddly named: there is nothing at all narrative or epic (in the sense of tale-like) about it, but it is nonetheless the most extroverted of the set. It could just as well be a Capriccio from the Op.116.
The fourth piece is yet another Intermezzo, featuring restless contrapuntal writing in the outer sections and a deceptive chorale in the middle section broken up over the keyboard. As with all late Brahms, there is something enigmatic about this piece. It might be the fact that the pulsating triplets disguise a simple motif of oscillating octaves, which in turn disguise a strict canon at the octave. The canon reappears at the climax of the middle A major section [12:29]. It’s this sort of stunning revitalisation of old forms that makes Brahms such a unique figure among his Romantic contemporaries.
The fifth piece is a Romance, where the true melody in the outer sections is embedded in a chorale, doubled in octaves in the middle voices. The melody is developed in three successive variations. The middle section is a striking Berceuse: note the borrowed dominant harmony from A major which supplants the expected cadence at the end of each variation. Not until the conclusion of the last variation, which first deceptively moves through the subdominant, is the awaited dominant seventh achieved.
The closing Intermezzo is one of Brahms’ most haunting works. This is almost as far as you can go from the “light” textures expected from a miniature, sounding more like the opening of a sonata: it is grand, almost epic, and yet highly introverted. A pale, wavering turn-like figure opens the piece, with arpeggios swelling up to sheath it in a vapor of diminished 7th harmony. The theme eventually finds itself in the dominant, where it is given a full-throatedly tragic treatment. The second theme in the relative major has a kind of moving, violent nobility about it, and modulates into B-flat minor before the first theme returns and the piece dies away.
Kempff and Lupu deliver very different but equally gorgeous performances. Kempff is deeply focused, rich, restrained, leaning towards directness in letting the music speak for itself. Lupu is profoundly meditative and lyrical, dwelling on the quiet moments without ever coming across as mannered. (Contrast their performances of the 2nd piece at 01:55 and 23:12. Kempff is warm, semplice, Lupu prayerlike. Also the big tempo differences in the Ballade, where Kempff aims for a caprrio-like, detached sound where Lupu strives for something more grand and declamatory.)
Kempff:
No.1, Intermezzo in A minor — 00:00
No.2, Intermezzo in A major — 01:56
No.3, Ballade in G minor — 06:27
No.4, Intermezzo in F minor — 10:24
No.5, Romanze in F major — 13:13
No.6, Intermezzo in E-flat minor — 16:42
Lupu:
No.1, Intermezzo in A minor — 21:26
No.2, Intermezzo in A major — 23:12
No.3, Ballade in G minor — 29:09
No.4, Intermezzo in F minor — 32:15
No.5, Romanze in F major — 34:56
No.6, Intermezzo in E-flat minor — 38:46