Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ballades (4) for piano, Op. 10: No.1 In D Minor
2. Ballades (4) for piano, Op. 10: No.2 In D Major
3. Ballades (4) for piano, Op. 10: No.3 "Intermezzo" In B Minor
4. Ballades (4) for piano, Op. 10: No.4 In B Major
5. Rhapsodies (2) for piano, Op. 79: No.1 In B Minor
6. Rhapsodies (2) for piano, Op. 79: No.2 In G Minor

Disc 2:

1. Intermezzi (3) for piano, Op. 117: No. 1 in E flat major
2. Intermezzi (3) for piano, Op. 117: No 02, in B flat minor
3. Intermezzi (3) for piano, Op. 117: No 03, in C sharp minor
4. Pieces (6) for piano, Op. 118: No. 6, Intermezzo in E flat minor
5. Intermezzo for piano in E major, Op. 116/4
6. Pieces (4) for piano, Op. 119: No. 1, Intermezzo in B minor
7. Pieces (6) for piano, Op. 118: No. 1, Intermezzo in A minor
8. Pieces (6) for piano, Op. 118: No. 2, Intermezzo in A major
9. Pieces (8) for piano, Op. 76: No 7, Intermezzo in A minor
10. Pieces (8) for piano, Op. 76: No 6, Intermezzo in A major

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139379 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1993-03-09
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .41 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
Glenn Gould's accounts of the late pieces, recorded in 1960, are among the most affecting statements he made. He manages to balance the music on the edge of an almost unbearable emotional intensity without becoming larmoyant or dipping into salon sentimentality. The result is downright disturbing and depressing. But few pianists have achieved such extraordinary distillations of Brahms's late style as Gould does here, conveying painful passion held in check and peering into the counterpoint, yet maintaining an overall fluidity within profound emotional stasis. The recording is very present. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Not what you might expect from Gould.
This recording is proof that there is more to Gould than the strict Bach-ian architecture he is most renowned for. Here we see a gushing romantic revealing something intimate, something we feel almost ashamed to have witnessed but are grateful for the trust. One can imagine him in his famous dwarfish chair, huddled over his fingers, breathing on the keys, unable to stifle an occasional ecstatic hum as he gets carried away with his own recreation, allowing something repressed to spill out in the notes, betraying his ideal of "artist as zero" with the filter of his emotion.

Here Gould does the unspeakable--rubato, dynamic development, damper pedalling...in short, he plays pianistically. His technique is excellent, as expected, though it might make one wonder why anyone with such a controlled pedal technique would shun its use.

Also, the interpretation is, for Gould, remarkably faithful to the score. There is the occasional exception, most notably in the second ballade where he plays a little bit with the broken chords, but overall he doesn't succumb to the idiosyncrasies we have come to expect from him.

As something of a bonus, the booklet contains a fictionalized Gould/gould interview which is pretty funny, though it apparently wasn't actually scripted by him.

Just to clarify, the second disc (the collection of intermezzi) was recorded in the 60's, but the first disc (ballades and rhapsodies) was digitally recorded in 1982, shortly before his death. There's something about that which lends something vital to this recording, akin to Horowitz's rendition of Isolde's Liebestod on his final recording. Beautiful and heartbreaking music making.

A different and intriguing approach to Brahms
If I may, Glenn Gould's contribution is to leave the beaten tracks of romantism and to lead us into unknown territory. His fairly radical options seem to unravel the texture of Brahms' contrapuntic scores. In doing so, Gould gives us the opportunity of a rare feast...

Combined with more classical versions (could I suggest Julius Katchen and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli ?), this is a vision that makes us realise the depth of the music's underlying harmony.

Contrary to the previous reviewer (whose point on the intermezzi makes fascinating reading...), I bought this CD for the ballads. Two of them are particularly remarkable. The tempo of the first one is so stretched that it magically takes you to the melancholic views of the North Sea beaches that inspired Brahms. On the contrary, the left hand's presence in the third ballad (to be opposed to Michelangeli's interpretation which is led by a very nervous right hand) brings an unsuspected warmth in the middle section.

Do you really like Brahms ? If you do, you will join me in thanking Glenn Gould for leaving us this recording...

Brahms and Gould at Their Best
A pianist who made his mark with spare and precise recordings of Bach, Gould here shows a romantic and passionate side that may surprise many listeners unfamiliar with this regrettably small portion of his discography. Gould himself thought these recordings among his best, and I wouldn't quarrel. Over the years, I've listened to just about every recording of the Intermezzi ever made, and while Gould's has its drawbacks (notably his notorious humming and the now less-than-stellar sound quality) they're still my favorites by a league. If only he had returned to the Intermezzi to take advantage of digital recording technology! The recording of the Ballades, on the other hand, is not only a fine interpretation but also sonically good. The 4th is especially moving.