Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Glenn Gould (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Glenn Gould
• Composer: Johannes Brahms
• Audio CD (March 9, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000028O2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,404 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #53 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Ballads

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what you might expect from Gould., February 20, 2000

By 

I Hate Amazon "contributor" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi (Audio CD)

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.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different and intriguing approach to Brahms, September 4, 2000

By 

Bertrand Jacques (Louveciennes France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi (Audio CD)

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...

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Braindead juvenile reviewer?, June 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Brahms: 4 Ballades, Op. 10; 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79; 10 Intermezzi (Audio CD)

I would not regularly write a review, but seeing someone award this undboutly seminal recording 1 out of 5 stars makes you wonder about taste and understanding on the behalf of such a person. The 10 Intermezzi are without any question the seminal recoding of this piece, and what a beautiful piece this is. Gould's interpretation of the Ballades does indeed not live up to the expectations that the Intermezzi might awaken, they are somewhat along the lines of his Mozart that you are more likely to find interesting than enlightning. Still, the intermezzi alone are worth the money - they are among the most astounding recordings of romantic music. (Incidentally, to claim that Gould 'does not understand' his music is laughable: all that Gould says is that preparation of the recording was more of a mental than of a physical act to him- it happens in his head. And to my friend the other reviewer: there's no way you are older than early 20s, or at least let's hope for it. Come back to the recording in 10 years)