Garrick Ohlsson begins his survey of the complete keyboard works of Brahms with the composer’s Op. 76. Written after a 13-year break from solo piano composition, agitated capriccios alternate with gentler, lyrical intermezzi. Ohlsson then leaps back to Brahms’ Op. 21, two sets of variations: the first, longer and introspective, demonstrating Brahms’ reverence of the Baroque; the second, short and brilliant, on a Hungarian folk tune. The Op. 10 Ballades are inextricably linked to Clara Schumann; their tenderness could represent a sublimation of Brahms’ feelings for her. The concert closes with the first book of the Paganini variations, which includes some of the most brilliant fireworks Brahms wrote for the piano.

Program
Eight Pieces for Piano, Op. 76
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1
Variations on a Hungarian Song, Op. 21, No. 2
Ballades, Op. 10
Variations on a Theme of Paganini (Book I), Op. 35

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