Brahms in Focus
Following their acclaimed 2025 release, Francesco Piemontesi rejoins Manfred Honeck and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig to continue their Brahms journey. Their first release paired the Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Three Intermezzi, Op. 117; this new recording brings together the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, and the Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118, juxtaposing works from opposite ends of Brahms’s creative life. Together, they illuminate both the youthful ardour of the early concerto and the inward, distilled expression of the late piano pieces.
Francesco Piemontesi on Brahm‘s Piano Concerto No. 1
"The music does have something elemental about it: no elegant classical opening, no courtly exposition, but rather an eruptive orchestral impact. The timpani sound like tectonic shocks, the lower strings move in vast waves, and above them the brass chords break in like forces of nature. It
does not sound like something artfully constructed, but rather like matter coming into being. The piano does not appear as a virtuosic hero, but rather as a thinking, feeling, ordering consciousness within this vast sonic world. Manfred Honeck adds something special to this Brahmsian “Genesis”: elegance, transparency, and a long symphonic breath.
In contrast to the concerto’s monumental opening, Brahms often strikes me as being shaped by a distinctly North German form of reserve. Yet it is precisely from this restraint that a peculiar intensity emerges — a particular honesty and intimacy. One can sense this, for example, in the second movement, or also in the Piano Pieces Op. 118. This music feels to me profoundly soulful and communicative. The longer I play Brahms, the more I feel that his music does not seek to impress, but to be true."
About Francesco Piemontesi
Sensitivity and poetry, expression and brilliance, in combination with exceptional technical skills, make the Swiss-Italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi one of the most exciting musicians of our time. "Making music is like a second language for me. It feels like an existential necessity. I don't want to entertain the audience, I want them to participate in the deep dimensions of music."
His language is clearly understood worldwide: Francesco Piemontesi is regarded internationally as one of the leading interpreters of the entire repertoire, from Baroque to Classical, Romantic to Modernist, and music of the present day. As a soloist, he performs with top orchestras around the globe and is a welcome guest at festivals from Salzburg to the BBC Proms.
