The Italian-born pianist and Leeds competition winner Alessio Bax returns with his third solo recital disc for Signum. His programme surveys a selection of highlights from Brahms’ pianistic output, charting his development from the early lyrical collection ‘4 Ballades‘ (1854) through to the ‘eight perfect gems’ that are the 8 Klavierstücke Op.76 (1871-78). Bax also tackles Brahms’ fiendish set of ‘Variations on a Theme of Pagainini, Op.35′, which Bax describes in the programme notes as one of “the most fearsome works ever written for piano”.
An all-Brahms recital that confirms what we auditors at last year’s Menlo Concerts in Palo Alto already knew: that Bax delivers a natural ethos in this composer’s combination of romantic passion and classical architecture – Audiophile Audition
A must-listen for any fan of late-Romantic piano music. This is one of the great solo-piano albums of 2012. It’s as simple as that – Musical Toronto
