What was Brahms' best symphony? His Piano Sonata in F minor. Why not? Brahms' Piano Sonata in F minor has the breadth and the depth, the scope and the scale, the intimacy and the enormity of the greatest Romantic symphonies and just because Brahms scored it for solo piano does not make it any less symphonic. In this masterful and magisterial performance of Brahms' Sonata in F minor,
Antti Siirala reveals the work as not only the greatest piano sonata after Beethoven, but the greatest symphony after Beethoven.
Siirala has the tone of
Arrau, the technique of
Brendel, the strength of
Richter, and the musical depths of
Schnabel, and he performs the Sonata in F minor with the fervor of a true believer. As an encore,
Siirala performs all 16 of Brahms' dainty and delightful Waltzes, granting to each its full measure of yearning nostalgia. Ondine's sound is simply superb.