Brahms Project II
On 11 September, my new album will be released: Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 together with the Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118, recorded with the Gewandhausorchester under Manfred Honeck. This recording completes a journey that began exactly one year ago with the release of Brahms’ second Piano Concerto and the Piano Pieces, Op. 117, together with the same wonderful musicians and the outstanding recording team.
Brahms’ First Piano Concerto is a monumental work. More than 150 years after it was written, I often find myself asking what place this music still holds in our world today. Many composers invite us into another world. For the duration of a concert, we leave everyday life behind and enter a place shaped by imagination, beauty and wonder.
With Brahms, however, I have always felt something different. His music does not ask us to escape reality. Instead, it draws us more deeply into it. It speaks about the human condition with honesty, compassion and extraordinary strength. Rather than leading us away from the world, it helps us feel profoundly connected to it.
The power of Brahms’ music never feels imposed from the outside. It seems to radiate from within.
My heartfelt thanks go to Manfred Honeck, the musicians of the Gewandhausorchester, Johannes and Ines Kammann, the entire team at PENTATONE and Cartier for their trust and support throughout this project.
Several tracks are already available as advance singles, and the album is now available to pre-add. I hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed bringing this music to life. It feels meaningful to release music that speaks so deeply about the human condition on a day that reminds us how fragile our world can be.
the alchemy of the piano
Brahms Project
Brahms has always been one of the most important composers in my life and his pianism perfectly reflects my own musical ideals: power and expression, without harshness; energy, but always derived from the sound. My teacher Cécile Ousset once told me: “You have just the right hands for Brahms”. It is a great honor and privilege to record both Brahms Piano Concertos with the Gewandhausorchester under Manfred Honeck. This project is especially meaningful to me, as Cécile recorded the same works with the same orchestra and Kurt Masur fifty years ago.
My heartfelt thanks go to all the musicians and Maestro Manfred Honeck, to the brilliant sound engineers Johannes and Ines as well as to the entire Pentatone team, and above all to Cartier, whose generous support made this project possible. Release date on all major streaming platforms and on CD is September 19. The first concerto will be recorded in December and released in 2026.
Transcendental Etudes
I am very pleased to present my new recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes and the famous Sonata in B minor. Many thanks to the entire team of the Swiss radio RSI, the sound engineer Michael Rast and the team of my record label PENTATONE. Special thanks to Nike Wagner for the wonderful accompanying text and to all the others who helped me to realise this recording. Available in CD stores, on Spotify and Apple Music and wherever classical music can be bought or streamed. Listen