Brahmsiana: Music by & Inspired by Brahms Steven Masi

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117:
• 1 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 1 in E-Flat Major 06:31
• 2 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 2 in B-Flat Minor 06:24
• 3 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor 07:50
• Robert Chumbley: Brahmsiana II:
• 4 Brahmsiana II: No. 1, Intermezzo 05:05
• 5 Brahmsiana II: No. 2, Intermezzo 07:03
• 6 Brahmsiana II: No. 3, Intermezzo 05:19
• Johannes Brahms: 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118:
• 7 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 1 in A Minor, Intermezzo 02:24
• 8 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 2 in A Major, Intermezzo 06:46
• 9 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 3 in G Minor, Ballade 03:48
• 10 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 4 in F Minor, Intermezzo 03:19
• 11 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 5 in F Major, Romance 04:58
• 12 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118: No. 6 in E-Flat Minor, Intermezzo 06:51
• Jonathan Cziner (b. 1991): Echoes of Youth:
• 13 Echoes of Youth: I. Romance 03:49
• 14 Echoes of Youth: II. Intermezzo (Frei aber froh) 01:57
• 15 Echoes of Youth: III. Ballade 03:30
• 16 Echoes of Youth: IV. Intermezzo (Frei aber einsam) 02:49
• Total Runtime 01:18:23

Info for Brahmsiana: Music by & Inspired by Brahms

Following his 2017 10-album recording of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, pianist Steven Masi turns his talents to two works by Brahms, each one followed by its own companion piece by composers Robert Chumbley and Jonathan Cziner, respectively. Masi's masterful touch and dynamic style capitalize on the unrivaled emotive power of solo piano, causing it to sing in a voice that is profoundly human. Join this Juilliard School alumnus as he delights listeners with virtuosic artistry and a knowing attention-to-detail. BRAHMSIANA opens with Brahms's 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117. Here, Masi invites listeners on a cyclical journey between light and shadow, descending into darkness before reemerging with triumphant resoluteness, only to give way at last to an inevitable nightfall.

Masi pairs this first piece with composer Robert Chumbley's Brahmsiana II. This second composition, with its colorful textures and sheer lyrical force, recombines the Brahmsian DNA of Op. 117 to create something wholly original and captivating. Next, Masi unfolds Brahms's Six Klavierstucke, Op. 118. Masi performs with impressive agility, moments of manic activity, as well as the stark silences that disrupt them. The record closes with a piece commissioned by Masi, himself: Echoes of Youth by Jonathan Cziner. Cziner responds to Brahms from across the expanse of time in a musical language of tonality and dissonance that both Brahms and the contemporary listener may comprehend. With BRAHMSIANA, Steven Masi presides over a musical exchange between our past and present. Don't miss the chance to get in on the conversation.

Steven Masi, piano

Steven Masi
Recognized as an artist of unusual sensitivity and virtuosity, pianist Steven Masi has concertized extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has appeared at the Casals Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Festival, Park City International Festival, Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, and Music Festival of the Hamptons. His many orchestral appearances have included series with the The Atlanta Symphony, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and New Symphony Orchestra of London. In Germany he was an artist member of the Bonn Chamber Music Society.

Masi's 2017 ten-disc recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano has been greeted with praise in the press. Fanfare Magazine’s Marc Medwin wrote, “For breathtaking virtuosity serving safe interpretations well inside established lines, we are spoiled for choice, but much rarer is the offering of insight via a unified vision of this extraordinary body of work. This is Masi’s crowning achievement.” He is an exponent of new music and has played the world premieres of Justin Dello Joio’s Concert Etude Momentum, and Jonathan Cziner’s Reflections of Youth, all works that are dedicated to him.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Masi lives in Leonia NJ with his wife, clarinetist Diana Petrella, and son Aidan.

This album contains no booklet.