Fabian Müller plays Brahms

In the Blog THE CLASSIC REVIEW Tal Agam writes about Fabian Müller’s Brahms CD.

Intricate voicing and pedal techniques

Young pianist Fabian Müller seems to find just the right balance; from the first bars of the first Capriccio, there is a sense of forward-looking dynamics, but never rushed nor spare in details. We tend to take for granted today’s high technical command of young classical music talents, but hear how No. 3 in this opus separates the two main characters of the themes by using intricate voicing and pedal techniques. This is mainly attributed to Mr. Müller, but also to the instrument of choice, which is said to be a Steinway from 1956, meticulously handled by the celebrated piano technician Stefan Knüpfer (Subject of the documentary “Pianomania”).

Singing tone

The instrument is a perfect fit to Müller’s approach and touch, with dark singing tone, no cutting edges and an old-fashioned bass, that resonances after a small delay, enforced by overtones. A well-engineered recording serves the pianist (and instrument) as well.

Absolutely wonderful

It’s an absolutely wonderful version of the opus 76, one of the best in recent memory – Angelich’s superb version for Erato and Volodos partial for Sony can stand the comparison. […]