Brahms' Second Piano Concerto by Hannes Minnaar

Brahms' Second Piano Concerto is grand, compelling, grandiose. A lesser pianist can lose himself in it at times, but by meticulously dosing, Hannes Minnaar subdues Brahms' musical whirlpools.

Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2
In July 1881, Brahms wrote to a friend that he had composed "ein ganz ein kleines Klavierkonzert mit einem ganz einem kleinen zarten Scherzo. This is typical Brahmsian jest, for his Second Piano Concerto is grand, compelling and grandiose. An unusual piece, he even added - unprecedented for the time - a fourth movement to the concerto. And what of the wonderful cello solo in the third movement? This Second Piano Concerto by Brahms is of unparalleled beauty and power.

Hannes Minnaar
Hannes Minnaar, according to Gramophone, is "a convincing tone painter and an ardent romantic. That comes in handy with the romantic and colorful music of Brahms. That he is one of the best pianists in the Netherlands is evidenced by the fact that he won the Dutch Music Prize and was the first Dutchman in twenty years to give a concert in the Master Pianist series at The Concertgebouw.