JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Sonatas Nos.1 & 2. Scherzo op.4 Alexander Melnikov, piano Bösendorfer

Johannes Brahms was just 19 years old in 1852-53 when he wrote the first two piano sonatas he deemed worthy of publication. In these extended four-movement compositions he built on the heritage of Beethoven. The fact that Brahms had produced a pair of masterpieces was immediately recognised by his mentor Robert Schumann, who eased his young colleague’s way into the future with his celebrated article ‘New Paths’ of 1853.