Brahms: Dark Midnight (In Finstrer Mitternacht) - Op. 5, Op . 79, Op. 1

Recording of the Month

I’ve come across Nils Anders Mortensen as an accompanist on some nice vocal recitals with mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland on the Lawo label. This is not his solo debut, but careful selection and preparation of repertoire clearly stands above massive productivity for this artist.

Mortensen takes the Agitato marking of the First Rhapsody less impetuously than some at the outset, preferring to reserve his dynamics for a ‘real’ f ten bars in. This is playing with plenty of power, though the emphasis is more on the moments of beauty than on the more overtly extrovert peaks. I like this well considered, poetic approach, and this carries through to the Second Rhapsody in which the drama sizzles underneath rather than being pitched with fury. Mortensen gives himself plenty of places to go, rather than ending up in a constant retreat from too explosive an exposition. This is thoughtful, exploratory Brahms, and while you may not agree with every rubato has much to commend it.

Lawo’s DSD sound is very good indeed as you might expect. With a church acoustic which is like a warm embrace rather than a cold bath. This album already has plenty of appeal.

I have spent quite a bit of time with Nils Anders Mortensen’s recording and have come to appreciate its excellent qualities more each time I’ve returned to it. This recording adds a personal, sensitively tuned and remarkably intelligent voice to the traditions around these remarkable pieces.

Sensitive Brahms

It is not every day that Brahms' work is interpreted by a Norwegian pianist. Nils Anders Mortensen has done it - and it gives you a very nice listening experience.

It is Johannes Brahms incredibly beautiful Piano Sonata No. 3 Op.5 which is nicely wrapped with his 2 Rhapsodies Op.79 and Ballade Op.10 No.1 at each end. And Mortensen conveys this music in an extremely delicate way.

Brahms wrote his third sonata in 1853 - only 20 years old. It is a mature work created by the young Brahms, where one understands how much talent the German composer also had as a pianist at the time. For the music is virtuoso and playful, and when the young Brahms also masters the design of the five movements, the starting point becomes exciting.

Nils Anders Mortensen really manages to give the music a good life on this recording. The music is romantic and oozes sparkling life, something Mortensen fully conveys because his playing gives the music time to breathe. This is how great art becomes.

The year after Brahms composed the piano sonata, he wrote the four ballads that make up op.10. The album ends with the first of these - the so-called "Edward ballad", a really tendentious work.

The album's introductory rhapsodies are famous - and Mortensen in no way shames Norwegian pianists with these interpretations. Here we experience playfulness and pianistic resilience galore.

Brahms At Midnight

Norwegian pianist Nils Anders Mortensen acquits himself admirably. His technique is sound and would have to be to propel him through Brahms’s knotty sonata - but more, he plays with great sympathy for Brahms and his dark muse. There’s much beautiful playing here, enhanced by a very natural Surround Sound recording from LAWO. Recommended for your darkest midnight listening pleasure.

Pianist Nils Anders Mortensen is well-known and much appreciated for his solo appearances with the principal Norwegian orchestras. His nicely planned recital begins with Brahms' Two Rhapsodies Op. 79, mature pieces from 1879 just after his Violin Concerto, and the first piano pieces since he wrote his Third Piano Sonata in 1854.

This recital was captured in the modern Jar Church, a well-known Norwegian venue with a helpful ambience. However, my ears reported a close microphone array, so that little bloom was added to develop the piano tone, even in the 5.0 Multichannel setup.

This music had never been recorded by a Norwegian pianist before this album was made. Mortensen demonstrates a high regard for Brahms, especially in bringing out the Lisztian influence of the composer (Brahms had heard Liszt's ground-breaking Sonata just before writing the F minor sonata).