Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Trio pour violon, alto et piano en mi bémol majeur, op. 40
Sonate pour alto et piano n° 1 en fa mineur, op. 120
Sonate pour alto et piano n° 2 en mi bémol majeur, op. 120

Mikhail Nemtsov, alto
Hanna Shybayeva, piano
Daniel Rowland, violon

This CD is a part of a project which consists of recording all the chamber music pieces with soloistic instrumental parts for which Brahms has made viola versions. This first CD includes a Horn trio (Op. 40) and two Clarinet Sonatas (Op. 121). The 2nd CD (which will be released in 2026) features the Clarinet trio (Op. 114), Clarinet Quintet (Op. 115), Two Songs (Op. 91) and the Scherzo from FAE Sonata. It is quite a common opinion that the last works of Brahms inspired by the meeting with clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld belong to Brahms’s deepest, most beautiful and impressive works. What was the reason for Brahms to write viola parts for these pieces? Probably, a feeling that the expressive richness of the viola would make it possible to discover these pieces from a completely different perspective: there is a special connection between Brahms’s musical world and the sonority of the viola.