Francesco Piemontesi to Release New BRAHMS Album With Gewandhausorchester
The recording follows their acclaimed prior release featuring Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2.
Pianist Francesco Piemontesi is set to release a new Brahms album on 11 September 2026, reuniting with conductor Manfred Honeck and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. The recording, issued on Pentatone (PTC5187417), features Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, and the Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118.
The album follows the trio's acclaimed 2025 release, which paired Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. The new recording brings together works from opposite ends of Brahms's creative life, juxtaposing the early concerto with the late piano pieces. According to the announcement, together they 'illuminate both the youthful ardour of the early concerto and the inward, distilled expression of the late piano pieces.'
Francesco Piemontesi on Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1
'The music does have something elemental about it: no elegant classical opening, no courtly exposition, but rather an eruptive orchestral impact. The timpani sound like tectonic shocks, the lower strings move in vast waves, and above them the brass chords break in like forces of nature. It does not sound like something artfully constructed, but rather like matter coming into being. The piano does not appear as a virtuosic hero, but rather as a thinking, feeling, ordering consciousness within this vast sonic world. Manfred Honeck adds something special to this Brahmsian 'Genesis': elegance, transparency, and a long symphonic breath.
In contrast to the concerto's monumental opening, Brahms often strikes me as being shaped by a distinctly North German form of reserve. Yet it is precisely from this restraint that a peculiar intensity emerges — a particular honesty and intimacy. One can sense this, for example, in the second movement, or also in the Piano Pieces Op. 118. This music feels to me profoundly soulful and communicative. The longer I play Brahms, the more I feel that his music does not seek to impress, but to be true.'
About Francesco Piemontesi
Sensitivity and poetry, expression and brilliance, in combination with exceptional technical skills, make the Swiss-Italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi one of the most exciting musicians of his time. 'Making music is like a second language for me. It feels like an existential necessity. I don't want to entertain the audience, I want them to participate in the deep dimensions of music.'
Francesco Piemontesi is regarded internationally as one of the leading interpreters of the entire repertoire, from Baroque to Classical, Romantic to Modernist, and music of the present day. As a soloist, he performs with top orchestras around the globe and is a welcome guest at festivals from Salzburg to the BBC Proms.
Tracklist
Brahms, Piano Concerto No.1 Op. 15
Brahms, Six Piano Pieces Op. 118
