How would you re-imagine Brahms? What does transformation sound like? Pianist Ann DuHamel posed these questions to five composers—the result is her debut album Rückblick, a wide-ranging anthology of new piano music. Edie Hill’s intimate title track borrows from early and late piano works of Brahms to create a nostalgic piece that looks forward and backward in time. The miniatures of Joseph Dangerfield and Luke Dahn’s “Letters”—musical postcards from one composer to the other—pay homage to Brahms’s relationships with Joseph Joachim and Clara Schumann. Jocelyn Hagen’s lyrical variations evoke the transformations of grief. And Marc Chan’s humor and wit is on full display in his inventive re-imaginings of Brahms waltzes.
Rückblick: New Piano Music Inspired by Brahms – Ann DuHamel
