Johannes Brahms - Solo Piano Works (Jimin Oh-Havenith)

Information

Composer: Johannes Brahms

CD1

• Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
• Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9
• Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1

CD2

• Chaconne by J.S. Bach. Arranged for left hand alone. Studies for Piano No. 5, Anh. 1a/1
• 4 Ballades, Op. 10
• 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79
• Waltzes, Op. 39

CD3

• Piano Pieces, Op. 76: Nos. 4, 6 & 7
• Fantasies, Op. 116: Nos. 2, 4, 5 & 6
• 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117
• Piano Pieces, Op. 118: Nos. 2, 5 & 6
• Piano Pieces, Op. 119: No. 1, Intermezzo in B Minor. Adagio

Jimin Oh-Havenith, piano

Date: 2025

Label: audite Musikproduktion

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Ferruccio Busoni considered Johannes Brahms—alongside Alkan, Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann—among the greatest composers of piano music after Beethoven, a view still reflected today. Pianist Jimin Oh-Havenith continues her exploration of Romantic repertoire with a new Brahms anthology, focusing on variations and character pieces composed after his early piano sonatas. The album features works such as the Handel Variations, Ballades, Rhapsodies, and late Intermezzi, showcasing Brahms’ inventive use of piano sound, technique, and expressive depth. It also highlights his virtuosity as a composer-pianist through his demanding left-hand transcription of Bach’s Chaconne from the Partita in D minor.

Jimin Oh-Havenith, born December 27, 1960, in Seoul, South Korea, studied piano with Jin-Woo Chung at Seoul National University and later with Aloys Kontarsky at the Musikhochschule Köln. Renowned for her exceptional sonority and fidelity to the score, her playing combines warmth with rhythmic precision, bringing clarity and vitality to the music. She has performed widely as a soloist, in radio and CD recordings, and as a piano duo with her late husband Raymund Havenith. She has taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Mainz and Frankfurt, and since 2013 has resumed her solo performance career.