At the heart of this debut solo album from Kazakhstan-born pianist Samson Tsoy, duo partner of Pavel Kolesnikov, is an exploration of Brahms’s innate relationship with Baroque music – the Handel Variations and the transcription for the left hand of Bach’s D minor Chaconne for solo violin. Nestled around these two pillars are transcriptions of Brahms’s final opuses by two composers who admired him greatly: Busoni and Reger. Such intelligent and thoughtful programming reinforces the fascination with the interrelation between composer and interpreter that Tsoy reveals in his note in the booklet.

It is a great shame, therefore, that much of the playing falls short of high expectations. The Handel Variations get off to a shaky start, uncertain in rhythm and interpretative choices alike. Most of the quieter variations are characterised by a pleasant dolce, but we often lose sight of the theme. Where Tsoy shines most is in creating a grand, rich sonority, as in Var 4, although here the playing is slightly hampered by a cautious tempo. The Fugue lacks a sense of overarching structure, without sufficient attention to finer details to act as compensation. Overall, it misses the mark. For true spontaneity and carefree abandon, one could turn to Arrau (Praga) or Petrov (Olympia), though my personal favourite remains Julius Katchen (Decca).

Busoni’s famous, dramatic transcription of the Chaconne is the polar opposite of Brahms’s unassuming realisation for left hand alone, which transports the music from one instrument’s realm to another to near perfection. It is likely not a coincidence, then, that Tsoy then plays Busoni’s transcriptions of six of Brahms’s Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op 122, which show a similar level of respect for the originals. For me, Tsoy’s Chaconne is the highlight of the album: a compelling performance of a transcription that risks mundanity if not treated with care. Of the Chorale Preludes, Nos 5 and 9 are most persuasive, beautifully voiced and rich in tone – the kind of playing I’d been yearning to hear from the outset.

Having also revered Brahms, Reger’s treatment of the Four Serious Songs, Op 121, is similarly dutiful. Where the chorale melody is woven into the overall texture, perhaps Tsoy does so too intricately, as we often lose the melody altogether; the performance of the second song, ‘Ich wandte mich’, requiring fewer tweaks on Reger’s part, is more convincing. All told, Tsoy is a gifted pianist I look forward to hearing more from, but much of this recording would benefit from a richer tonal exploration and a greater sense of freedom.

This review originally appeared in the SPRING 2025 issue of International Piano