Though Ivo Pogorelich has been represented in the catalogue for some years now, his recorded repertory remains small and I have not previously heard him in Brahms. On the evidence of this new issue, he is interesting in this composer's music rather than authoritative. At the start of his programme, he takes the F sharp minor Capriccio extremely deliberately, with the dotted crotchet beat mostly at well under 40 to the minute: this is, to say the least, unorthodox as a reading of the marking un poco agitato. The beautiful A major Intermezzo of Op. 118 which follows is grotesquely slow for music marked Andante, so much so, indeed, that it seems to go on for ever. Not for the first time, sadly, one finds oneself wondering whether this gifted artist is less concerned with truthful interpretation of the music than with the demonstration of his own pianism, which in itself is unquestionably of much refinement.
The B minor Rhapsody goes no better. Though its basic tempo (when perceptible) is about right, the delivery varies constantly, Pogorelich's idiosyncratic rubato—if that is the word for such a procedure—is laid on throughout with a trowel, if not a shovel. Even the opening phrase suffers, and the pianist then goes on to mete out similar treatment to that of the G minor Rhapsody. The three pieces of Op. 117 fare a little better, but by this I only mean that the performances are less unsatisfying, not to say irritating. The quality of unselfconscious delivery is sadly lacking in this programme overall. So is momentum, and collectors may care to note that its seven not very long pieces together take up 53 minutes. Though the recording lets one hear the pianist's tonal finesse, I fear that this issue is one to be acquired for curiosity value only. Caveat emptor.'