This is one of the most distinguished discs of Brahms's piano music that I have heard in recent years. Jorge Federico Osorio was born in Mexico and came under the tutelage of such pianists as the late Nadia Reisenberg and Wilhelm Kempff. It is the playing of the latter that seems to have been the most influential: in the realm of sensitivity to details of tonal shading Osorio's Brahms has much of the appeal of the old Meister. The choice of works is also pleasantly balanced, for though all are early, there is a wide range of emotional expression and exploitation of form.
Osorio's tone and his balancing of sonorities show an exceptional clarity in terms of what he wishes to accomplish with the music. From the very first bars of the theme of the Handel Variations one is assured of his sense of style and his disciplined, yet pliable approach to tempo. The firmness of his chord piaying in Var. 4, the feeling for imitation of orchestral colour in No. 9 and the poise of the bird-like trills of No. 22 all point to a major artist who can draw on a panoply of pianistic resources with which to express his musical thoughts. He completely avoids making the Fugue sound pompous or spectacular—here it arises naturally from the classical shape of Brahms's treatment of variation form.
I think ASV should have made a slightly longer break before one is launched into the four Ballades, Op. 10. Osorio is equally level-headed in these pieces and the real identification with the Brahms piano sound is impressive. The blend of delicacy and power contained within the extraordinary reflective core of this music is achieved with ease. The last Ballade, often taken too slowly (an unreleased disc of the piece played by Ilona Eibenschutz, a friend of Brahms, shows just how wide of the mark most modern performances are), displays Osorio's ability to shape a melody with unaffected simplicity. His respect for the muslc is never in question.
The Schumann Variations are not heard that often, and this is sad, as the work has a concentrated depth of involvement with the tragedy of Schumann's life that is a moving reflection of the relationship between the two composers. The theme is taken from the simply written ''Albumblatt'' in F sharp minor from the Bunte Blatter, Op. 99. The 16 short variations are carefully marked regarding tempo and the pianist follows these meticulously. One can sense Schumann's mind at the point of breaking in Var. 5. The dissonances from the theme are highlighted by Osorio with great subtlety when they reappear in the variations. Osorio's technical mastery allows one to listen to the music without any impediment and he uses every aspect of his abilities to ensure that each variation sounds different. This is a wonderful performance that re-establishes this work in my mind as being quite equal to the better-known sets of variations.
The sound on this CD is really excellent. Brahms's piano music demands quite a spacious acoustic with a resonant bass and it has received this here.'