BBC Radio 3 is to broadcast the first performance of a recently discovered ‘unknown’ Brahms piano work on Saturday, January 21 at 12:15 in Music Matters presented by Tom Service.
Albumblatt, the short piece which lasts two minutes was written in 1853 when Brahms was just 20. It was found by conductor and musicologist Christopher Hogwood as he looked through a music collection in the United States.
BBC Radio 3 recorded the work for the first time with the celebrated Hungarian pianist András Schiff and, in what will be a global premiere, will broadcast Albumblatt as part of an interview with Christopher Hogwood about the discovery. Andras Schiff who was asked by Radio 3 to be the first to perform the piece will also be interviewed in the programme.
As the home of classical music, BBC Radio 3 is honoured to be the first to broadcast this rare work. I know that our millions of listeners will enjoy this exclusive premiere. Albumblatt is an incredible discovery which gives a fascinating insight into the workings of this great composer.”
Following the premiere on BBC Radio 3, a behind-the-scenes video of the recording will be available on BBC Radio 3’s website www.bbc.co.uk/radio3 after the programme transmits.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.
This is rather amazing: Unknown Brahms piano work to be unveiled by the BBC in a performance by András Schiff http://t.co/sJ2muAqZ
Awesome: RT @gramilano: Unknown Brahms piano work to be unveiled by the BBC in a performance by András Schiff: http://t.co/jtk9N0X4 #
An interesting program but mostly fatuous! It’s been revealed that Hogwood did not “discover” the piece but was shown it by an eminent broadcaster in America, having been discovered by a Brahmsian in Germany before its true premier in April 2010.