Brahms: Piano Sonata No 3 / Handel Variations

"His warmth and sincerity combine with a superbly assured and powerful technique to create one of the finest performances [of the F minor Sonata] on record...His Handel Variations, too, are subtly and economically inflected, never searching for easy glamour or effect...One could hardly wish for more and I can scarcely wait for further volumes from this pianist, adding that both the piano concertos positively cry out for his attention." Gramophone Magazine: Editor's Choice - February 2013

British pianist Jonathan Plowright makes his début recording on BIS. Hailed by Gramophone as 'one of the finest living pianists', Plowright is recognised worldwide as a truly exceptional artist.

Brahms's Piano Sonata No. 3 is heroic in scale, unconventional in layout and exudes high quality making it one of the most impressive sonatas since those of Beethoven and Schubert.

Brahms never wrote another piano sonata after completing No. 3 but instead concentrated on a series of large-scale sets of variations, among which the Handel Variations must be considered his crowning achievement. Completed in September 1861 the work shows Brahms at the height of his powers