Honens @ Home: Karim Said performs Brahms

At the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, Semifinalist
Karim Said performed Theme and Variations in D minor Op. 18b by
Joannes Brahms, an arrangement of his first string sextet.  


Brahms was joined by Clara Schumann at the premiere of his String
Sextet No. 1 in B-sharp Major Op. 18. She loved it and asked him
to arrange the slow movement for solo piano. He obliged, and gave
it to her in time for her birthday in 1860. 


This arrangement is "full of Brahms' typical subtleties of
structure and melodic and harmonic beauty," (Steven Coburn,
AllMusic) so it isn't surprising that Brahms, himself, was very
fond of the piece.

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Watch the video edition of this excerpt at honens.com/home.