Shortly after a rather unsuccessful performance of his Piano Concerto #1, Johannes Brahms wrote to Joseph Joachim in 1859: '... a second one will sound different?. Nevertheless, a good 20 years elapsed before that second concerto finally took form, and only in 1881 was he able to announce: 'I wanted to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a tiny little delicate Scherzo?. Our study edition of this by no means small symphonic concerto is based on the musical text in the recently published volume that is part of the Brahms Complete Edition (HN 6020). It is a companion to our piano reduction (HN 1231) and offers all those who wish to study the complex score of this great piano concerto an ideal, practical and affordable means of doing so. / Conducteur De Poche

The Four Hymns are in similar vein to the Five Mystical Songs (1911) although on a smaller and more intimate scale. Together with the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis these form a succession of works displaying a strong mystical, meditative content.The first of the hymns, 'Lord! come away!', employs vigorous Purcellian recitative in a setting of a Palm Sunday text from Bishop Jeremy Taylor's Golden Grove (17th century). 'Who is this fair one?' (Isaac Watts, 1674-1748) is a dialogue for the tenor and viola about divine love. As described by Christopher Palmer, 'Come Love, come Lord' (Richard Crashaw, c1613-49) 'breathes that spirit of mystical remoteness later to inform A Pastoral Symphony?. The final 'Evening Hymn' is a radiant setting of a translation from pre-4th century Greek by Robert Bridges, notable for its contrapuntal expertise over a bell-like basso ostinato.Four Hymns is also available in the version for tenor, viola and piano (979-0-060-02852-6), and the score (978-0-85162-908-7) serves as the vocal score for use with the orchestral version. However, the solo viola part of the orchestral version is incompatible with that for the piano version.Suitable for advanced standard performers. / Conducteur De Poche