BRAHMS: PIANO MUSIC Stephen Hough – piano Hyperion CDA67237 £££ Piano Sonata No. 3 in f minor op. 5, Four Ballades op. 10; TPT 59'

Readings of honesty, integrity and unquestionable musicianship and pianism, but they do not reveal all the secrets of these emotionally-complicated pieces.

This is the youthful Brahms, lean and hungry, gaunt, even, an impression emphasised by Hyperion's recording, light in the bass and bright in the treble. Stephen Hough takes considerable care over Brahms' piano writing, constantly clarifying and lightening, bringing out the simpler song-like textures rather than the darker, more dramatic side of this complex music.

It is an approach which works well in the Four Ballades. On the evidence of these pieces, Hough would be a stunning Lieder pianist – his greatest strengths are subtlety of tonal shading and his ability to suggest power without obfuscation. These are straightforward, sane recordings. Hough could perhaps have responded more acutely to the leggiero marking in the central section of the second ballade, and the fourth is somewhat lacking in the requested espressivo and con moto, making the più lento episode (and Brahms' playful disruption of the triple-time metre in bars 89-114) too slow to register. The third ballade, however, is particularly successful, fantasy and imagination to the fore.

The f minor piano sonata does need a more purely exciting approach, at least in the first movement. Brahms' tempo marking is Allegro maestoso, although he subsequently admitted that moderato would be closer to his intentions. Hough is slower again, and his reluctance to indulge in rubato makes the jigsaw of an exposition hold together somewhat uneasily. Comparison with Julius Katchen (1962, Decca 452-338-2) is instructive – Katchen has the same basic pulse, but he permits himself more expressive warmth (bar 39 onwards), a hint of broadening at the sostentuo (bar 47), and a pesante at bar 53, which allows the accelerando at bar 56 to flow more naturally. And there is more purely visceral excitement too – Hough sounds merely cautious at the octave passage, which heralds the start of the development.

There are no such problems in either the Scherzo or Finale: Hough finds exactly the right balance between weight and schwung, which Brahms' scherzo requires, and the finale is quite thrilling. Hough's clarity here pays dividends (listen to the fortissimo e molto agitato at bar 226 and the con fuoco at bar 309), but, more importantly, the essential elements of virtuosity and physicality, curiously absent from the opening movement, are present here and drive the sonata to its triumphant conclusion.

These are readings of honesty and integrity, of unquestionable musicianship and pianism. They do not reveal all the secrets of these emotionally-complicated pieces, but they deserve to be heard and are, at their best, compelling. A disc to ponder on.

David Jones