Johannes Brahms: Ballade op. 10 no. 4

A few years back, I heard a recording by Illona Eibenschütz, playing this piece fiercely fast. I was very intrigued, and it was different from anything I had ever heard. Brahms was free and moving. Later, I discovered the other students by Clara Schumann, who all played Brahms as an actual romantic composer. During the 19th centrury, there were two "schools" developing; one was the rather progressive one, with Liszt, Wagner, and such composers. The other was the conservative school that followed in the footsteps of Beethoven. This is all good and well, but at the same time, I suspect critics and other musical figures started portraying these two schools in ways that surely wasn't beneficial for either of them. The non-germanic composers, such as Liszt were often seen as vulgar and "showy", while the conservatives were the "intellectual" ones. Anyone who has studied anything by Liszt knows that he was incredibly knowledgeable, and that his "flashy" passages very often has a strong musical motif. While it's clearly unfair to call Brahms the opposite of intellectual, there are plenty of sources witnessing his playing. It's often described as improvisatory and free, and not at all stiff and square. That's a part of Brahms I'm eager to explore! I hope you enjoy this recording, of Brahms fourth ballade from his op 10.