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Johannes Brahms - 8 Klavierstücke op. 76 (1878):

1. Capriccio in F Sharp Minor (Un poco agitato)
2. Capriccio in H Minor (Allegretto non troppo) - (03:31)
3. Intermezzo in A Flat Major (Grazioso) - (06:44)
4. Intermezzo in B Major (Allegretto grazioso) - (09:06)
5. Capriccio in C Sharp Minor (Agitato ma non troppo presto) - (10:53)
6. Intermezzo in A Major (Andante con moto) - (13:45)
7. Intermezzo in A Minor (Moderato semplice) - (17:14)
8. Capriccio in C Major (Grazioso ed un poco vivace) - (20:05)

Gerhard Oppitz, piano

(Live, Radiotre Rai, Auditorium "D. Scarlatti", Napoli, 21 September 1988)

The German pianist, Gerhard Oppitz (Born: February 5, 1953, Frauenau, Bavaria), started playing the piano at 5. He gave his first public concert at the age of 11, performing Mozart's D minor concerto where he was discovered by Paul Buck, professor at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart. He studied with Buck until 1974 when he moved to Munich to attend Hugo Steurer's master-class. In 1973, Gerhard Oppitz met Wilhelm Kempff who soon became his guide and mentor. Wilhelm Kempff invited the young pianist to attend his private master-class in Positano where he coached him in the sonatas and concertos of L. v. Beethoven. Wilhelm Kempff was impressed by the striking similarities in their interpretative outlooks. It was Wilhelm Kempff's own wish that after his death, Gerhard Oppitz should continue the German musical tradition that linked them so closely.
Gerhard Oppitz' own career opened up internationally in 1977 when he became the first German to win the coveted Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv. This achievement and quasi political event led to concert tours across Europe, Japan and the USA. In 1978, he recorded the first of many discs, and the same year was offered a post as professor at the Munich Musikhochschule. Initially concerned that this activity would clash with his concert engagements, he finally, in 1981, accepted to teach a master-class, becoming the youngest professor in the history of the Musikhochschule.
Gerhard Oppitz performs over eighty recitals and concerts a year, playing with the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, with conductors including Carlo Maria Giulini, Sir Colin Davis, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Dmitri Kitaenko, Horst Stein, Marek Janowski, Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt and Sir Neville Marriner.
Gerhard Oppitz has a wide and diverse repertoire. He has performed over 17 complete J. Brahms cycles in most of the major cities of Europe including London, Geneva, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Munich, Paris, Milan, Rome, Berlin, as well as in Tokyo, and elsewhere. Gerhard Oppitz has earned a reputation in the performance of contemporary music, particularly in works by Lutoslawski, Ligeti, Veerhoff, Pierre Boulez, Messiaen and Stockhausen.