Inmost Heart in Bloomington, MN

This 2025 release on the
Linn Records
label is the debut solo album by pianist
Samson Tsoy
, until now known for his work with pianist
Pavel Kolesnikov
. The album made classical best-seller lists early that year, and it elicits an appetite for further solo work from
Tsoy
. The title is rather general, and the program consists of
Brahms
works that are familiar enough, but a look at the graphics suggests the deeper things that
is up to.
Ferruccio Busoni
and
Max Reger
get full placement on it, even though they are present "just" as arrangers of
' late works, the
Chorale Preludes, Op. 122
(
' last work), and the
Vier Ernste Gesänge, Op. 121
. The third arranger present is
himself, who made the
Bach
Chaconne from the
Partita No. 2 for solo violin, BWV 1004
, into a work for a pianist using her left hand alone (the dedicatee was
Clara Schumann
). At the center of the program are the
Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, Op. 24
. It is a work that is sometimes compared to
's
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
, and
Beethoven
Diabelli Variations, Op. 120
, but it is a different kind of thing, hardly departing from its home key and emerging as a deep exploration of register, density, and motion. The booklet here points out that
was inspired by
Schumann
's dictum that the musical future should be a "higher echo of the past," and indeed,
's program sweeps from
Handel
to the early 20th century in a way that departs from usual historical narratives and shows why even
Wagner
admired the
Handel Variations
(he rather grudgingly said they show "what can still be done with the old forms by someone who knows how to handle them"). A fascinating album that resonates with a unique understanding of musical history. ~ James Manheim