Great young pianists will always be with us, but nosing around Naxos Music Library I came upon Alessio Bax and think he stands out from the crowd of ferociously talented players on the scene. The Italian-born pianist has just released a CD of Brahms, (much praised in Gramophone Magazine) and joins a bunch of great Italian pianists (Maurizio Pollini and Maria Tipo come to mind) who have a compelling way with German romantic repertoire, music that in other hands sometimes sounds sluggish and overwrought.
I couldn’t find footage of him playing Brahms, but here’s a nice Bach transcription courtesy of WQRX. (Bax has done a recording of them). Following is a blistering account of the fugue from the Hammerklavier, played for a masterclass with Daniel Barenboim.
Barenboim’s comments are available as well, and together the clips provide an insightful tour of this monumental piece, which Bax already plays at a commanding level.
A Few Reasonable Words 