Rudolf Buchbinder, the doyen of Austrian pianists, plays Max Reger’s rarely heard, lovingly crafted transcriptions of his idol Johannes Brahms’s most beautiful lieder, for solo piano. An admirer of Brahms, Reger also dedicated his first symphony to the composer. Buchbinder comments: ‘I found it profoundly moving […] to allow myself to be drawn into the undertow of words that have been cast in musical form.’

Of Brahms Lieder Reger said, 'In the case of such masterpieces, any embellishment and any attempt to introduce a note of brilliance would be an unheard-of act of vandalism. I mean to adopt a different approach by bringing out the vocal line and, where possible, retaining the original accompaniment in the most faithful way that I can!'