Brahms was just 20 when he penned his passionate, virtuosic Piano Sonata No. 3, but it’s structurally and emotionally ambitious. After a first movement full of his characteristic shifting rhythms comes an Andante evoking a nocturnal love poem, which after a bounding Scherzo makes a darkened reappearance via an extra ‘Rückblick (looking back)’ movement. The finale then pulls together past ideas. By contrast, the Op. 117 Intermezzi are autumnal-feeling, late-career works. Described by Brahms as “three lullabies for my sorrows”, the first is indeed based on a Scots lullaby, while the third is on a Scots love lament. Sorrows remain for the four Klavierstücke Op. 119: a melancholic B minor Adagio full of falling figures; a nervous E minor Andantino (albeit with a warm central waltz); a C major respite for the graceful third; and while No. 4 opens triumphantly in E flat, it ends in minor-keyed angst.