Maurizio Reyes joined the Musicians' Company Young Artists' Programme after he was awarded our Carnwath Piano Scholarship in 2020. Here he performs three capriccios by Brahms: Op. 76, No. 1, 2 and 5. Maurizio says: "I chose to perform these works because they show the struggle one can face during a turbulent time. It is about a man who couldn’t be with his beloved, and yet, would still dedicate this music to her. In essence, his love became more profound in her absence. During his stay in the lovely village of Pörtschach in the summer of 1879, Brahms worked diligently on his Violin Concerto, but he also returned to composing piano pieces, resulting in the Klavierstücke, op. 76. He had produced no piano works for public consumption in fifteen years, but had not abandoned his principal instrument completely as seen by the first of these pieces, which he had originally presented to Clara Schumann as a birthday present in 1871. The eight Klavierstücke, op. 76, are divided into two main types: the faster, more extroverted Capriccios — Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 8 — and the slower, more introspective Intermezzos — Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 7. Brahms invented such a variety of characters within each type, however, that the designations remain only loose categorizations. The first Capriccio, in F-sharp minor, and the second, in B minor, for example, could hardly be more different. The first is a swirling, turbulent piece, whereas the famous second Capriccio presents a lighthearted, sometimes impish demeanor. The powerful Capriccio in C-sharp minor, No. 5, displays one of Brahms’s favorite rhythmic devices—the simultaneous use of 6/8 and 3/4 meter. The wonderful tension this creates is abetted by intense chromaticism. The second theme begins in a waiting pattern of repeated octaves, then bursts out in lively figuration." Maurizio Reyes was born in Bogotá (Colombia) in 1997. At the age of eight he began his piano studies in Spain at the prestigious Father Antonio Soler Integrated Music Center in San Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid) under the tutelage of Professor FE del Campo. In 2015 he completed his studies at the center, having specialised in Piano and won the BEST PIANIST award in his graduating class. Since 2016 Maurizio has been a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in the class of Professor Fali Pavri. Having graduated with distinction in June 2020, he is now in the Masters program at the RCS studying with Prof. Pavri and Sasa Donaldson. -------------------------------------------------- Musicians' Company Profile - http://www.wcom.org.uk/yeoman/maurizio-reyes About our Carnwath Piano Scholarship - https://www.wcom.org.uk/awards/the-carnwath-piano-scholarship Maurizio's Website - http://www.maurizioreyes.com Maurizio's Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/maurizioreyes -------------------------------------------------- Join our weekly #MiddayMusic e-news at http://eepurl.com/dv0ccr #MiddayMusic is supported by generous donations from the public, along with funds from the Musicians' Company’s Prince’s Prize which received a generous endowment in 2015 from The Eranda Rothschild Foundation and Rothschilds Bank, in memory of Leopold de Rothschild, a Liveryman of the Musicians’ Company for over 50 years. Donate to support The Musicians' Company Young Artists - http://www.justgiving.com/musicianscompanyfund