Brahms: Handel Variations op 24, Six Piano Pieces op 118, Two Rhapsodies op 79 (CBS)
Emanuel Ax obviously knows exactly what to do with all of this music, but he doesn't  do it consistently. He plays the difficult Variations with everything perfectly in place, an amazing  pianistic feat in itself. This work has some excitement and grand climaxes built into it, and Ax  minimizes them, giving us Brahms sounding politer than the composer may have intended. He  obviously does what he does on purpose, since he whips up exciting climaxes in the Rhapsodies.  He also plays the late Piano Pieces very beautifully, almost enough reason in itself to buy the disc.  But compare what Leon Fleisher does with the Variations (Sony MH2K 63225).--Leslie  Gerber