New Love Songs Op. 65a

“Johannes brought me some enchanting waltzes on very pretty, predominantly folkloric texts. They are truly very charming (even without the voice) and I play them with great pleasure …” (Clara Schumann in her diary in 1869)

In their piano version without vocal part, the Liebeslieder exert a particular fascination: for despite the fact that the poems are placed above the music, our imagination is stimulated to invent our own personal love song texts. It is unfortunate that Clara Schumann did not note in her diary what she felt when playing this wonderfully athmospheric collection of Neue Liebeslieder …

Joachim Draheim based his revision of this new printing on the Brahms Complete Edition. An extensive preface provides information on the genesis of the work and the reception of the Neue Liebeslieder.