Victor Rosenbaum begins the first of Brahms’s Op 117 Intermezzos at a brisk pace, bringing cross-rhythmic lines to the fore. However, expressive emendations assiduously add up like extra kilos over the holidays, resulting in the main theme recapitulating nearly twice as slowly. The pianist similarly probes No 2 for detail, yet falls short of Arthur Rubinstein’s centred focus and directness. By contrast, No 3’s dark undercurrents absorb Rosenbaum’s propensity for wiggle room.

If you share my view that Op 118 No 1’s main theme is one of Brahms’s most annoying creations, Rosenbaum’s inflated rhetoric will turn you off as well. Yet subtle variations in touch and nuance keep the pianist’s slow tempo in No 2 afloat – by the skin of its teeth! No 3 unfolds at a prosaic chug, while No 4’s interplay between the hands lacks the suppleness and momentum we hear from Kempff, Katchen, Hough, Perahia and dozens of others.

But Rosenbaum’s poetic shaping of the polyphony in No 5’s central episode is nothing less than gorgeous, while he justifies his deliberation over No 6 by intelligent dynamic scaling and allowing the climaxes to fully resonate. The same can be said for Op 119 No 1, although the pianist’s laying into No 2’s accents somewhat pacifies the music’s agitato nature. Unfortunately, Rosenbaum pretentiously underlines and over-points No 3, eradicating any trace of grazioso. He imparts a welcome sense of line to No 4’s block chords but weighs down on the détaché left-hand writing; here Emanuel Ax (Sony, 6/96) achieves better balances between the hands and more overall fluidity. In short, Rosenbaum plays Brahms best when he avoids expounding.