Brahms CD 33 begins on a somber note with Hungarian Dance No. 11 in D minor.

Of course, we all know what Spinal Tap‘s Nigel Tufnel says about D minor.

Here’s the scene:

[Nigel is playing a soft piece on the piano]

Marty DiBergi: It’s very pretty.

Nigel Tufnel: Yeah, I’ve been fooling around with it for a few months.

Marty DiBergi: It’s a bit of a departure from what you normally play.

Nigel Tufnel: It’s part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I’m working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don’t know why.

Marty DiBergi: It’s very nice.

Nigel Tufnel: You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like – I’m really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it’s sort of in between those, really. It’s like a Mach piece, really. It’s sort of…

Marty DiBergi: What do you call this?

Nigel Tufnel: Well, this piece is called “Lick My Love Pump”.

No wonder today’s Brahms CD starts off somber. D minor is the saddest key of all.

But it doesn’t stay somber. Other compositions are downright lively.

The pianist on today’s CD is Louis Demetrius Alvanis. He does a fine job with all of these odds and ends from Brahms’ repertoire.

I’m gonna have to classify this as a Favorite!