What more need be said about this playing of music in which Brahms portrayed, in turn, sophisticated Vienna and untamed Hungary? Well, not a great deal. The quicker Waltzes have plenty of vivacity, and the slower ones are lyrical in the right Viennese way. Tempos, textures, phrasing, rubato and pedalling are well managed. Indeed, the playing has a very convincing blend of subtlety and simplicity, and, not for the first time, I admire this artist's judgement as much as her fingers. Try the ninth of these pieces (the gentle D minor) for an example of all her qualities. She treats these 16 pieces as a sequence, as Brahms's key structure allows, and leaves relatively little gap between them. The Hungarian Dances have a darkly surging Magyar energy and sound that are very pleasing: indeed, Biret seems totally at home in this music. The recording, made in the Heidelberg location favoured for this series, is a bit larger than life, but perfectly acceptable. A thoroughly recommendable disc, especially at super-bargain price.

-- Christopher Headington, Gramophone [10/1994]