![]() But Kovacevich’s poise at the close of the Adagio, like some glorious sunset slowly sinking into oblivion, is unforgettable and his blistering pace in the finale is characteristically trenchant and exhilarating. In the First Concerto others may burn with an even whiter heat or play with greater breadth and grandeur. His Brahms concertos with Colin Davis have always stood the test of time and once more take their place among the finest recordings. This superb reissue is a timely reminder of Stephen Kovacevich’s stature as one of the great musicians of our time. Stephen Kovacevich pf London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis (Newton Classics) Recorded 1979 & 1983 To find the perfect subscription for you, simply visit: .uk/subscribe Subscribing to Gramophone is easy, you can choose how you want to enjoy each new issue (our beautifully produced printed magazine or the digital edition, or both) and also whether you would like access to our complete digital archive (stretching back to our very first issue in April 1923) and unparalleled Reviews Database, covering 50,000 albums and written by leading experts in their field. We have been writing about classical music for our dedicated and knowledgeable readers since 1923 and we would love you to join them. As for the Seven Piano Pieces, Gilels viewed the opus as a single piece, a musical novella in several chapters. Other interpreters have perhaps probed a little deeper here and there neither concerto rests content with a single interpretation, the Second especially. It might be added that Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic make plain sailing where others struggle with choppy cross-currents (admittedly sometimes to Brahms’s advantage) and that the recordings don’t sound their age. ![]() The booklet-notes make reference to the original Gramophone review, in which Gilels and Jochum were praised for ‘a rapt songfulness that in no way detracts from Brahms’s heroism, and so comes closer to that unique and complex combination of attitudes that for me is Brahms more than any other performances of these concertos I have ever heard, on records or otherwise’. Seven Piano Pieces, Op 116Įmil Gilels pf Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Eugen Jochum (DG) Recorded 1972-75 Just as the Szell/Cleveland cycles with Serkin and Fleisher, and Gilels/Jochum (reviewed below) were benchmarks in their day, these gorgeously engineered, stunningly executed and temperamentally generous performances will stand as points of reference for generations to come. No doubt that the presence of an audience fuels the palpable give and take between soloist and conductor. In Chailly’s hands, a genuine chamber music aesthetic consistently governs the lustrous warmth of Brahms’s underrated orchestrations, to say nothing of the heights to which the conductor has led his revitalised Leipzig Gewandhaus ensemble.īalanced within the orchestra as an equal partner, Freire is completely on top of and inside both works’ solo parts, from No 1’s fervent yet cogently shaped octave outbursts and the B flat’s graceful, light-footed finale to both slow movements’ unforced simplicity, organic flow and freedom from sentimentality. Timpani and brass proudly step up to the fore in both concertos, while frequently buried lines emerge from the gnarly textures with uncommon clarity and specificity. The D minor’s headlong opening tutti updates Szell/Cleveland’s patented fire and brimstone (Sony) with a warmth of tone that manages to convey both line and mass as few others do. Nelson Freire and Riccardo Chailly offer interpretations that triumphantly fuse immediacy and insight, power and lyricism, and incandescent virtuosity that leaves few details unturned, yet always with the big picture in clear sight. This is the Brahms piano concerto set we’ve been waiting for. Nelson Freire pf Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig / Riccardo Chailly (Decca) Recorded live 2005-06 Piano Concertos Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 To find out more about subscribing to this unique and endlessly fascinating resource, visit: .uk/subscribe. We have also included extracts from the original Gramophone reviews, drawn from Gramophone's Reviews Database. There have been many outstanding recordings of Brahms's music, far too many to include here, but the albums listed below will give you the best possible way of beginning or continuing your journey through Brahms's music. The list is organised by genre, beginning with concertos and symphonies, then moving though chamber, instrumental, and finally vocal works. Johannes Brahms's many masterpieces have a confidence and ebullience, an irresistible lyricism and melodic charm, and show no sign of losing their appeal more than 120 years after his death.
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