Search - Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bernard Haitink, Concertbouw Orchestra :: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

Brahms, Ashkenazy, And Haitink

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 02/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johannes Brahms was not a composer who showed much confidence early on in his career, at least as far as large-scale orchestral forms were concerned. Take for instance what we know to be his Piano Concerto No. 1, which premiered in 1859. This work began as a sonata for two pianos, and then Brahms considered developing it into a symphony. But the shadow of Beethoven's nine essays in the symphonic form dogged Brahms so much that his First Symphony didn't appear for almost two decades. It finally emerged into this turbulent and elongated D Minor concerto and, despite receiving a fairly frigid reception at its premiere, it is a work that has come to be seen as Brahms' first true large-scale orchestral masterpiece.



And while there have been dozens upon dozens of recordings of this concerto, Vladimir Ashkenazy's 1981 recording of it is a stand-out. As home with Brahms as he is with the piano works of his fellow Russians Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, Ashkenazy engages in the stormy passages of the first and third movements with considerable drama, and navigates through the largely tranquil waters of the Adagio with a great deal of poignancy and tenderness. He gets great support here from conductor Bernard Haitink and the world-famous Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, who are not unfamiliar with Brahms' orchestral masterpieces. Despite it being more than a quarter of a century since it was made, the recording still stands out thanks to the engineers at London/Decca, who had a good handle on the acoustics of the Concertgebouw; each aspect of this nearly 49 minute-long recording shines.



An essential recording for lovers of piano concertos in general, and Brahms in particular."