Search - Grieg & Schumann, Freire, Kempe :: Piano Concertos

Outstanding but overlooked recording of the Grieg & Schumann

W. Chiles | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was delighted to find this long out of print recording on amazon and at a fair price. There are numerous recordings, past and ongoing, of these two chestnuts of the piano concerto literature but very few that can hold attention on repeating hearings. Argerich is particularly noted for the Schumann although she is accompanied by the humorless and overrated Harnoncourt. Kovacevich has made a beautiful recording of both the Grieg and Schumann with Colin Davis, but the accompanying BBC Orchestra is not particularly nuanced or up to the best standards of its time.



Andsnes has made at least two recordings of the Grieg concerto with fine accompaniment, but hasn't quite mastered the combination of romantic rubato and maintenance of line demonstrated in this recording by the brilliant Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire. I have seen him in performance with Martha Argerich and he is one of few pianists today that holds and deserves her respect, despite being far less well known.



I searched for this recording on the glowing review of an ARG critic who described it as the finest Grieg Piano Concerto recording ever made. I tend to agree. The Munich Philharmonic, while not world reknown, plays beautifully under Kempe's precise and loving leadership. The late 1960s sound is outstanding even by today's DDD standards and Freire plays both this and the Schumann beautifully. I'd rather major labels dump some of their more current and costly recordings and make this long neglected one available again."