Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Franck: Symphonic Variations / Litolff: Concerto Symphonique

Brahms (Composer), Franck (Composer), Litolff (Composer), Szell (Conductor), Boult (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Curzon (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Curzon
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Szell, Boult
• Composer: Brahms, Franck, Litolff
• Audio CD (August 13, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0000041V9
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,738 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pno Con No.1 d, Op.15: I Maestoso - LPO/George Szell

2. Pno Con No.1 d, Op.15: II Adagio - LPO/George Szell

3. Pno Con No.1 d, Op.15: III Rondo-Allegro Non Troppo - LPO/George Szell

4. Sym Var For Pno & Orch - Clifford Curzon

5. Scherzo - Clifford Curzon

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Another of the great performances of this concerto, György Szell's accompaniments are as pointed and urgent as ever, while Sir Clifford Michael Curzon's contribution is compellingly aristocratic. Of all the great piano concertos, this one is the hardest to do well. It is very long, very difficult, yet totally lacking in the kind of virtuoso fireworks that are the concert pianist's bread and butter. More to the point, the opening theme of the first movement, which sounds splendidly angry played by the orchestra, sounds like some silly, bar-room honky-tonk on the piano. Of course, Brahms actually played piano in bars along the Hamburg docks for years, so maybe something rubbed off...? Anyway, suffice it say that it's not easy music, and these guys really know what they're doing. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great remastering of a deserved classic, August 23, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Franck: Symphonic Variations / Litolff: Concerto Symphonique (Audio CD)

David Hurwitz makes some silly comments in his Amazon review, but he's on target about ow good this CD is. Agreeing with all the accolades heaped on this 1962 recording of the Brahms First Concerto is easy, but not many reviewers here have captured what makes this performance special. Clifford Curzon never relied upon power and flash; he was a modest man and a scrupulous musician steeped in European style. His Brahms First is magical because he finds a sensitive, lyrical way of phrasing every bar. Instead of crashing and bagning, which even the best pianists are tempted to do in order to compete with Brahms' thick, overbearing orchestration, Curzon plays forcefully but without excessive bravura.

This proves a triumphant way to approach the thorny first movement, even in a field where sensitive readings from Barenboim and Fleisher, among others, also avoid showmanship and keyboard bagning. Curzon profound, inward reading is aided by Szell, who reins in the orchestral part--there's no attempt to make the noisy opening of the first movement storm the heavens. I'm grateful to discover such a singing performance, which has been captured in amazingly natural, life-like sound by Decca.

Note: This same coupling and remastering can be had in Decca's Legends series. I'd go for the cheapest copy I could find on the used market.

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous recording, from start to finish, October 30, 2011

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Franck: Symphonic Variations / Litolff: Concerto Symphonique (Audio CD)

From the first beat of this colossal piano concert - one of the most demanding of pianistic literature indeed - one can feel this aristocratic atmosphere, diamond fingering and restrained expression that never exceeds the boundaries of formal romanticism. Curzon at the piano and Szell in the podium built an admirable conception of this celebrated work, without ever incurring excessively dramatic or theatrical postures. Curzon's piano playing is the most representative of the English school. Cortes, refined, dispassionate, without the rigid formality of German pianism. Moreover, Szell permeates the work of a strong vitality and mystery that is nocturnal revealed through the score. The level at which this score was taken somehow still remains insulated from all other versions I've heard. From there, his legendary reputation by critics and mass audiences.

Symphonic Variations are interpreted and perfumed lyricism and shining splendor without falling into those finicky cantabile so characteristic of renowned pianists. In my view, this version is in second place behind the hitherto unsurpassed interpretation of Ivan Moravec (Supraphon label) accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vaclav Neumann.

Finally, Curzon interprets the expression Litolff for this spring, full of inspired brilliance so typical of the Romantic movement.

In addition, a CD that should have anyone who loves great music. It senciallamente anthology and one of the recordings of the twentieth century, no doubt.