Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

Leonard Bernstein (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Glenn Gould (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra), Glenn Gould (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Glenn Gould
• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Leonard Bernstein, Johannes Brahms, Glenn Gould
• Audio CD (September 22, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000C28M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,545 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Newly remastered from a Voice of America mono off-line aircheck, one hears more detail and ambiance here than in previous reissues of this controversial performance taped live at Carnegie Hall April 6th, 1962. The conductor's infamous "disclaimer" disassociating himself from Glenn Gould's slow tempi is preserved along with a snippet from an interview in which Gould defends both his interpretation and Bernstein's actions. The first movement starts slow, but insidiously speeds up to a tempo not far from the norm. Flickering in and out of Bernstein's turgid orchestral backdrop, Gould downplays the music's fiery intensity, seeking to emphasize its meditative qualities and contrapuntal implications. If Sony wanted to issue a Gould Brahms D- Minor, why not the more incisive, and far better-engineered October 1962 Baltimore version? --Jed Distler

USA Today

The year was 1962, and the notoriously iconoclastic pianist Gould arrived at the New York Philharmonic with some of the slowest tempos anybody had ever heard in this concerto. Some of the slowness seems labored, but mostly it's justified because Gould had so much to say about the piece that he needed more room to say it in.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CD with historical importance, December 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

After seeming some of the more tepid reviews of this CD, I felt obliged to come to its defense. The historical value of this CD alone merits 5 stars. Bernstein's speech in the beginning is very interesting (although I'm not a Bernstein fan) and the portion of an interview at the end with Glenn Gould (and I'm a big Gould fan)is also very interesting. In between was what I thought was a great performance of Brahms by two outstanding musicians. The sound quality is understandably not up to 21st century levels, but it pretty good by mid-20th century technological standards. According to the excellent linear notes that comes with this CD, Bernstein may have been strongly influenced by Gould's interpretation of Brahms. It seems Glenn had the last laugh!

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eccentric? Perhaps, but so what?, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

I bought this disc because of Bernstein's famous speech and to hear just what was so bad about what Gould had done. I had never liked Brahms First Concerto before, despite being very favorably disposed toward Brahms in general and his Second Concerto in particular. I had listened to at least three different recordings before discovering this one, and lo and behold, upon hearing it the piece made sense to me for the first time. What more can I say?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mainly for historical reasons, April 7, 2006

By 

CD Maniac (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

Love it or hate it, the main reason for the release is for historical reasons. The performance, and especially Bernstein's pre-performance remarks, caused a huge controversy in the press, and the story has been relayed ever since.
This recoding, and the excellent liner notes, correct a lot of misconceptions: Gould was in favor of Bernstein's remarks; Gould's interpretation is no longer considered exceptionally slow by today's standards (meaning the Gould must have had some effect on a few of today's artists). It is fascinating to hear what all the commotion was about.
The most interesting part is that the critics fared the worst in the judgement of time: the critic from the New York Times absolutely seems ridiculous (in his review that was written in the form of a letter to an imaginary friend!) with his snide remarks that come off as a cranky senior citizen criticizing the youngsters on the stage. And the fact that so many other newspapers picked up the story as if it was a boxing match.
Reagrdless of recording quality (originally meant to be a mono radio broadcast), this is a fascinating performance that documents a very interesting concert in the history of an American conductor and orchesetra, and deserves this wide release. It shouldn't be the only recording of this Brahms concerto you should have, but it should sit right next to it.