Customer Reviews

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first problem with this performance manifests itself in the third bar of the piano entrance: Zimerman preciously slooows down the last phrase of his opening. While rubato is common, of course, this stress point comes at the very beginning, and to my ears it's not yet *earned.* Nothing's happened yet, but already Zimerman is highlighting the "drama." What drama? It's as though a character enters the first scene of a play already comes on stage chewing the scenery. And that in a nutshell describes what's wrong with this performance. The drama feels forced, studied. Beautifully-played, with some fine moments (the beginning of the development in the first movement, the extremely warm, almost prayerful sound of the orchestra in the adagio just before Zimerman starts banging away ham-fisted with his return), this is still not a very remarkable performance, especially when it swims in a sea with the likes of Gilels/Jochum, Kovacevich/Davis, and Curzon/Boult.

But both Rattle and especially Zimerman peel the layers of the onion a bit too much, instead of living the music and bringing things to a simmer and then a boil. And baby, does this work ever need to boil. But the performers are too busy counting granules of spice rather than stirring the pot and savoring the dish. There's a little too much lin-ger-ing, too many instances of de-li-ber-ate phra-sing. And there are times, such as the counter theme of the first movement, where Rattle tries to slow things down so much that we seem to get into a timeless, tempoless place, a Furtwanglerian spirituality--except that he can't pull it off like Furtwangler could. The result sags rather than induces reveries. Someone else here said this is a more lyrical and subdued PC1. Except, other conductors have pulled off this type of idea better.

In the liner notes Zimerman states that he listened to 80 recordings of the concerto before embarking on this project. (I didn't know there were that many, unless he also has private performances in his collection.) Maybe that's the problem. Sometimes it's best to think less and feel more. The three stars are mainly for superb orchestral playing from the Berliners and isolated sparking moments. With so many great recordings of this on my shelf, however, it remains to be seen if this one will stay there. [Post Script months later: it hasn't.] I really feel bad giving 2 1/2 stars to one of the greatest pianists playing with one of the greatest conductors and one of the greatest orchestras in a work all of them seem born to play, but that's about all the enthusiasm I can muster. The recent Nelson Freire/Riccardo Chailly/Gewandhaus Orchestra recording on Decca, free-spirited with lots of give-and-take, blows this out of the water--in large part because they were *playing* while Zimmie and Rattle were thinking.

In this very fine new release the great numbers of fine recordings of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 have stiff competition! Though doubtless we each have our 'favorite' recording of this mighty piece, take note that this is one performance that should be added to everyone's library.

Krystian Zimerman plays like a man possessed - not demonically, though he does know how to plumb those depths, but as a pianist who innately understands the grand architecture of this work. He produces more sound from the piano than is reasonably possible and yet in the lyrical second movement he literally reduces his tone to a whisper. His technique and his interpretation are wondrous.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic with not only a romantic fervor but also a keen ear for communication with the soloist. Not knowing how many times these two fine artists have collaborated, it would seem that they have performed this work frequently to gain such a unified approach.

The acoustic of the recording is excellent technically, giving all the more reason to applaud this very superb new recording. Recommended without hesitation. Grady Harp, May 06

I had extremely high expectations for this recording considering the fine quality of Zimerman's playing and the new level to which Sir Simon has taken the BPO in the last few recordings he released with the group(Debussy, Dvorak, Schubert, Strauss). However, no matter how high my expectations were, this recording far exceeded them. I was blown away by the vehement intensity of the first movement. The power with which Zimerman plays perfectly matches that of the greatest orchestra in the world. However, never lacking in gentle lyricism, Zimerman plays the second movement with a grace the like of the controversial Curzon/Szell recording. Zimerman's trills in the cadenza of this movement gave me chills, and the intensity in the recap of the A section from him, and the low strings of the orchestra, is unparalleled. The third movement has all of the emotional quality necessary, and the clarity of Bach's 48(after which Brahms modeled this movement's contrpunctal theme). It made me wish Zimerman had some Bach recordings, and maybe he will someday. Rattle's clarity of line, and the warm, rich, and deep sound he got from the orchestra were fresh and alive and seemed to say to his critics that he has finally found his "sound" with the BPO. This recording is an instant classic and should be on everyone's shelf!

One thing must be said, this Brahms First Concerto from Zimerman and Rattle is one of a kind. No one to my knowledge has ever ground to a halt for the cantabile section of the first movement's introduction as Rattle does, or tiptoeed with such breathless sighs through the Adagio (which the star-struck Amazon reviewer calls the Andante). Zimerman has a history with this concerto, which he recorded early on in his career under Bernstein. He has decided to atone for that effort, which now displeases him, by listening, so the notes inform us, to 80 different recordings of the concerto before making this CD.

It's a marvel he didn't totally destroy his conception of the work. In fact he didn't. There are lots of expressive ideas from the soloist here, and each listener will have to decide whether conductor and soloist are indulging themselves by playing no four bars in a rrow at the same tempo, finding nuance around every corner in place of direct expression, and throwing alternating whispers and thunder at us without warning.

I find it all pretty baffling, but two things stand out. The Berlin Phil. is in spectacular form, and DG has provided demonstration-quality sound. If you want to jump under the lid of a grand piano going full speed, here's your chance.

The first mvmt actually sent shivers down my spine, something that has not happened to me while listeing to this work in a long time. I believe Zimerman to be one of the, if not the, most relieable virtuso in classic music today, and this disc was beyond the high expectations I had already set. But it wasnt Zimerman's playing that sent shivers through me, it was an orchestral moment, superbly played by Rattle. His pacing is slow and full bodied, letting the music's powerful energy accumulate till it almost explodes, actually, it does explode making this the single most exciting Brahms first I have ever heard. I cannot think of a concerto that is so wholly dependent on its orchestral part to be a success, and this is just another example of how Rattle is, despite my earlier reservations, completely in control of his vocation. I think this is the most successful thing he has eever done. Esp the first mvmt.
Regarding Zimerman, this disc couldnt be more different than his previous Rach 1 & 2 disc. Most likely it is due to Rattle, but he seems as excited and committed as I have heard him, while the Rach, though very good, seemed to be very inhibited and at times almost boorish. For any Brahms lovers out there, this disc is a must, and hopefully you will hear what I did which gave me those feelings I had while listening to this works wonders for the first time. Not to be missed!
Ref-Fleisher\Szell
Of interest-Arrau's tone in his first on the anniv box.

This is certainly a very good recording of Brahms' dramatic first piano concerto, but it is far from being perfect. Zimerman claims to have prepared for 10 years for this performance. Unfortunately, there seems to be something like "over-studying" a piece, thinking too much about it. As another reviewer has pointed out here in Amazon, this is the case for this recording.

A very good example is the first few bars of the piano part. How often and for how long must Zimerman have thought about this technically unproblematic but musically highly sensitive introduction? But he completely misses the point, slowing down immediately and using rubato in over-abundance, as if he played a Chopin-Nocturne. It sounds unintuitive and studied, not emotional or dramatic.

Later in the movements' solo-parts, Zimerman surprisingly does not work out the melody-line, so that everything sounds like a great mush of notes. In the chord-clusters, so highly dramatic, he uses "full force" immediately, so that any potential to further increase volume is lost. The drama and the dynamics of these parts get lost.

Zimerman's technique partly compensates for these flaws in interpretation. He is best when it comes to long scales, often ending in staccato, which he plays incredibly fast and clean and fortunately with little pedal. Here, he works out every nuance. In the last movement, which lacks the large chord-clusters and drama of the first, and which asks for nuanced scale-playing, Zimerman's interpretation works very well. Indeed, I don't think this movement can be played any better.

The orchestra, in my opinion surprisingly much criticized for this recording, sounds great. Rattle, who was never received very enthusiastically by the Berliner audience, does a great job working out the drama and the dynamics of the piece. He is not afraid to ask the orchestra to give everything it has when the piece demands it. On the other hand, when necessary, the orchestra works only in the background, never overshadowing the piano. The interplay with the piano is flawless. In general, I have not heard very many recordings with the strings sounding so warm and so beautiful. For this alone I think the CD is worth buying, although it certainly won't compete with Gilels/Jochum and the likes.

I really don't care for this reading. Zimerman and Abbado seem to lose the forest for the trees, getting lost in each successive moment to the point that this very lengthy score loses its formal coherence and drags on and on... I found myself checking my watch more than once. Zimerman has a muscular, resonant, gorgeous tone, well-suited to Brahms, and as usual the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic is impressive; but then again that's about all there is to the climactic moments here---big, loud, pretty sound, but to something of a cheap effect, devoid of any adroit interpretive message. And aside from those big cadential moments, there's not much else to hear on this disc but a lot of introspective, "sensitive" milling around. The slow tempi used, especially in the first movement, would require a far more adroit interpretation than this to hold the listener's attention for almost an hour.

As I've previously expressed on this board, I have an enduring love for the Gilels and Jochum recording of the Brahms's Piano concertos and especially for the Brahms's First Piano Concerto recording contained therein. Due to my adoration for Brahms's First concerto and my adoration of Zimerman as a pianist, I, of course, purchased this recording featuring Rattle and Zimerman.

Be advised that this recording in no way usurps my love for the Gilels and Jochum recording. I simply love Gilels and Jochum's fierceness in the aforesaid recording of the first concerto. To me, Zimerman (especially) exhibits a very lyrical approach--far gentler than Gilels. It's different but very winning. I enjoyed this "different" approach very much--one is made keenly aware of Brahms's beautiful romantic melodies.Believe me, Zimerman displays much potent virtuosity; however, to me, his approach is basically lyrical, Although Rattle is a great partner to Zimerman, his leadership, to me, is very dramatic indeed but never overpowering. I've never heard the Berlin Philharmonic souind any better!

Although, this recording will never replace, for me, the one featuring Gilels and Jochum, I will return to it often especially when I desire to hear a gentler and more lyrical" Brahms's First Piano concerto.

By the way, the sound is spectacular! It makes one really appreciate today's technology.

I've sampled and listened to a few other performances, but this one seems to me to have the finest balance of lyricism, emotional power, and restraint. It's a really beautiful, moving rendition -- delicate, sorrowful, and fiercely joyful by turns. The piano and orchestra are wonderfully collaborative and trusting, and as other reviewers have said, the acoustic quality is unparalleled.

If you are a collector of different versions of this monumental opus by Brahms, this will be a welcome addition. No complaints from me regarding the performance or recording. However.... if you are a 'newbie' please listen also to the recordings that George Szell made with Leon Fleischer and also Rudolph Serkin, both readily available. There's an undercurrent in Szell's orchestral interpretations that catches the (barely) restrained turmoil and wildness that gripped the youthful composer. Despite it's reputation as one of the craggy peaks in the concerto repertoire, this work contains long passages of dreamlike delicacy along with tumultuous episodes.Achieving a balance between the two seems to be a tricky proposition, and that's why it's worth having a number of recorded versions.Simon Rattle's effort with Andsnes has a fine interpretation by the soloist, but to these ears, is not a great recording. This current offering by Rattle and Zimerman may be great....time will tell.