Search - Johannes Brahms, Emanuel Ax :: Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 5; Intermezzi, Op. 117

Ax at his very peak

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems more than a bit unfair to begin a review with a regretful sigh when it's as masterful as this one. Recently I had been very enthusiastic about a recording of Brahms's gigantic Sonata no. 3 form Helene Grimaud. She was fiery, grand, and vibrant at the same time, but Emanuel Ax has all those qualities plus an additional maturity and poetic sensitivity that is really astonishing. At this stage in his career, in 1990, he was poised to be America's greatest young pianist, and one could not have foretold, from his boldness and assurance, that the coming twenty years would turn him into what he is today, a well-upholstered institution of prestigious dimensions but few surprises or excitement. Only occasionally does the elder Ax rise to the level of pianism heard here, but when he does, it's often in Brahms.



In other words, Brahms has been a strong suit for his entire career. comparing this reading of the Sonata no. 3 with Grimaud, Rubinstein, Kuerti, Perahia, et al., Ax has more of everything, including bigness of sound and excellent recording of the piano. There is nothing unusual in his tempo choices, and one must admit that his rivals are all successful. But somehow Ax captures the enormous romantic aspirations of a composer, not yet twenty, who was destined to burst the bonds of the romantic ethos in a way only equaled by Wagner, Liszt, and Schumann. His aching search for the ultimate in intense expression is almost to much to take, but Ax balances the fervid outcries with reflective lyricism in just the right places. In short, a triumph of piano artistry."