Search - Johannes Brahms, Ernest Bour, Middle German Radio Orchestra :: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

Extremely High Voltage

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 04/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Whether or not you will like this "live" 1951 Brahms 1st Piano Concerto may depend on how you fit the following profile: 1) You are looking for a performance that is even more aggressive and tense than the Serkin/Szell (Sony), 2) You are tolerant of rather strident recorded sound that tends to distort at high volume, and 3) You don't mind paying full price for a CD containing less than 46 minutes of playing time.



Make no mistake: Katchen's playing is brilliant here, even more so than in his studio account with Monteux (London). But to my ears, Katchen simply veers too much towards thunderbolt virtuosity for its own sake. The focus here is on brash drama and momentum (even the usually serene 2nd mvt. sounds rather loud and percussive), with little regard for tonal values. Ernest Bour provides a fairly alert and pounding accompaniment with his less than first-rate orchestra.



This approach is the diametric opposite of such slow, pondering accounts as Gilels/Jochum (DG), Arrau/Haitink (Philips), and Barenboim/Barbirolli (EMI). My preference is for the "middle ground" of Rubinstein/Reiner (RCA), which offers golden-toned playing from the pianist, perhaps the best-played orchestral part on disc, and utterly gorgeous recorded sound.



Primarily for Katchen fans.





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