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One of the treasures in the Naxos historical catalogue.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 10/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the first assignments for the newly-formed BBC Symphony Orchestra and its conductor Adrian Boult in 1932 was this recording, with Wilhelm Backhaus, of Brahms' First Piano Concerto. It was accomplished in two days and, such were the pianistic skills of Wilhelm Backhaus, it was possible to accommodate the work on five 78s. With sound quality that was the best of its day, the concerto recording still sounds highly charged in this Mark Obert-Thomas remastering. The pianistic challenges of this youthful Brahms concerto clearly fascinate Backhaus. Boult provides an accompaniment that remained the best of any on record before World War Two, when he provided another for Solomon in a recording of Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto. Backhaus' recordings of Brahms two rhapsodies, Op 79, were also pre-eminent in their day - the B Minor getting the better performance. The Paganini Variations were recorded in 1929. These additional items supplement the great concerto recording that makes this CD one of the treasures in the Naxos historical catalogue."

A Valuable Reissue in (Almost) Modern Sound

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 09/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This issue is a fine complement to the Backhaus discs in the Philips 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century' collection that came out a few years ago, largely because in the earlier collection there was a transcendent performance of the Brahms Second Piano Concerto and this issue has Backhaus's recording of the Brahms First Concerto, with Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was recorded in 1932 and the only prior transfer I'd ever heard was in pretty terrible sound. But in this Naxos CD Mark Obert-Thorn has produced almost unbelievably modern sound. I can't even begin to imagine how he does it, but Obert-Thorn has an enviable track record for taking old recordings and somehow making them not only listenable but enjoyable. This performance certainly warrants that treatment. In fact, it is of the same caliber as the much later Brahms Second on the Philips set. There is bravura, which is certainly called for in the young Brahms's first concerto, but there is also tenderness and songfulness. The excitement in the last movement, in spite of a few tempo irregularities, is palpable. For those who love this concerto, this performance is a must-have.And then we get Backhaus's 1929 Brahms 'Variations on a Theme of Paganini.' He had recorded it only four years earlier in 1925, but in the old acoustic recording mode, and this one in the new electric process is a barn-burner. Backhaus was always known for his powerhouse technique and it is in evidence here. The CD has a couple of fillers, Brahms's Op. 79 Rhapsodies, recorded at the same time as the Concerto, and they are fine.Backhaus (born 1884) was the oldest of the pianists to have recorded on into the modern era (indeed, his Philips set is from the 1950s) and he was one of the first of the 'modern' pianists who didn't indulge in to the performance idiosyncrasies of the generation just before him. This one is worth exploring and if you already have the Second Concerto recording you'll want to have this one, too.Scott Morrison"