Today, I’m listening to Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat. The pianist is Cécile Ousset. The conductor is Kurt Masur. The orchestra is Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Jurnkakob Timm (no web site or Wiki page) plays cello.
If you ask me, that’s a dream line up.
And a half.
Cecile Ouset, alone, is worth the price of admission. But the entire team on this 1976 recording is noteworthy.
First, I want to know a little about Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op. 83.
From its entry on Wikipedia,
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83, by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. The public premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on 9 November 1881, with Brahms as soloist and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and was an immediate success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe.
The concerto is in four movements:
- Allegro non troppo……………………17:47
- Allegro appassionato………………….8:45
- Andante……………………………………..11:37
- Allegretto grazioso……………………..9:17
Total time: 47:39
I listened to this CD about 6-7 times today. Maybe more. I know it well.
So I’m going to cut right to the chase.
My Rating:
Recording quality: 5 (superb, no complaints, crystal clear)
Overall musicianship: 5 (remarkable)
CD liner notes: 3 (11-page essay about the life of Brahms, little else)
How does this make me feel: 5 (loved it!)
I don’t think I can say enough about this performance.
I had not heard of Cecile Ousset before this performance. And discovering her is one of the reasons why I love doing these music projects. She’s magnificent.
What an incredible artist! What exceptional playing! This does not sound like an easy piece to play. Her performance was remarkable.
In fact, the energy of this entire performance is off the charts.
I thought Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 was good. His Piano Concerto No. 2 is in another league. Granted, he was about 3/4 through his career and life by this point (he finished Piano Concerto No. 2 when he was 48. He lived another 16 years, dying at the age of 64). So he was at the pinnacle of his compositional skills. Still, this is an incredible piece of music.
Piano Concerto No. 2 contains all of my favorite sounds – piano, horn, pizzicato, fast, slow, melancholy, ebullient.
Two thumbs way up.
By the way, I could have sworn I heard brief melodic strains from a Beethoven symphony in parts of this. I don’t remember which Beethoven symphony it was. But it’s there, albeit briefly.
If you want to see and hear Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 performed, here it is, Leonard Bernstein conducting.