Search - Brahms, Buchbinder, Cgb :: Brahms: The Piano Concertos / Buchbinder, Harnoncourt

Brahms back to the basics

H. W. A. Leeuwen | Voorschoten, Netherlands | 08/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stripped from all late 19th and early 20th century`s tastes, which dominate the concert hall today, here we have a rendiotion that is clear, crisp and moving, not because of the stressing of romance but subtly, in musical lines that extend from bar one to the last, and in clarity an precision. Almost carefully the story unfolds as told by two storytellers that seem to complement one another in such a way that one is left completely to one`s oiwn resources. I was present at the live recording of both, which left me bare and naked emotionally. The disc can never completely capture the power of the live concert, but the result is the same. I have never heard Brahms like this."

Different from routine Brahms, but better?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My review is of the Second Concerto, but the same stylistic thrust applies to the First. This set is a reinterpretation of two titanic works that tries to bring them back down to scale and at the same time to rethink how an orchestra should play Romantic music in the post-modern age. For listeners in sympathy with those goals, this will be the most original Brahms concertos on the market.



Buchbinder makes a good show of the solo part, not really adding anything new but more than holding his own. He is not the most lyrical or heroic of pianists. Where this performance differs from others, as you'd expect, is Harnoncourt. He has ideas about Brahms that cana't be ignored. The strings play with no vibrato at times, the repeated accents in the Scherzo are clipped staccato bursts (I felt a little sea sick), and above all he inserts hairpin turns in sustained notes, a la Baroque and Rococco performance practice.



You will find these quirks either interesting or irritating. They at least add an element of originality. Otehrwise, Harnoncourt chiefly feels that Brahms shouldn't be overblown--this is most evident in the modetly phrased slow movement. I liked that, and the sweet Concertgebouw accompaniment throughout, but I wouldn't say that conducting quirks make for greatness."