Brahms - Piano Concerto No.1
Zimerman; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Rattle
DG 477 6021

Release date April 2006

Apart from Krystian Zimerman, the list of pianists who keep the concertos of Ravel and Brahms in their repertoires is a very short one indeed – Julius Katchen did, and so did Cecile Ousset, but offhand I can’t think of anyone else. Zimerman might be very cautious about what he chooses to play in public, but his interests are exceptionally wide. This is Zimerman’s second recording of the D minor Concerto; apparently he was unhappy with some aspects of his twenty-year-old version with Bernstein. It’s Simon Rattle’s second recording too – he previously recorded it, very successfully, with Leif Ove Andsnes. The first thing that hits you about the new recording is the superb sound (it was made in the Emil Berliner Studios). Most of Rattle’s Berlin recordings have been made live in the Philharmonie, and few of them show off this great orchestra to best advantage. Rattle’s view of the piece hasn’t changed substantially since his 1998 CBSO taping, but the effect is very different, due in part to the endlessly deep string tone of the Berliners. The heart of this performance is the central Adagio. Clara Schumann said that it had ‘something church-like’ about it; Zimerman and Rattle would seem to agree, and create an atmosphere of almost Zen-like calm. The solo woodwinds, the principal oboe above all, are marvellous, and Rattle gives them all the expressive space they need. Zimerman is a natural Brahmsian; his playing is articulate, unegotistical and overwhelmingly powerful where it needs to be. Recommended.

Reviewed by Sandy Matheson