Brahms - Piano Concerto 2 [Ashkenazy /Mehta-London Symphony Orchestra] Wow!, this could surely become the 'recording of the month' for April, playing this disc while out foe a walk today, was one of those rare sublime moments where everything comes together in an incredible wave of perfection, i don't know if i was just so much in the mood, or the fact i love this work, and for some reason i haven't heard it for some time, so it hits me more when i get round to hearing it again, but i love these intense moments of musical nirvana!, also this is in fact the first time this work appears in my Blog.
Vladimir Ashkenazy is of course Russian, now 73 years old, this recording was made in 1967, however it sounds wonderfully modern, the front cover booklet photograph is excellent, a Decca ovation release, with a nice shot of Ashkenazy at the piano [by Richard Holt], with some well placed / coloured lettering, a very well balanced and pleasing presentation, this caught my eye on Ebay, and i had to buy it.
Well what can i say?, all of the movements were of a high degree of ecstasy for me, i was so thrilled with the First movement, and i have to mention one passage here that truly impressed me, between [10:02-11:00], the use of the woodwinds are fantastic, especially the clarinet, the piano chords are thrilling, and the use of treble in the piano is gloriously radiant, even the subtle use of the bassoon is a joy, an inspired passage.
But it's the following Second movement Allegro Appassionato that really held my heart spellbound, it's in the key of D Minor, a dark and troublesome key which lots of other Composers have utilised to represent a real struggle, usually death! [Mozart's Requiem, and Schubert's String Quartet 14 for example, and in the same key as his First Piano Concerto, which it seems to belong to], straight away there's an agitation and turmoil, but the quiet yet icy violins come in [0:38-0:51], and repeat again at [2:28-2:41], a lovely effect, there's a nice gentle solo piano passage at [2:55-3:22], showing off the main lyrical tune of the movement, lovely and atmospheric, and there's a tremendous release of majesty from the orchestra [4:44-4:59], the piano gets very dreamy at [5:41-5:59], but still dark-ish and couched in mystery, towards the end the orchestra comes in forte, while the piano lingers deep in the background with bass chords [6:57-7:37], it's full of a restless vibe, i really loved this movement today.
Here's Elizabeth Leonskaja playing the Second movement on YouTube.
