Comparison Recordings:
Leon Fleisher, George Szell, Cleveland
SO Sony [ADD] MH2K 63225
Lazar Berman, Erich Leinsdorf, CSO CBS
MK 45806
John Ogdon, Leopold Stokowski, American
SO [1969 ADD] Music & Arts CD-4844
Emil Gilels, Eugen Jochum, BPO [ADD]
DGG 431 595-2
Opus 15 was Brahms’
third essay in symphonic form in his
self-set task to add another symphony
to the canon begun by Beethoven. He
got as far as a two piano version, then
orchestrated only one of the piano parts,
saved the andante movement to
use in the Deutsches Requiem,
and wrote a new finale to give us the
concerto as we have it today.
In general I admire
Artur Rubinstein’s concerto recordings
a great deal. In my view his recording
of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto
with orchestra conducted by Josef Krips
is clearly the finest recording of that
work ever made, and it is to be hoped
that we’ll see that recording issued
soon in this wonderful SACD series on
RCA/BMG.
In this recording the
piano and orchestra are recorded close
and the attention to detail is exemplary;
however, I am disappointed by this performance.
It’s in the reflective, dignified, monumental
mould, similar to the Gilels/Jochum
version on DG. I am aware that there
are many who feel this is the right
approach to Brahms — rounded, sentimentalised,
softened — but I like more tension and
violence in the performance. The CSO,
generally in very good form, sound a
bit imprecise and uncommitted at odd
moments, having by my recollection played
more sharply for Leinsdorf in his digital
recording with Lazar Berman.
I feel that it is the
Fleisher/Szell recording which correctly
captures the wild youthful impetuosity
of this work, and that is to my taste
one of the finest of recordings of anything
by Brahms. Amazingly although this Rubinstein
performance seems to drag along, the
timings of each of the movements of
these two recordings are all but identical,
showing that musical time is mostly
subjective, and that both conductors
are conscientiously observing metronome
markings. This is not to suggest that
Rubinstein and Reiner play without tension
or drama — far from it — just that Szell
and Fleisher give us more and in this
instance more is better.
The timings with the
Stokowski/Ogdon recording also match
the others very closely, even though
Stokowski, like Reiner, occasionally
sweetens a lyrical phrase; but Stokowski
does so with more grace and effect and
without losing forward momentum. Ogdon’s
playing is crisp, accurate, and passionate
and the orchestra support him closely.
Stokowski gives us a particularly affecting
slow movement. The sound is radio broadcast
quality stereo with some audience noise,
but quite close and full range; the
American Leopold Stokowski Society issue
of this performance also contained rehearsal
excerpts on the disk.
Paul Shoemaker
see also
review by Jonathan Woolf
Artur
Rubinstein, piano 
RCA
BMG 82876 66378-2 [46:20]
