Brahms’ autumnal second
piano concerto stands in rather stark
contrast to his tumultuous first, perhaps
reflecting the life experiences of the
twenty-three years that lay between.
The second concerto, although by no
means short of virtuoso display, is
much more closely related to chamber
music. And yet, Brahms cannot separate
himself from the orchestra, casting
the work in four, instead of the traditional
three, movements, and making both outer
movements far more expansive than was
common for the concerto of the period.
In a performance that
is the amalgam of a weekend of concerts,
Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin,
no stranger to big romantic literature,
turns in a solid, well-paced and controlled
performance. This was a bit of a surprise
to me I must confess, since I had attended
one of the concerts in question in person
and was under-whelmed with Mr. Hamelin’s
performances. Andrew Litton is, however
a real master in the recording studio,
and through some good editing on Hyperion’s
part, we have a final product that is
very fine indeed.
The chamber music nature
of the opening movement is not lost
on Mr. Hamelin. He and Maestro Litton
work well together as a team, and we
never get the impression that there
is anything but collegial music-making
happening here. Litton lets the orchestra
sing where it needs to, and Mr. Hamelin
is careful never to just thunder through
the louder passages for the sake of
virtuosity. It is always a surprise
to hear the burst of energy that is
the second movement, and Hamelin tears
into the music with abandon. The third
movement is a beautifully reflective
dialogue with some magnificent cello
playing from Dallas Symphony principal
Christopher Adkins in the famous solo.
It all comes to a fine close in the
finale, in which Hamelin keeps everything
under firm control, never beating up
on the piano. Instead, he is ever at
one with his instrument, and with the
music.
Of particular merit
is the rich, singing tone that Litton
gets from the Dallas Symphony strings,
and some nice playing as well from the
horns, whose prominent part is played
to perfection. It is music-making of
this quality that makes us grateful
that Andrew Litton loves to record,
and sad that he no longer heads the
Dallas orchestra. This is very satisfying
all round, and it is particularly rewarding
to hear this piece played at just the
right tempo: not too fast like the old
Serkin recordings of yore, and thankfully
not lugubrious as in later Bernstein
with Krystian Zimmerman at the keyboard.
Mr. Hamelin rounds
off the program with the four shorter
works from Op. 119, which he plays with
depth, passion and sensitivity.
Kevin Sutton
for
details
Marc-André Hamelin (piano) 
