Track Listing

1. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15: Maestro
2. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15: Adagio
3. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15: Rondo - Allegro non troppo
4. Applause

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50589 in Music
• Released on: 1998-05-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
Wow! This is one hell of a performance! Grimaud has fought hard during her career not to be typecast as a "French" pianist doomed to spend her life playing cute little concertos by Saint-Saëns and keyboard fluff by Satie, and with this performance she really throws down the gauntlet. This is as classically Germanic a performance as you're likely to hear: rock solid, moderate tempos, a gorgeously modulated piano sonority, and a view of the music that perfectly balances passion with classical discipline. She is helped in no small measure by Sanderling, one of the great Brahms conductors of our day, and also by a live recording that catches the whole inspirational event on the wing. This is one of the great ones, make no mistake. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Impressive and satisfying performance.
This performance reveals a side of Brahms' 1st Piano Concerto that one does not normally hear. Most performances present the first movement as very stormy and bombastic, albeit beautifully so. Grimaud and Sanderling, however, take a somewhat slower tempo than most and, in doing so, reveal moments of lyrical tenderness that one is not used to hearing -- yet with no loss of grandeur. The second movement is appropriately lyrical but not excessively slow and the finale presents a stirring conclusion to a highly satisfying performance. Clearly Grimaud is a pianist whose work is worth following.

Superb Piano Playing
Among my 17 versions of this concerto (including the two of Arrau, Kovacevich and Weissenberg) this ranks among the best of the crop. Unfortunately, the timpany and horn parts are way too subdued, but Grimaud's superb interpretation compensates for that. The slow tempi don't bother me. They remind me of Richter-Haaser's memorable performances of both Brahms concerti reflecting the weighty character of the piece. I recently heard Grimaud playing the concerto live with Ashkenazy conducting. The tempos were faster, baut that does not take away anything from this CD. The performance was as memorable as those live performances of Curzon, Arrau and Richter-Haaser. Grimaud is an impressive Brahms interpreter, perhaps the most outstanding one since since Julius Katchen.

A revelatory performance.
This recording reveals a tragic grandeur of the concerto that
seems to have escaped other performers. The broad tempo of the
first movement seems just right for this purpose, and there is
an admirable gravity to Ms. Grimaud's playing. Would people one
day talk about this performance in the same hushed tone as
Richter's 1958 performance of Pictures at an Exhibition?