Brahms - Piano concerto no°2. Mov 1 (part2)

[sweatinggrundle]

@aristotle358 Emmanuel Ax, they did the first piano concerto together the night before as well! (19-20 August 2011) So awesome..

[bjble]

i dont understand i clicked on some canned heat videos playlist and this is what i got.

[mrblisterfist]

Beautiful. Cannabis brought me here.

~be well :)

[aristotle358]

What a fuckin' genius Brahms was!!!

[Democratura]

@aristotle358 Ich bin deiner Meinung! Er ist SUPER!

[Mark10141066]

In fact, God expressed his love for humanity through people like Brahms.

[mademan39]

3:36 - 3:59.. so good:)

[whneo97]

It would have been MUCH more better if the sound quality is good :(

[Pipixcan69]

The beautiful section at 3 mins + reminds me of the film "Signs" soundtrack the "baby monitor" part. I think the composor James Newton Howard took it from Brahms

[mauec2]

WIth all the respect, Valentina Lisitsa interprets better this work!

[macorona]

¡Increíble concierto! Tan sólo de pensar que hoy lo va a destrozar Osorio... da pena...

[rosshickok]

Barenboim was a great pianist, as demonstrated here. At some point hubris took hold and I heard such trivia come from him. He is a great musician, but of many moods. This is an impressive performance, recalling my favorite Brahms Two, with Fleisher and Szell. Likewise his conducting tends to be very good or just plain ugly.

[aristotle358]

@rosshickok Very interesting observation. I agree for the most part but there were one or two nice touches. I heard a wonderful proms performance (to my shame cannot remember the pianist. Bernard Haitink{not sure about spelling} was the conductor) and it was perhaps one of the best performances of this great masterpiece.

[ShizukaNaAme]

1:58 - 2:40 is probably one of my favourite parts in the whole concerto and I'm kind of disappointed with how he handled it...I really do prefer Rudolf Serkin above this, with George Szell conducting...

[Robotman42]

Not that the recording is bad, but I wish they gave Barenboim a piano with richer sound.

[rfaerron44]

Excelente Filarmonica, de las mejores del mundo que he oido

[fannybaba]

Oh fuck!

[Ray0X0]

Qué hermoso es este concierto, es muy lírico y apasionado, aunque mi opinión personal es que la máxima expresión de belleza de este concierto la he oído únicamente con Claudio Arrau.

El maestro Barenboim tiene un sonido poco flexible y a mi juicio no expresa o no hace relucir toda la belleza lírica de esta joya de Brahms ...

[Rettihsllub]

Brahms the master is especially evident at 2:28 - 4:15, from the moment the orchestra announces the opening theme through the incredible statement of the recap!

[Rettihsllub]

Richter said the way to play Brahms is to hang onto each note like you hate to let go of it, or words to that effect. This performance does that, both from the conductor and the soloist.

[arthurtwoshed]

One of the greatest recordings of this piece !!

[LuizVotto]

@hacati I'm sorry. But I think it is imperative for a intrepreter to think of what the composer means by understanding deeper beyond the scores. You must comprehend that all you said is what a pianist must do in order to play a, at least, presentable piece.

If you admire Barenboim by the qualities you mentioned, you should admire all professional pianist in the world. For God's sake, I'm not saying that I don't like the pianist, I said the qualities you highlighted are required by any pianist.

[annvanmiegem]

this is out of this world beautiful, like a walk on the moon, I imagine

[jonnyenglishlim]

While it is not the best reading for me... I still think that this interpretation is quite well thought out...

[annvanmiegem]

@jonnyenglishlim man, you are hard to please!

[bluesyboypete]

I would greatly recomment you guys to check out Berezovsky´s version of Brahms 2. If Im lucky enough, I will upload it on youtube, but I have been having difficulties doing that. perhaps I will ask a friend to do it for me.

Cheers,

Pete

[Ray0X0]

I love this concerto... simply, marvelous, inspired...

[bastetandcolors]

i love this concert

[jorgealbertobaron]

GRAN OBRA DE BRAHMS

[mihogo]

6.15 - 7.30 The best thing I've ever seen, experienced, felt, heard etc.

[Democratura]

@mihogo Ma va caca!

[Democratura]

@mihogo Io da 6.16,23-7.31,1 a orgasm!

[XavifromSeville]

@mihogo 6.15 - 7.30 --> that's my favourite part of all the Brahms' concert. this work is full of romantic passion and emotion. Barenboim plays fantastic this virtuosistic solo part.

[LUCICAGNOLO]

magnifico concerto e direzione stupenda,Barenboim suona da Dio solo una piccola cosa difetta alcuni passaggi eseguiti troppo lenti.per il resto è perfetto

[spoonsuit]

i love the last section in the first part between orchestral tutti sections. I think the camera man did a great job! except he zoomed way to far during the section where the pianist alternates 16th note handfuls and then the triplet octaves in the left hand before that giant trill. its right at the end. It's always been my favorite part.

[Bambiezbotron]

My favourite is the sick buildup of sequences leading into that part, the first time I heard it I couldn't believe how amazing it was.

[YBaComposer]

Is that a Fazioli?

[ADVERTlSEMENT]

WTF this concerto is so long...

[steadyjimmy]

i am SO angry with the cameraman!!! 6:52 is probably the best part of the whole concerto, and what does he do? he stops focusing on the pianist's hands!!!

[Doug19752533]

got to agree with you jimmy... from playing this concerto many times myself id say from 6:39 to the end is a technical nightmare.

[SebastienLoong]

wow! how on earth do you gather the discipline to learn something as advanced as this?

you must be a virtuoso as well.

[Doug19752533]

i wouldnt consider myself a virtuoso. ive played piano going on 30 yrs. but ill say it does take ALOT of time and playing the very hard sections over and over very slowly. the dicipline comes from the love of the music and the desire to play it. when i first learned this concerto (1st mvt only) i started by learning just the sections i really liked the most, then slowly putting it all together. eventually learned the mvt and entered a concerto competition and finished 3rd. took 2 yrs to learn.

[phoolisness]

quite the opposite of a nightmare to those of us who can only listen to it!

[phoolisness]

i love that bit

[KarrotKun1]

@steadyjimmy It's never the cameraman, it's always the dumb producers.

[annvanmiegem]

@KarrotKun1 No, it's the person who does the mixing of the shots in the control room, to be quite honest

[rodstartube]

@steadyjimmy lol me too (i was about to comment the same until I saw yours)

[rodstartube]

@steadyjimmy anyways, it was not the poor cameraman's fault, it was the TV director (or switchman)

[1crow]

How do these guys play through a piece like this so flawlessly? Any ideas of how these pieces originally sounded in their eras?

[Doug19752533]

just like they were written. but OH to hear the composer HIMSELF at the keyboard!!!1

[sussexpenguin]

@1crow :follow the score, respect the tempo written therein, and then, and it's the big one, get the conductor and pianist to agree on how it will play out. That;s why they do rehearsals. If soloist and conductor haven't got it sorted it doesn't work.

[herakles9]

A majestic ending!

[fortissimo25]

WOW, O_o!!!

that trilling @ the end defies human capability! lol

[Sim882]

I wll have to check the odd ones out that I haven't heard.

Have u heard katchen's? His difficult exposition 6-8 minute mark is amazing on his version

[Sim882]

Mozart: my top 10 would (based mainly on first movements): Tie 1: Brahms 2 (Julious Katchen) , Tchaikovsky 1 (Emils Giles, Van Cliburn); Beethoven 3 (Alfred Brendal) ; Beet 5 (not too fussy over who plays it); Mozart 20 (not as fussy, eg Argerich); Rach 2 (Cliburn); Rach 3 (horowitz 1st and 2 movements, Argerich third); Schumann 1 (Argerich, Richter); Beethoven 4; Grieg; Mozart 21.

[kempff95]

Perahia plays beethoven the 4 concerto the best .

This is not discuss about beethoven the fourth !

[Sim882]

I'm' confused - I thought you liked Brahms PC 1 better.

I love Rach 3 yes - but parts of the third movement are too corny (like a crappy war movie where the male returns home to his adoring wife) and the transitions between the military theme and romanticism are a bit extreme. I also find the first movement has "filler" romantic passages and lacks a firm narrative or emotional feel.

[symphmetal]

It's a very great concerto!!!

[pianistconductor]

Baremboim plays this well, but there are many better recordings of this concerto. Unfortunately, mine isn't one of them. :p

[paganiniGOGO]

the first part of the movement has 77000 views, the second part has 30 000, that means less than half the people who watched the first part continued.

[Sim882]

Not really.

First movements in concertos are generally far better than the rest.

Most of the greatness for many great concertos is the first mov (Moz 20; Tchai 1; Rach 2, 3; Schuman and Grieg 1 also)

[paganiniGOGO]

I was talking about the first 'part,' of the first movement, this being the second 'part' of the first movement.

I agree with what your saying though, although for this particular concerto I personally like the 1st, 2nd and 4th movements equally.

[ProkofievRules]

Really? Because I don't agree with him at all, with the concerto comment. I think the great concertos are great simply because they tell a story in their entirety. Case in point, two of the concertos he named directly, Rach 2 and 3. The first movement of Rach 2 was written last, and added to the second and third movements as a precursor of sorts in order to introduce the second and third movements. So his comment, I'm not sure makes sense.

[Sim882]

Interesting, the third movement of Rach 3 always sounds like to me an incoherent mingling of ideas, and bordering on being silly and devoid of any emotional expression (because of sudden, unrealistic changes in mood).

I tend to agree this is a great concerto - the second mov is as strong as the first, and the third and fourth mov are also strong.

I see some concertos as telling a story - Emporer Concerto - some others as being distinct movement, eg Tchaikovsky 1

[ProkofievRules]

Really? I find it to be perfectly coherent. I mean, he wakes you up from the dreamy second movement with the end of the 2nd movement, then begins a military march. This leads to crashing chords, which blends perfectly into the final theme.

I admit that he goes from devilishly fast, to romantic in a small space, but it's this sort of diversity, and the blending of the different textures, that I think elevates Rach and Prok above the others, in terms of concerti.

[Sim882]

Well I recognise there are great aspects to the 3rd mov, its just after the inversion of the 1st mov candenza after about 9 mins in the third mov I feel the mov loses the plot and the emotion is cheapened. It could be my version though - I remember thinking similar about the 2nd concerto, until I heard Cliburn play it.

As someone who hasn't listened to much of prokofiev, what would u recommend (concerto, and player).

[ProkofievRules]

See, maybe it's just me, because I find everything that rachmaninoff wrote except a few of the Etude Tableaux speaks right to me. But, me and Rachmaninoff go way back. He's why I started playing piano.

If you're going to like any prokofiev concerto, it will be his 3rd. Mikhail Pletnev's version is wonderful. After that I would recommend his 1st, then his 5th, and then, when you're ready, his 2nd. His second is not to be taken lightly though lol.

[Sim882]

even Rach 4? I couldn't discern any emotion in it, but didn't give it much of a go. Cliburn's version of Rach 2 is one of my favourite performances of any song.

yes heard Argerich's version of Prokofiev's 3rd concerto last night (b4 u wrote this - it seemed well played). I liked it but found it a bit "fantasyesque" and therefore didn't feel it. But it was first listen so I will give another chance or two. I quite liked the third movement and felt parts of it.

[ProkofievRules]

Vladimir Ashkenazy with Andre Previn conducting really displayed the wonderousness of that concerto. It's on this site.

Prokofiev didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve. I think the moment that definitely won me over in that concerto was the 4th variation, with those decending thirds. And of course the finale. What a finale!

[Sim882]

Will check it out tonight - definitely an awesome third movement.

It's not the type of music i expect to fully appreciate on first listen.

[JeffBazz]

haha, and don't forget Prokofiev no. 2!

[CaseyRocky]

dang, billy joel plays a lot better now than he did when he was younger.

[mishima1974]

Barenboim sounds like 'amateur night'!

[beemochobrahms]

Jealous much?

[mishima1974]

Not at all. I like Barenboim, he seems like a good, decent guy. I just don't like the way that he plays the piano. Again, I prefer Horowitz, Richter, Cortot, etc. Why is it that I am not 'jealous' of them?

The fact of the matter is that I'd like Barinboim's playing if he'd really go for it rather than going through the motions. Listen to the Great Old Masters, you'll see what I mean. Barenboim himself would agree with me.

Music is a high art, excuse me for being passionate about it!

[johnnydavis23]

Arrau once said Barenboim is one of the greatest pianists of the day. You are not jealous (not sure how that came up), but you certainly seem to have a bias for old masters, which isn't a fault because everyone has a bias one way or another. Those masters were pioneers of their time, but it's counterintuitive to hold them as the all-time standards (that's like disliking Rubinstein b/c he's no Liszt). Otherwise, there'd be no evolution in music. It's important to recognize that.

[johnnydavis23]

Having said that, I respect your opinion and agree that there's no reason for people to bash you just because you prefer other pianists. Sometimes, people mistake their personal preferences as objective musical superiority.

[mishima1974]

Too slow.

[bruckner26]

Based on what? The recording you got to used to listening? Is music a vulgar repetition of what you consider to be a valid tempo?

I find this performance very genuine, inspired, and carefully thought out. Very refreshing to see a pianist who doesn't care for crowd pleasing facial expressions and other artificial ways of creating "intensity". I find many soloists accelerate tempis to make demonstrations of their skills, and when virtuosity becomes the primary interest, music is lost.

[mishima1974]

I AM speaking of music.

I am NOT speaking of virtuosity.

Furthermore, I've always had a problem with Barenboim's 'artistic decisions'.

And he does sound ill-prepared in this performance, like it or not.

[bruckner26]

Right.

[ilshatt]

I think that this is quality work, you keep your problems to yourself.

[mishima1974]

Why?

I'm entitled to my opinion and it is my opinion that modern pianists like Barenboim are advanced students compared to legends like Horowitz, Richter, Hoffman, Cortot, etc.

Barenboim is too content and comfortable with life and his playing shows it!

[shredderroy]

Very good, without a doubt. But I prefer Emil Gilels' rendition.

[deandusk]

well of course you do ... !!!

[MimeAscension]

Me too. I remember my friend introduced me to Gilels' rendition one rainy day when we were holed up in her apartment...it completely blew me away.

[pianomed]

and brahms called it a "simple" movement... my god, I can't imagine what "hard"was for him. This is pure poetry and passion!!

[Ungoliant101]

the piano part for this is downright scary oO

[Urdulen]

Excellent! 5 stars!

[koobird]

Four stars to Barenboim because his tempo I think is a little too slow. Otherwise, he has good articulation and tone quality.

[mathpianist93]

only because of the tempo???

I would give this four stars for a different reason.

[Anders039]

Barenboim plays this amazingly well.

[larkinmusic021]

mathpianist93 hear Arrau

[mathpianist93]

I've only heard a small section of his performance. But I prefer Zimerman's (with Bernstein), Van Cliburn's (with Kondrashin), and Pollini's (with Abbado) interpretations...

[mathpianist93]

can anyone tell me how to tell if a performance of Brahms is sentimental (overpassionate)?

And what is with the use of rubato in the minor section in this performance?

[Raud2000]

Just the very fact that we are watching and listening this concerto like this is against Celibidache's beliefs. Music isnt suppose to happen like this. It can be only in a concert hall.

[lxr0913]

not "here is a master"..

should be"two masters here"~

[biokemiker]

Brahms is my favourite composer in classical music! Barenboim plays it so brilliant. In my view he is one of the best pianists in the world!

[stedama]

I think many other pianists are much better...

[gerryrains]

stedama,

I agree with you. I have copies of Sviatoslav Richter, Lev Oberon, and Emil Gilels playing this concerto and they are/were far better than this. He's still worth four stars but the others were five star performers and performances.

[mathpianist93]

I am thinking of playing this in the future, so what recordings (in terms of pianist) of BOTH Brahms concerti do you recommend???

[gerryrains]

mathpianist93,

The Rudolph Serkin recordings were considered masterpieces. I have never heard them. I have heard but don't own the 1969 version of the late great Claudio Arrau during his prime (1969). He was playing with the Royal Concertgebouw Orch., probably with Bernard Haitink conducting. Other pianists who did these well include Leon Fleisher, Alfred Brendel, Maurizio Pollini, and Emil Gilels.

Gerry

[gerryrains]

I searched through Amazon dot com (somewhat incompletely) and Tower dot com. I came up with the following information. The prices are ridiculous. The Horowitz recording was $65 and change. Anyway I came up with three from Tower.

Ivan Moravec (he played the piano in the movie Amadeus) - $21.99

John Lill - $16.99

and the one that I listed as the first choice:

Rudolph Serkin, George Szell and the Cleveland - $26.08 If you've got the money to throw around Serkin, otherwise Lill or Moravec.

[gerryrains]

mathpianist93,

(cont) John Lill is a superb pianist, one who is greatly underestimated by people who have heard him or own any of his CDs. Ivan Moravec has long been considered a Mozart specialist, but I have heard other concerti in which he was the soloist and he was always fantastic.

Gerry

[afertyus1000]

yes i heard him live last week and he was out of this world

[zeluiso]

Has anyone noticed that his piano sounds like an orchestra? His playing sprays about a mix of austerity and sheer orchestral drive to combine so strongly with the orchestra. Conductor and pianist are playing the same instrument!

[citlalliguevara]

He is absolutely extraordinary!!!!!

[citlalliguevara]

Barenboim is one of the greatest genius of XX century

[cedricrlongreen]

brilliant!!

[BrunoLien]

This has no meaning. This interpretation is different from the Freire's one, it's much closer to Arrau, for instance. And it is splendid.

[dekel5000]

who

[janantonin]

Great performance,thanks.

[aaabbbccc5]

He is a Master!