Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 [Hybrid SACD, Import]

The Brahms D minor Concerto is a difficult work to pull off successfully: the piano part is ungrateful, and often drowned out by an overorchestrated accompaniment. Also, many pianists--most notably Glenn Gould--tend to drag the tempos beyond all reason. Rubinstein, who was ten years old when Brahms died, would never have considered such a nonsensical approach. The Concerto was written early in Brahms career, and was the work of a passionate young man. In essence, Brahms without the beard.

This is the first stereo recording, taped in 1954, to be made of this Concerto. (The stereo version, however, was not released until 1977). It says something for the original producer, RCA's legendary Jack Pfeiffer, that with SACD remastering the sound holds up very well. The performance is excellent also, with superb accompaniment from Reiner, the very antithesis of the dragged out, boring approach that has recently tested concert audiences' endurance. Although over a half century old, this is still one of the very few "essential" recordings for any Brahms collection, along with the Fleischer/Szell and Serkin/Szell performances.

It would have been nice if RCA included some of the solo Brahms pieces Rubinstein recorded in 1959 (they were also part of the Living Stereo series), as this disc is not well filled. But for those who prefer quality over quantity, this disc is a must.

I cannot praise this recording highly enough.

Brahm's First Piano Concerto is my favorite piece of music period and I have dozens upon dozens of recordings. This is the best.

The Soundmirror team who re-mastered this recording for SACD have performed nothing short of a sonic miracle. It's the equivalent of a musical time machine...the recording sounding as fresh and alive as the day it was recorded.

This is the closest that I have ever come to putting on a recording and then being transported to a live concert and this concert features two of the great geniuses of 20th Century musical performance, Rubinstein and Fritz Reiner. For a recording over 50 years old, the quality of performance and execution is just astonishing.

Rubinstein is known as a Chopin interpretor but I think he's even better with Brahms, closer to the composer's inspiration and spirit. Reiner seems to relish this music. The rapport between both artists (captured here) serves Brahms as no other recording has quite managed to do. I was floored when I came across this. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This is the best deal in music. The Living Stereo SACD series comprises the best that music has to offer.

Apparently the first-ever release of this 1950s classic in RCA's Living Stereo CD (and now SACD) reissue series, this collaboration between Artur Rubenstein and Fritz Reiner has all of the fire AND sparkle demanded by the more angst-ridden of Brahms' two piano concerti. Here and there the recording shows its age, but the magnificence of the music-making here transcends any minor sonic limitations.