Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 (recording of the Century: Sviatoslav Richter)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83

• I. Allegro non troppo (2024 Remastered, Chicago 1960)
• II. Allegro appassionato (2024 Remastered, Chicago 1960)
• III. Andante (2024 Remastered, Chicago 1960)
• IV. Allegretto grazioso (2024 Remastered, Chicago 1960)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83. The first drafts of this work date back to the spring of 1878, when Brahms had just returned from a trip to Italy. However, the composition of the violin concerto occupied him for almost the entire summer, and it was only after a second trip to Italy that he resumed work on this concerto during a stay in Pressbaum, near Vienna, in 1881. The piece was first performed in November 1881 with Brahms at the piano and Alexander Erkel conducting. The score was not published until September 1882. In March of that year, he wrote to his publisher: "I do not understand why there should be such a rush for the concerto. It rests here quite comfortably with me and bothers no one."

This concerto differs from others in that it consists of four movements. Even more than in the D minor concerto, Brahms merged the piano part with that of the orchestra in such a way that, if the soloist does not possess uncommon strength, the piano can easily be drowned out by the orchestra. Emil Gilels is known for the perfection of his execution and the typically Russian vigor of his playing. He was also endowed with extreme sensitivity and profound insight. All these qualities make him one of the best interpreters of Brahms' piano concertos.

I. Allegro non troppo. The piano begins immediately after a single horn has presented the theme. It is a very simple theme, of great beauty, featuring an almost naive symmetry, a question and an answer. The first three notes of the question and the answer alert the listener each time they are heard, preparing them for either development or a return to the original form. The triplets (present in the theme), which Brahms borrowed from Hungarian folk music, are typical of his writing.

II. Allegro appassionato. Billroth thought that this passionate allegro could very well have been omitted, but when Brahms was asked why it was included, he replied: "You see, the first movement is so simple." After a piano cadenza, the orchestra takes up the two themes and develops them extensively and meticulously.

III. Andante. The peaceful introduction, entrusted to the solo cello, forms a happy contrast with the vigor of the second movement. The tune played by the solo cello first resembles Brahms' melody 'Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer' (which, in fact, was written several years after the concerto) and then Todessehnen (Desire for Death). This andante, with its solo part for cello, is one of the wonders of the entire repertoire.

IV. Allegretto grazioso. Brahms' biographer, Alfred von Ehrmann, wrote about this movement that it "was as graceful as a ballet, as witty as a comedy, as fresh as a pastoral, as intoxicating as champagne." Peter Latham adds: "For the lightness and brilliance of this music, there is only one model: Mozart."