Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Haydn Variations Bernstein Royal Edition No. 22

Brahms' Second Piano Concerto was first performed by Brahms himself in 1881, and it has remained a favorite composition of his ever since. Unlike the First Concerto, it is a cheerful, sunny work except for the somewhat anguished second movement. With its four movements, this work is as much a symphony as a concerto, and the orchestra's role is equal to the piano's in importance.The first movement opens with a horn call, followed by a lengthy piano cadenza, the only one in the concerto. The second movement, allegro appassionato, is really a scherzo, as Brahms called it in a letter to Clara Schumann. The third movement andante opens with an extended cello solo before the entry of the piano. The finale is an allegretto grazioso and provides a light-hearted ending to the concerto. Many consider this concerto to be a "desert island" choice, and it has been recorded many times by well-known pianists and orchestras.I first heard Andre Watts perform this Brahms work with the National Symphony in Washington, DC, many years ago, and later in Portland with the Oregon Symphony. Watts will perform it again this summer at the 2012 Britt Festival. It has long been a staple of his, so it's surprising that there's only one recorded performance, with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1968, when Watts was only 22. I remember leaving the Washington performance with the impression that I would never hear a better one of this concerto. The recording with Bernstein may not be quite up to that level, but I think it is a very good performance nonetheless.For a young pianist, Watts exhibits surprising subtlety in the more lyrical moments that require it as well as emphatic playing at the more dramatic turns in the concerto. The choice of tempos in the first, second, and last movements are right, too. The third movement andante, though, is performed at an adagio pace, slower than any other of the recordings I've heard. That gives the movement more of a mystical character, but it really bogs down when the "piu adagio" section is reached. That's my only substantial criticism of an otherwise commendable performance.Also, on the same CD, is a NY Philharmonic rendering of Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn (now known not to be by Haydn) that is excellent overall, though Bernstein takes it slower than some others do. These variations also exist in a piano duet version, and the orchestrated version is believed to be Brahms' testing the symphonic waters before composing his first symphony in C-minor. The variations are now sometimes known as the St Anthony Variations and the tune they are based on as the St Anthony Chorale, of which the original composer has not been identified.Although the piano concerto was recorded in 1968 and the variations in 1978, the stereo sound on this 1992 re-issue has been remastered using 20-bit technology to enhance the sound quality. The result is excellent sound to my ears. The piano sounds like a true piano, and the orchestral sound is glowing. The balance between piano and orchestra is generally good, though the orchestra seems to dominate in a few spots. The NY Philharmonic is at its best in the variations. This "Royal Edition" re-issue was sponsored by Prince Charles.

André Watts joined Leonard Bernstein in this recording of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in 42 years ago 1968 at a point in time when the young Watts at age 22 was approaching the height of his popularity with American Orchestras. After hearing the now older André Watts in performance with Bramwell Tovey and the LA Philharmonic giving his current interpretation of this fiendishly difficult and very long concerto it is fascinating to return to this fine recording now, thankfully, held in the library as the popular Royal Edition. This recording finds Watts more eloquent and more in touch with the dreamlike qualities that Brahms so eloquently placed in the concerto as contrasts to the demanding pyrotechnics that mark the majority of the work. Bernstein provides a similar approach to the piece as Watts and the result is a smooth, if not always convincingly involved performance. At the present André Watts is more a firebrand than this earlier performance would indicate. He now storms through the rapid passages like a locomotive at full steam, filling the hall with thunderous sound - if with some inexact playing. Yet when he reaches the third movement 'duet' with the cello he is as soulful as the performance on this recording, and he even seems to be more sensitive to the partnership with the cellist instead of trumping the limelight. So if listeners are able to hear a contemporary performance of this great piano concerto at the hands of André Watts they will hear the best of both versions!Bernstein gives a taught and thoughtful reading of the 'Variations on a Theme of Haydn' that fills out this CD, and this performance continues to be one to treasure even when compared to the many fine recordings by other 'more Brahmsian' conductors. This recording is a fine one to won, especially at the very reduced price that accompanies all of the Royal Edition recordings placed back on the shelves by Sony Records. Grady Harp, January 10

The Second Piano Concerto of Brahms, which the composer wrote a quarter of a century after No. 1, is perhaps the longest of its type in the active repertoire, coming in at just over fifty minutes. It takes a great deal of skill to navigate this sizeable work. Andre Watts is the pianist with that kind of skill, as is aptly demonstrated in this 1968 recording of the concerto with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Watts and Bernstein make for a good partnership here; and Watts' own playing, particularly in the tricky and violent scherzo and the almost Mozartean final movement, is superlative. Bernstein's conducting and the performance by the New York Philharmonic is at its world-class best.Rounding out this recording is Bernstein's 1971 essay of the work that gave Brahms the impetus to work on symphonic essays--the "Variations On A Theme By Haydn." Although it has been established that the theme Brahms thought to be by Franz Joseph Haydn (supposedly from a wind divertimento in B Flat) is probably by someone else, that does not diminish the popularity of this twenty minute-long work. As usual with Bernstein's golden years with the New York Philharmonic, his interpretation of the Haydn Variations is top-notch.Highly recommended for all classical music lovers.