Nicholas Angelich, American-born, but French-trained, continues his exploration of Brahms for Virgin Classics with this performance of the composers Second Piano Concerto, an epic, four-movement work that demands both grand pianism and chamber-music sensibilities.When Angelich played the concerto live in Autumn 2008 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Jrvi, the Frankfurter Neue Presse found that: Brahms Second Piano Concerto gave proof of the art of Angelichs phrasing as he found unexpected depth in the seemingly amiable parlando of the second movement. He struck a commanding path through the denser material and his technical expertise brought every facet of the work to light.
Angelichs previous Virgin Classics recording of Fantasies op 116. Intermezzi op 111, Klavierstcke opp 118 and 119, was designated a Music Choice by the BBC Music Magazine: Steering a balanced course between imaginative vitality and warmth on one side and resigned melancholy on the other can be difficult, but Nicholas Angelich manages it with a kind of panache. He takes you to the brink of inconsolable sadness one moment, only to put a refreshing spring in the step of a dance movement the next ... [Angelich keeps] the melody lines fluid and shapely, and brings light to the textures without emasculating that rich bass sound so typical of Brahms For all his respect for tone weight, Angelich can also make Brahms sound deliciously light and transparent the colours and textures all seem to emerge quite naturally from the printed notes Very impressive all round.
1. Piano concerto No.2 in B flat major - I. Allegro non troppo
2. Piano concerto No.2 in B flat major - II. Allegro appassionato
3. Piano concerto No.2 in B flat major - III. Andante
4. Piano concerto No.2 in B flat major - IV. Allegretto grazioso
5. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.1 - Capriccio in F sharp major
6. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.2 - Capriccio in B minor
7. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.3 - Intermezzo in A flat major
8. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.4 - Intermezzo in B flat major
9. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.5 - Capriccio in C sharp major
10. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.6 - Intermezzo in A major
11. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.7 - Intermezzo in A minor
12. Klavierstcke Op.76 - No.8 - Capriccio in C major