Brahms: Klaviersonate Nr.2 op.2; Etc / Jonathan Plowright – Tonträger gebraucht kaufen

wie neu

76 Min.

2014

SACD

120 g

Album: NEU und EINGESCHWEISST (OVP) STILL SEALED

Brahms: Works for Piano Solo, Vol. 2 / Plowright

Release Date: 11/11/2014
Label: BIS Catalog #: 2117 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Johannes Brahms
Performer: Jonathan Plowright
Number of Discs: 1 Hybrid SACD
Length: 1 Hours 16 Mins.


Works on This Recording

1. Variations (11) for Piano on an Original Theme, Set 1, Op. 21 by Johannes Brahms
Performer: Jonathan Plowright (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1857; Germany
2. Sonata for Piano no 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 2 by Johannes Brahms
Performer: Jonathan Plowright (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1852; Germany
3. Scherzo for Piano in E flat minor, Op. 4 by Johannes Brahms
Performer: Jonathan Plowright (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1851; Germany
4. Intermezzi (3) for Piano, Op. 117 by Johannes Brahms
Performer: Jonathan Plowright (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Austria


Notes and Editorial Reviews

The second volume in what one hopes will be a complete Brahms piano music cycle from Jonathan Plowright charges from the starting gate with engines ablaze and fingers primed for action. In other words, behold the most incisive, dramatic, and multi-dimensional account of the composer's Piano Sonata No. 2 on disc since Katchen and Arrau!

Part of the excitement lies in the pianist's absolute rather than approximate observation of Brahms' difficult-to-execute articulation marking in the first-movement exposition, the vivacity and point of his arpeggiated chords, and his ability to project the keyboard writing's textural mass with minimum pedal and equal attention between registers. Using very little rubato, Plowright conveys the Andante's “con espressione” largely through minute dynamic gradations and quality of touch. He makes effortless light of the Scherzo's rapid broken chords while insightfully contouring the finale's imitative right-hand writing against leaner than usual left-hand pedal-points. In the Op. 21 No. 1 Thema, Plowright's straightforward tempo anchors all sorts of delicious inflections and altered voicings, although the variations themselves cohere by virtue of the pianist's tightly-knit tempo relationships and relative simplicity from an expressive standpoint.

The three Op. 117 Intermezzi are no less masterful. Plowright plays No. 1 with a kind of classical understatment that avoids underlining the central section's across-the-barline phrasings and lush harmonies. By contrast, No. 2 is measured, rounded, and more wistful in relation to the faster, business-like interpretations many younger pianists favor. Rather than veil No. 3's unison opening in mystery, Plowright parks it in neutral, so to speak, with little hint at the more impassioned than usual major-key climax just around the bend.

If the Op. 4 Scherzo's opening motive is not so characterfully spelled out as in the old Backhaus, Friedberg, and Kempff recordings, Plowright's awesome legato control and supple rhythmic sense convey a lithe, elfin shimmer rarely heard in this score. Malcolm McDonald's terrific booklet notes and BIS's bracing surround-sound engineering are worthy of their own review. Even in a catalog packed to the rafters with great Brahms piano recordings, this stunning release should not be missed.
Artistic Quality: 10
Sound Quality: 10
-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

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AllMusic Review by James Manheim [-]
Following on a well-received Brahms album featuring the Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5, comes another Brahms release from British pianist Jonathan Plowright with many of the same strengths. Some buyers may pick the earlier release simply because the Piano Sonata No. 3 is generally held to be a stronger work by the young Brahms than the Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 2, and Scherzo in E flat minor, Op. 4, that frame the program here. But they would be missing not only strong performances of these comparatively rare pieces, but also extraordinary readings of the Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21/1, and the late, luminously lyrical and ineffably sad Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. Plowright's style is delicate, sensitive, and extremely precise, able to express fine details and shades. The Variations are one of those works that show why the composers of the Second Viennese School so admired the "conservative" Brahms. Without departing much from the harmonic structure of his original theme, Brahms pursues awesomely subtle details of register, melodic shape, and ornament, all of them resolving into a transcendent plane that brings to mind late Beethoven. Plowright's style is beautifully suited to this strain of Brahms' compositional thinking, and the Three Intermezzi are hardly less effective; they'll make listeners want to hear an album of all late Brahms from this pianist. BIS provides remarkably clear sound from that venue beloved of British engineers, Suffolk's Potton Hall. The result is an extremely appealing release for those who love Brahms.

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Auf der ersten Folge mit Klavierwerken von Brahms hatte Plowright zwei Monumentalwerke eingespielt, die „Händelvariationen“ und die 3. Klaviersonate. Dieses vol. 2 eröffnet auch mit einem Schwergewicht, der 2. Sonate mit einer Spieldauer von einer knappen halben Stunde. Es ist die Schöpfung eines jungen Mannes, der sich sowohl als Pianist wie auch als Komponist profilieren will: virtuos, sprunghaft und oft so gar nicht typisch „brahmsisch“. Aber sie weist schon auf das hin, was da mal kommen wird, besonders im langsamen zweiten Satz, der von einem mittelalterlichen Troubadourlied inspiriert ist und in der von Brahms so geliebten Variationsform durchgearbeitet wird. Ein frühes Zeugnis für sein Interesse an der Musik der Vergangenheit. Auch bei „Scherzo“ und den „Variationen“ op. 21, 1 handelt es sich um Frühwerke. Die drei „Intermezzi“ dagegen sind eines der dunkelsten, aber auch schönsten der späten Klavierwerke Brahms‘ mit einem ganz besonderen persönlichen Wert für ihn; er nannte sie einmal „das Schlaflied aller meiner Sorgen“.

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BIS 2117A

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