Brahms 1st concerto

[musicsdarkangel]

Woah,

I just baught both Brahms concertos performed by Arrau, and they are both incredible.  Why is the 2nd so much popular than the 1st?

I adore the 2nd, but this 1st concerto is amazing as well, and this first movement blows my mind...it is beautiful.

Thoughts on comparrison between 1st and 2nd?  Difficulty?

[stebroccm]

I actually prefer the first as well--it's really one of the most drammatic pieces I know of.  The second is quite a bit harder (mainly due to the bizzare writing in the first and fourth movements), but both are very hard. 

[Goldberg]

Well there is an obvious amount of insignifance when it comes to comparisons like this (I'm not assaulting the thread, btw, but am warning that it will no doubt happen) but I like 'em both about the same. I love Brahms, it seems, though I haven't heard much beyond his symphonies, Requiem, concerti (check out the string concerti!), piano sonatas, and a few assorted piano pieces (I know I'm missing out big time on the chamber works).

I haven't heard Arrau's recording, but I'm sure it is superb. I would recommend Rubinstein's, for both concerti, and also it would be interesting to get Gould's. I actually love Gould's--indeed it was the first I heard--not to say I understand it entirely but I think it sounds good at that pace (which is, if you don't know, (in)famously slow, though to be honest in reality it isn't as slow as some reviewers might have you believe), as Gould--and Bernstein for that matter, though he was somewhat opposed to the performance--was able to bring out certain aspects about the music one might not normally hear. Actually, I felt a little disappointed at first when I heard a few other recordings, including Rubinstein's, because their tempi seemed so fast as to overlook some of the more exciting aspects of the piece. But I understand that it really isn't the greatest idea to play it like Gould unless you are, in fact, Gould...so for everyone else there are recordings like Rubinstein and Arrau!

Oh, and I understand that Gilels is widely regarded as a "standard" mark for the concerti, but regretfully I haven't heard the disc myself. 

[apion]

I play both concerti, and I actually prefer the 1st on many levels.  It is, IMO, the greatest piano concerto (and Brahms 2nd is, not surprisingly, the second greatest  ).

I realize that comparisons like this are unsatisfactory, but Brahms 1st is just so much more impressive than the other sheep in the fold .......

Some good recordings include:

Curzon/Szell
Van Cliburn
Katchen
Kovacevich/Sawallisch (sp)
Serkin
Fleischer/Szell

[apion]

BTW, Brahms 1 is an exceedingly difficult concerto, but not as hard as Brahms 2 overall.

[pianomann1984]

I disagree, as someone who has also worked on both, and performed the 2nd, I have to say, I found the 2nd much more difficult - this is probably due to my being younger - the youthful, more firey aspects of the D minor are more instinctive to me than the aged, wise qualities of the B flat.

I haven't heard Arrau's recording, but I'm sure it is superb. I would recommend Rubinstein's, for both concerti, and also it would be interesting to get Gould's. I actually love Gould's--indeed it was the first I heard--not to say I understand it entirely but I think it sounds good at that pace (which is, if you don't know, (in)famously slow, though to be honest in reality it isn't as slow as some reviewers might have you believe), as Gould--and Bernstein for that matter, though he was somewhat opposed to the performance--was able to bring out certain aspects about the music one might not normally hear. Actually, I felt a little disappointed at first when I heard a few other recordings, including Rubinstein's, because their tempi seemed so fast as to overlook some of the more exciting aspects of the piece.

I must say, I don't like Rubenstein's early recording of Brahms 2 at all - it's fast, inaccurate and superficial, the later recording is better, but he still doesn't play it like a German (clearly because he is not one!) - I'm not saying one should be German to play the pieces - only that he is not exactly conveying the grand scale of the work - he turns it into a virtuoso concerto, which it is most definately not!  IMO, Brahms 2 should be more humble and etherial. 

Julius Katchen holds my favourite recording of both concerti, with Arrau and Gilels not far behind!

[thracozaag]

  When I was a kid, I preferred the 1st, now I prefer the 2nd (it's also infinitely more difficult to perform,imo).  Favorite recordings:

1st: Kapell (pretty much owns this, imo) with Mitropolous, Horowitz/Toscanini, Katchen
2nd: Gilels/Reiner, Richter/Mravinsky, Kentner

koji (STSD)

[apion]

Julius Katchen holds my favourite recording of both concerti, with Arrau and Gilels not far behind!

Well, we agree on Katchen.  BTW, Brahms 1 is the greatest concerto ever written.