★★★★☆ Pianist Alexei Volodin gives Brahms’ Second a commanding performance.

Adelaide Town Hall
September 10, 2016

In the spring of 1878 Johannes Brahms, by this stage a mature composer of considerable reputation, travelled to Italy. There he began the first sketches for his Second Piano Concerto. Several have been tempted to attribute the Second’s warmer disposition to the sunny climate in which it originated.

Whatever the source of its fervency, the passion and complexity of Brahms at the height of his fame is a challenge not easily met. The expansive form of his Piano Concerto No 2 in B Flat; its expressive blend of fire and romance, speaks to a love that is unrequited but never extinguished. Alexei Volodin met this challenge with the capability of a seasoned professional. His own artistic maturity, coupled with his incredible strength and technical capability, make him a worthy adversary for this monstrous task.

It is often said of this work that it is a Brahms symphony with a principal piano. This is certainly true when considering the technical requirements of the orchestral score. However it is the genius of mature Brahms that it is not just a complex piece for piano and orchestra. At...