I have always loved Brahms -- at least since about age 8, when I encountered the legendary recording of the Brahms D Minor Piano Concerto on scratchy, hand-me-down 78s and went completely birdshit. However, I never liked the second piano concerto (the B-flat Major) very much, until I happened to be listening to it recently (yes, for review -- check GMR on May 20 or thereabouts). It's much better than I remembered. It's grown-up Brahms, I think. If I recall correctly, the D Minor was about the first of Brahms' works performed, while the B-flat Major happened when he was older, established, and a household word.
It's really a mature work, with all the grandeur and scale that we associate with Brahms. The fire of the D Minor is toned down some, but still there, if you're listening. All the raw edges are knit together, the power is just as strong as ever, and that incredible architecture is, if anything, even clearer. I enjoyed listening to it quite a bit. Maybe it's just that I've grown up a little.
But nothing can ever take the place of the D Minor. I haven't grown up that much.
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