COMPOSERS: Brahms/Strauss
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat; Burleske
PERFORMER: Rudolf Serkin (piano) Cleveland Orchestra/George Szell; Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
CATALOGUE NO: SBK 53262 ADD (1967/70)
As always with Serkin, there’s no attempt here to lionise the music with flamboyant posturing or maladroit rhetoric. His spacious, naturally eloquent account of the Brahms is marred only by an acidic CD transfer. Szell directs the magnificent Cleveland Orchestra in a performance that rivals any in the catalogues. Serkin is joined by Ormandy and the Philadelphians in Strauss’s rarely performed Burleske. Worth hearing, but be prepared to make allowances for the sound. Michael Jameson
Brahms/Strauss: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat; Burleske
As always with Serkin, there’s no attempt here to lionise the music with flamboyant posturing or maladroit rhetoric. His spacious, naturally eloquent account of the Brahms is marred only by an acidic CD transfer. Szell directs the magnificent Cleveland Orchestra in a performance that rivals any in the catalogues. Serkin is joined by Ormandy and the Philadelphians in Strauss’s rarely performed Burleske. Worth hearing, but be prepared to make allowances for the sound. Michael Jameson
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm