Mozart composed concertos for piano and orchestra. Beethoven composed five. Brahms lived in the shadow of these two great composers who preceeded him. And Brahms’ piano concertos proved to be masterpieces in their own right.
Brahms’ Piano Concertos present challenges to even the most seasoned performer, and so it is a testament to the confidence and abilities of the young French pianist, Adam Laloum, having recorded both works together for his Sony debut.
Laloum is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including first prize for the Clara Haskil Piano Competition in 2009 and more recently the Victoire de la Musique Classique (Instrumental Soloist of the Year) in 2017.
Adam says about the Second Concerto: “The Second Concerto to me contains […] fantasy, with an extraordinary sense of noblesse and maybe a different type of generosity: it is warmer and more human. Although it is an immense work, sometimes in it [Brahms] talks about simple things and even about humour – always with a lot of tenderness…”
Here is the opening of the Piano Concerto number 2 by Johannes Brahms:
