New series: Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1 - a historical survey of mono LP era performances
Audition: Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 1, Backhaus, Horowitz x 2 Wilhelm Backhaus/VPO/Bohm#BrahmsOp10 STEPHEN NORTH MAR 11, 2025 1953, Decca This disc has been highly regarded since its first release and the partnership between conductor and soloist was talked about as a meeting of minds from a golden era. Wilhelm Backhaus was born in 1884 and was 10 years older than Karl Bohm. Backhaus’ first recording* of the Brahms’ Op 10 Concerto was in 1932 with Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony conducting and was a tempestous affair - tensile and full of adrenaline. It was an extremely bullish and virtuosic performance and Boult was, unexpectedly, up to the standard of orchestral playing required. This recording with the Vienna Philharmonic was of a different type and although there were flashes of the earlier fevered and virtuosic playing it was calmer and less of a shock to the system. There are a number of live performances from this era captured from concerts are now availabl...
