Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Three Intermezzi Op. 117

FROM SYMPHONIC BRILLIANCE TO QUIET REFLECTION, PIEMONTESI ILLUMINATES BRAHMS

Francesco Piemontesi, conductor Manfred Honeck, and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig come together in a new recording of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2. This concerto transcends the traditional form, blending symphonic grandeur with virtuosic brilliance and moments of intimate chamber-like dialogue between piano and orchestra. Piemontesi’s sensitive playing and Honeck’s precise, passionate leadership create a richly detailed and moving interpretation of one of Brahms’s greatest masterpieces.

Alongside the concerto are Brahms’ Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 – quiet, reflective pieces that offer a window into the composer’s most personal thoughts. Francesco Piemontesi, one of today’s most-cherished pianists, presents the fifth release in his exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE, following the widely praised Schubert – Last Piano Sonatas (2019), Bach Nostalghia (2021), Schoenberg, Messiaen & Ravel (2022), and Liszt Transcendental Etudes & Piano Sonata (2023).

Released physically on standard CD.

REVIEWS:

Classic Review: “World class playing, through and through”

Presto – Team Choice for September: “Power and expression without harshness” is how Piemontesi describes his pianistic ideal, and that could hardly be better demonstrated than in this tremendous performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, in which he contrasts great heft in the second movement with graceful, delicate passagework in the fourth. Manfred Honeck and the Gewandhausorchester are ideal partners, bold and muscular in the big orchestral tuttis, yet delicate and tender as required, with a yearning cello solo at the start of the third movement. Piemontesi follows this with exquisite accounts of the three Intermezzi, Op. 117.'”

BBC Radio Scotland – Album of the week