Brahms’ First Piano Concerto is an early work bristling with energy and ambition. This is a concerto of scope, complexity, and expressive power and the best performances capture some of its tragic grandeur and forceful intensity. Those qualities are found in abundance in rival versions by Fleisher-Szell, Curzon-Szell, and Gilels-Jochum, among other worthy interpretations. Alongside those, this one pales, but the artists’ many fans will want to hear for themselves how a distinguished Brahmsian like Zimerman and an equally distinguished accompanist like Rattle see this work. They will be rewarded by a thoughtful performance that veers stylistically between a classical reading and a Romantic one. This approach that has some validity if joined to rhythmic alertness and fiery music-making. But Rattle’s tendency to clip phrase endings and make frequent tempo adjustments drains tension, while Zimerman tends to eschew legato and slights more-idiomatic, longer-lined phrasing. The Andante suffers more than the outer movements in this regard; only intermittently do the performers approach Brahms’ core, while those mentioned above play with the full-bodied tone and passion this great concerto demands. -- Dan Davis

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(C)ツィマーマンＣＤ世評