Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2

Album review

It seems that international recognition has at long last arrived for Argentine pianist Nelson Goerner, even if he had been known on the professional circuit for many years. His most recent recital albums, of Debussy, Schumann, Chopin, and Beethoven were met with rave reviews: and here he is today in one of the greatest concertos in the repertoire. Recorded in concert in Tokyo on 20 May 2009, with the excellent NHK Orchestra, this is a particularly sumptuous rendition of the Second Concerto by Brahms, twilit and intimate, with a velvet piano sound and well-chosen phrasing that provides a perfect match for Brahms's long melodic motifs. Tadaaki Otaka attentively follows his soloist's every move, supporting him with broad gestures from the podium. Discovered by Martha Argerich during an audition for gifted children in Buenos Aires, Goerner was sent to work in Geneva with Maria Tipo, where in 1990 he would win first prize at the International Competition, giving a magisterial rendition of Rachmaninov's Third Concerto with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Since then, he has travelled the world, building his career stone by stone, taking his time, and only bringing pieces before the public when they are perfectly ripe. This is a thrilling version of a major work by Brahms, even among the already-crowded discography – from which it can be hard to choose. © François Hudry/Qobuz