In light of Helicon’s recent live release of both Brahms piano concertos with soloist Rudolf Buchbinder, conductor Zubin Mehta, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, one wonders why the label brings forth another, not as well engineered Mehta/Israel Brahms Second, with the solo part played less interestingly by Yefim Bronfman.
Compare, for example, Bronfman’s graceful yet relatively foursquare phrasing in the finale to Buchbinder’s more nuanced shaping, or notice the latter’s slightly more animated and technically secure coda. While Bronfman brings welcome lightness and transparency to the first two movements’ more unwieldy passages, he does not quite match Buchbinder’s sense of chamber-like interplay with the orchestra. Furthermore, Buchbinder/Mehta’s closer, more vibrant microphone placement creates a stronger orchestral impact, particularly where the horn section and loud, heavily accented string passages are concerned.
By contrast, both soloist and orchestra revel in the Saint-Saëns G minor concerto’s glittery surface style, pointing up the effervescent tempos with all the rhythmic point and élan they need. Small wonder the audience goes wild!
Three solo encores fill out the disc. Bronfman is relaxed and eloquent in the Schumann Arabesque’s main, repeated section, yet he presses too hard in the march interlude, over-pedalling at times. The Scarlatti sonata is well played but not particularly magical, but the Chopin “Revolutionary” Etude left-hand arpeggios boast impressive lightness and sweep. However, the rather distant, recessed engineering will disappoint collectors who expect studio quality standards from archival releases.
