Concerto 1 in D minor

Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 - Grimaud Johannes Brahms (Composer), Kurt Sanderling (Conductor), Staatskapelle Berlin (Orchestra), Hélène Grimaud (Performer) Grimaud has fought hard during her career not to be typecast as a "French" pianist doomed to spend her life playing cute little concertos by Saint-Saëns and keyboard fluff by Satie, and with this performance she really throws down the gauntlet. This is as classically Germanic a performance as you're likely to hear: rock solid, moderate tempos, a gorgeously modulated piano sonority, and a view of the music that perfectly balances passion with classical discipline. She is helped in no small measure by Sanderling, one of the great Brahms conductors of our day, and also by a live recording that catches the whole inspirational event on the wing. This is one of the great ones, make no mistake. -David Hurwitz