AN INTRODUCTION TO...BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2

Unlike the Naxos musical biographies of composers, this is an anatomical dissection of a single noteworthy piece of music. In terms more familiar to music professionals than to beginners ("a harmonic wash of pure pianistic tone colour"), Siepmann analyzes the construction, difficulty, unconventionality, and beauty of Brahms's second piano concerto. His technique is to say a few words about a musical passage and then present it piecemeal, working step by step through the entire work. Finally, we hear the whole movement with much more appreciation than before. Historical background and a biographical sketch of the composer are included in a printed booklet, alas, not read to us on the disc. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 02/ JAN 03]