I have read and heard many negative comments about this performance, some suggesting that it is slow, dark, overly dramatic, etc ... so much so that I would scratch my head in disbelief at what these reviewers were saying. After all, isn't this work by Brahms very dark, very dramatic, contemplative, tragic ...which are the exact qualities that Zimerman and Rattle find and expose in this glorious recording. The end result is an energized, sonorous, eloquent and tragic interpretation which exposes Brahms' intentions very clearly.

The recorded sound, particularly of the piano, is of the highest standards.

Jean-Yves Duperron