Word: ax
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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After intermission, Ax joined the orchestra for a predictably fine performance of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major. Brahms did not begin composing this concerto in four movements as a symphony, as he had with his first concerto, but the piece lacks none of the grandeur of the symphonic form...
...Ax's first phrases, following the famous horn solo, did not contain the emphasis usually accorded to them; in the context of historical performances, they appeared routine. But momentousness was, in general, not his goal. The defining trait of Ax's playing on Saturday was a striking immediacy. Rather than using time to create intense emotional drama, as Sviatoslav Richter did in his landmark 1960 performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorg, Ax manifested an incessant urge to build in an efficient and almost austere manner...
This effect, often attributed to performances of Brahms by Rudolf Serkin, was not accompanied by Serkin's occasional dryness. Ax smoothed over transitions between sections rather than making them stark, resulting in a resolute and self-assured delivery. That purposefulness continued in the second section of the first movement, in which Previn added some time for emphasis in the orchestra's tuttis...
...immediacy of Ax's playing extended into the stirring second movement, an Andante in contrast to traditional symphonic and concerto structures. Here Previn could have added some bite to the strings' releases in keeping with Ax's sharp interpretation. Hopeless romantics might have demanded more time in the springlike second section (especially in the chorale-like slow passage reminiscent of Brahms' First Symphony), but Previn joined Ax in propelling the piece forward...
...slow third movement with its melodic but firm cello solos evinced a less single-minded quality in Ax's playing. He often employed a rich, pedaled texture that brought to mind his unhurried and comforting playing of Beethoven's early chamber music...