If you wish to support The Piano Files, please consider membership on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepianofiles A March 14, 1952 concert performance of Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 in B-Flat Major Op.83 with Danish pianist Victor Schiøler as soloist, with Carl von Garaguly conducting the Royal Danish Orchestra. A pupil of both Ignaz Friedman and Artur Schnabel, and teacher of Victor Borge and Gunnar Johansen, Schiøler produced an impressive output on disc over a nearly 40-year period, with recordings of several large-scale works issued on the major HMV label. However, his reputation has not endured to the extent that his elegant pianism and insightful interpretative talents would warrant. This commercially unavailable broadcast tape finds Schiøler playing a work that he did not commercially record - and what a performance it is, with even more passionate intensity than can be heard in his very impressive readings of major concertos in his official discography, among them Liszt's and Tchaikovsky's 1st Concertos. The finest qualities of Schiøler's pianism are all on display here: full-bodied tone at all dynamic levels, elegantly crafted melodic lines, wonderful interplay between primary and secondary voices, impeccably weighted chords, and exquisite transparency of texture. These are all the more impressive given the degree to which Schiøler plays with impassioned urgency and fiery intensity, without any compromise to tonal colour or refinement of nuance. Particularly worthy of attention are the long sweeping lines that continue with remarkable cohesiveness and momentum, such as in the lyrical passages in the 2nd movement (I don't think I've ever heard the passage from 21:45 to 22:02 played so beautifully) and throughout the 3rd movement. A phenomenal performance of this titanic work by a sorely under-appreciated artist. The bulk of Schiøler's studio recordings are available on the Danacord label, each of which is linked in this feature article I prepared about the pianist on my website: https://www.thepianofiles.com/a-masters-voice/ This performance has now been issued on the latest Danacord release devoted to this artist: https://www.danacord.dk/frmsets/records/962-63-r.html

• published: 14 Apr 2022
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