Schiff Conducts and Solos in Brahms Concertos

courtesy of Jensen Artists

On his latest recently released ECM New Series album, András Schiff serves as both conductor and piano soloist in performances of Johannes Brahms’ two piano concertos. Schiff has been a regular visitor to San Francisco, presenting several multi-program themed piano recitals, usually under the combined curation of both San Francisco Performances and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). However, over the course of my listening experiences, I also had one opportunity to listen to him conduct SFS; and, unless I am mistaken, at least one of the selections had him conducting from the keyboard.

However, for the most part, Schiff’s repertoire has not advanced beyond the early nineteenth century. Thus, his decision to shift his attention to Brahms constitutes an ambitious advance into new territory. Furthermore, the first of Brahms’ concertos, Opus 15 in D minor, is a relatively early composition, which marked a similarly ambitious advance. Indeed, Brahms was confronted with a fair amount of criticism that he might have been too ambitious for his own good. Opus 15 was first performed in January of 1859, and the early performances drew hostile reactions from the audience. It was not until 1882 that Brahms completed his second piano concerto, Opus 83 in B-flat major. The score was again ambitious in its scope, particularly with the addition of a scherzo movement. However, Brahms’ reputation had advanced considerably; and this time his audiences were far more receptive.

Nevertheless, I am almost certain that this recording marked the first time that I had listened to either of these concertos conducted by the soloist. The orchestral writing is on the scale of a symphony, while the technical demands on the pianist summon up all the skills expected of a virtuoso pianist during the second half of the nineteenth century. There is thus some risk that a performance in which the soloist is the conductor might be dismissed as more of a circus act than a concert experience.

In contemporary terminology one might say that the soloist has a “bandwidth” problem, having to communicate too many different things to too many different people. However, it is often overlooked that a symphony orchestra amounts to a hierarchical organization. More often than not, “leadership” is shared between conductor and concertmaster, with the former communicating the “big picture” while the latter keeps the critical details under control. Indeed, the hierarchy goes deeper, since the concertmaster, in turn, communicates with the other section leaders.

It would thus be sufficient to observe that the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment runs very well as a hierarchical organization. ECM was kind enough to provide a booklet that listed the entire personnel of this ensemble. This allows the listener to appreciate the role that Concertmaster Kati Debretzeni played in keeping the group in order when Schiff had to focus on the details of his piano performance. Both clarity and expressiveness distinguish the accounts of both of these concertos, making this recent album a most satisfying listening experience.