Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Concert #2

Who can resist the powerful, telluric opening of Brahms's First Concerto? In this second part of their superb diptych, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Alexandre Kantorow bring piano and orchestra together, before one of Dvorák's most endearing symphonies, bursting with Slavic soul, rings out.

The work of a twenty-one-year-old still under the influence of Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms's Concerto No. 1 got off to a chaotic start: originally conceived as a symphony, it was misunderstood at its premiere in 1859, then roundly booed in Leipzig! This is hard to believe, given the splendour of the score, which is now universally acknowledged, with its vehement opening first movement (which Bruckner admired all the same!), its Adagio in the form of an interiorised canticle, and its cheerful Finale with its popular, dancing accents. Characteristic of his 'Slavic' period, Dvorák's Symphony No. 6 (1880) opens with an Allegro of great serenity, a veritable demonstration of orchestral writing. The Adagio that follows, with its nocturnal atmosphere, magnifies the instrumental timbres while sparing dramatic incisions. In place of the traditional Scherzo, Dvorák inserts a "Furiant", a vigorous Czech dance with a complex metrical structure, which received a standing ovation on the day of its premiere! At first melodious, the Finale, in which the Brahmsian influence can be heard, is won over by a rhythmic crescendo and the momentum of a wild jubilation.