Up on Mount Olympus, the waiting room for the Gods probably has the Brahms Second playing on the sound system. The most massive and majestic of piano concertos, its satisfied countenance never seems in doubt, conflicts seem to arise only so that they can be confidently resolved, and the finale has no more danger about it than a kid's game of tag. Clearly, Brahms was feeling good and enjoying the Italian sunshine when he wrote this one and the sense of warmth and well being is reinforced soundly by Emmanuel Ax and Bernard Haitink in this recording. Ax has always been a first-rate Brahms player, and he now has the seasoning to really get around this bear of a concerto conceptually. He is well matched by Bernard Haitink, whose laid-back brand of humanity goes hand in hand with that of his soloist.
