Philippe Jordan, Yefim Bronfman & The Vienna Symphony: Brahms & Stravinsky

From joyful exuberance to melancholy earnestness: you can tell from the opening movement of Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 that it was originally planned as a mighty symphony. Pious in the second movement and triumphant in the third, it takes a powerful yet sensitive pianist like Bronfman to draw out all of the concerto's nuances. The Vienna Symphony then continue with Stravinsky's Sacre, the most scandalous work in the history of music. Yet there is more to this ballet than archaic brutality, as Philippe Jordan and the musicians make clear. A decidedly "muscular" programme of works.