Hough plays Brahms

There’s almost nothing that Stephen Hough can’t play on the piano – but even he admits to being ‘overwhelmed’ by Brahms’s mighty First Piano Concerto. For him, this volcanic work is ‘a burst of pure, utter, natural genius’, and it’s true: if you think of Brahms as an easygoing old gent you’re in for a shock with this explosive youthful masterpiece. Hough plays it like no-one on earth, and this might be one of the few performances you’ll hear that has the potential to overshadow Beethoven’s revolutionary ‘Eroica’ Symphony. Though with a powerhouse like Karina Canellakis on the podium, there’s not much risk of that.