Ravel / Bruckner (Live)

In this live concert recorded in March 2024, pianist Martha Argerich gives a brilliant yet reflective performance of Ravel’s sunshine-filled Piano Concerto in G, including a second movement full of affection. There are two solo encores to enjoy—an appropriately sparkling account of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, and a poised, light-fingered account of the “Gavotte I” from Bach’s English Suite in G minor. Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony was one of the Austrian composer’s earliest successes with its acclaimed performance in New York in 1885. Mehta communicates his love for this work through the Vienna Philharmonic’s sensitive playing, and the airy quality of the symphony’s opening leads convincingly to the first movement’s triumphant final bars. The second movement, written by Bruckner as he anticipated the death of his musical hero, Wagner, is marked by its brooding nobility and a rich string bass tone. The Scherzo has an infectious skip in its step which drives the movement to its climaxes with exhilarating effect, while the finale possesses a noble restraint, brass suddenly erupting gloriously midway through.