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Norman Krieger climbs musical mountains with LSO & Brahms / New Classical Tracks

New Classical Tracks is a Syndicated Feature that airs Nationally on C24 and Statewide on Minnesota Public Radio

READ THE TRANSCRIPT - Pianist Norman Krieger recently climbed a musical Mount Everest when he recorded the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Brahms with the London Symphony Orchestra. It's a marathon for which he's prepared for years, and all that effort, he says, is totally worth it.

"I can't think of anything that's more satisfying. You really feel like you're surfing a wave for 50 minutes almost. You can't really let your guard down, you always have to pay attention, and I think the primary asset as a performer is to really work in such a way where you're listening 110 percent from the beginning to the end and that helps you become a vessel for the music.

"There is a certain Teutonic edge to the first two movements in a way where you know you really are sort of climbing the mountain and dealing with the elements as they hit you because you're climbing upward. But then as I've gotten older and I understand the architecture a little bit differently now, I find that this is very mature Brahms. And he understands the accumulation of harmonies and dynamics, where you're starting at forte and then you're working your way all the way up to fortissimo."

Norman Krieger/London Symphony Orchestra/Philip Ryan Mann - Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, Piano Sonata No. 1 (Decca)