Carnaval, Brahms Concerto Suggestions

I am seeking suggestions for recordings of the following works:

(1) I am looking for a recording for Schumann's 'Carnaval' and I have a very specific approach in mind. You are aware that sometimes, record critics say that a pianist has 'let the music speak for itself,' and single him (or her) out for praise for 'not placing himself between the listener and the composer' and 'letting the music flow naturally'? Well, I am looking for exactly the opposite of that with 'Carnaval'. I want a performance with many showy, even arbitrary touches, strong dynamic contrasts, pronounced rubato, and a sense of playfulness and spontaneity. Please, no 'reverent,' 'literal,' or 'sober' renditions by pianists who all but curtsy to show obeisance to the composer. This isn't Bach.

(2) I would like to hear a Brahms B-flat concerto that is NOT 'grand,' 'weighty' or 'noble.' I want something lean, fast, and intense, as much as that can be done within these parameters. I don't expect that it should be made to sound like Brahms's other piano concerto, but please, something light on the pomp and the self-conscious grandeur. I have a feeling a historical recording (pre-1950 at least) will be my best bet here, because the playing of all Brahms seems to get more slow and dull as the years go by. In ten or twenty more years it will hardly move at all.

And I care not one whit about sound quality in either case. If I can tell what the music is and it was transferred by someone with more expertise in the field than you average hot dog vendor, I will put up with the limitations and the surface noise. I thank you.

In declining technical quality

Freddy Kempf.

Emil Gilels.

(1) Rachmaninov (try to find it on the very cheap Brilliant Classics collection called 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century'

(2) Horowitz/Toscanini

Which one though? I would suggest the RCA recording with CSO/Reiner fits the original request better than the later DG with Jochum.

Which one? The DG recording with Jochum is pretty grand

Cortot or Rachmaninoff.

(Figuratively) curtsying in obeisance to the composer is almost as boring in Bach as it is in Schumann.

Any of Rubinstein's first three recordings of it (mit Coates, Munch, and Krips) fit the bill. The first of these (1929) is remarkably 'lean, fast, and intense,' albeit poorly recorded, and with its share of flubs and mishaps on the part of both Rubinstein and the orchestra

Sorry, having a slight prob with lean and intense.

says...

Gilels/Reiner, maybe, but surely not Gilels/Jochum!

Paul Goldstein

says...

These seem like self-cancelling requirements. Wouldn't #2 sound *more* like #1 if it were played in a pompous and self-conscious manner? In any event, the least pompous, most lyrical #2 I know is Katasris/Inbal on Teldec. The speeds are conventional - don't expect a race through the music - but I think this performance meets some of your criteria.

Paul Goldstein

Rachmaninov

Richter/Leinsdorf RCA