Adam Laloum, described by Le Monde as “a great artist and poet”, is recognized as one of today’s most exciting young French pianists. For his debut recording on Sony Classical, Laloum has chosen to record the two piano concertos by Brahms. Each is a titan of any pianist’s repertoire, making this choice a special statement of Laloum’s artistic confidence and strength. In the words of Le Monde, “Adam has that je ne sais quoi which captivates the audience.”

On working with Kazuki Yamada

In his new recording of the Brahms concertos, Laloum is partnered by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the baton of Kazuki Yamada. “I worked with Kazuki a few years ago with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, which was a very good experience,” Laloum says. “Therefore I was eager to ask him to do this recording with me. It was a wonderful working relationship because we were searching out the interpretation together, really sharing something. We weren’t trying to ‘fix’ the music, but to let it breathe, just giving our natural energy.”

On playing Brahms

Contrasting the two Brahms concertos, Laloum says: “I feel a sense of large landscapes in the D minor Concerto, something much colder than the B flat major work, yet also there is a special kind of light within it. The main character of the first movement is very dark, but still, in this work you find many different colours and feelings. The Second Concerto to me contains more fantasy, with an extraordinary sense of noblesse and a different type of generosity: it is warmer and more human, particularly in the third and fourth movements. Although it is an immense work, sometimes in it he talks about simple things and even about humour – always with a lot of tenderness.”

Get the album here: https://AdamLaloum.lnk.to/Brahms