JOHANNES BRAHMS - PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR OP.15 - CLAUDIO ARRAU [3]

Description

II. Adagio - 'Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini' - Claudio Arrau, piano - Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra - Pablo Izquierdo, conductor Teatro Municipal, Santiago de Chile - 1984 - 'Before It Was Too Late' [returning home after 17 years absence] ''I had the feeling that before it was too late I should come back to give what I have to give to a whole young generation of Chileans who have never heard me play in person,'' he said. ''The personal reasons to come were stronger than the political reasons to stay away.'' But having lived under the Nazis in Germany before moving to New York in 1941, he said, ''I am still very firm in my belief in human rights and freedom.'' Since his arrival Thursday, Mr. Arrau has been accorded the national attention normally reserved for heads of state and rock stars. He was greeted at the airport by several hunderd flower girls in an arrival that was broadcast live on national television. Hundreds of Chileans waited outside his practices to cheer him and shove for his autograph. He travels in a long sleek Daimler limousine with a police escort, and has so dominated the country's newspapers for the last two weeks that even the arrival of his Steinway piano was worthy of a front page color photograph in El Mercurio, the leading newspaper.

Keywords

Brahms, Piano Concerto in d minor, Op.15, II.Adagio, Arrau, classical music, live concert, piano

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