Musical careers last longer than they used to, and here, it is difficult to detect any weakening of the long-impressive technique of pianist Garrick Ohlsson, 74 years old, when this album was recorded in the summer of 2022. The feat is especially impressive in that all five of the Beethoven concertos (plus the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43, with no piano) were performed live within a single week. Ohlsson is backed by the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra under the direction of veteran conductor Donald Runnicles, who points out that he and Ohlsson had very little discussion about interpretation prior to the performances. It is here that Ohlsson's expertise is evident. He doesn't blaze any new paths in these works, but one has the feeling that he holds the performances, to borrow a phrase from John Le Carré, like a thrush's egg in his hand. His readings are simple in the best way. Sample the arresting opening of the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58; it is direct, yet there are micro shapings that bespeak long familiarity. In fact, it is in the first two concertos, where the lengthy expositions make it less possible for Ohlsson to control the flow of events, that are less effective. The partnership between Ohlsson and the orchestra, though, is lively throughout, and Runnicles gets excellent results from what is likely essentially a pickup group; the orchestra is moderately sized and agile. Superb live recording from Reference Recordings, discussed in detail in the booklet, is another draw. © James Manheim /TiVo

In their own way Beethoven’s five piano concertos relate a part of their composer’s life. In the previous volume of this complete recording, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado and the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester explored the beginning (Concerto No. 2, a springboard to Viennese fame) and the end (the ‘Emperor’) of the story; they now turn to the most personal of all the Beethoven concertos, the Fourth, which, at a time when the spectre of total deafness threatened his career, shattered the conventions of the genre – as did such orchestral works as Coriolan and the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus. © harmonia mundi

Together with the Berlin-based Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester (DSO) Mari Kodama and her husband Kent Nagano have now completed the recording of all of Beethoven's piano concertos by jumping, as it were, back in time twice: the last element of this recording series that has spanned more than 13 years was Beethoven's concerto "number nought" (WoO 4) – personally edited by Mari Kodama from the autograph score. The original manuscript of this piano concerto is kept at the State Library in Berlin. This is not a completed score, because there is no orchestration. That said, Beethoven annotated the short score, especially in the first two movements, with indications as to which instrument was to play which part. The orchestra score which is available today was written in the early twentieth century based on those annotations. The only problem is: "Today, armed with the knowledge we now have acquired about the young Beethoven, we would perform this concerto quite differently in places," explain Mari Kodama and Kent Nagano in unison. They therefore present a very personal adaptation that emerged during rehearsal with the orchestra and at the recording sessions, and which reflects Kodama's and Nagano's individual image of Beethoven. They aim to make audible the exuberant freshness and urgent sense of awakening in the young, almost childlike Beethoven's writing shortly before his artistic powers were to burst forth, the joie de vivre and vital energy in a style that owes something to the playfulness of both Haydn and Mozart. That is Mari Kodama's intention, and she plays it in precisely such a versatile manner. Combined with the classical canon of the piano concertos nos. 1–5, the resulting comprehensive edition is complemented by the Triple Concerto for piano, violin and cello op. 56, the Rondo WoO 6 and the Eroica Variations op. 35, offering insight into the artist's longstanding involvement with her musical companion Ludwig van Beethoven. And the recordings of his works seem to lead the listener through the composer's life. "If you play all of them, it is like accompanying Beethoven on a journey through his life," explains Mari Kodama, and Kent Nagano adds: "You acknowledge the musical genius and at the same time you recognise the development of European music, because Beethoven was undoubtedly its pioneer." He led the way in changing the structure, form and harmony of music, just as there was an equally radical shift in the world around him; after the French Revolution society and business and the incipient industrial revolution began to alter the way people lived. "He is and remains an optimist, someone who can do no other than believe in what he wishes to communicate to us through his music," explains Kodama. She says this helps her. The fact that she herself is an optimist can partly be attributed to Beethoven. Kodama, Nagano and the DSO – one might imagine them almost as a trio where all the musicians have blind faith in each other and are therefore able to produce a degree of musical intensity that brings the young Beethoven back to life. © Berlin Classics

Beethoven’s Piano Concertos are a precious source for understanding the history of the practice of this instrument, which, in the early nineteenth century, permanently replaced the harpsichord in the hearts of composers. Thus one can still hear the galant influence of Mozart in the First Concerto (1795-1800), whereas the Fourth (1805-06) reveals the introspective personality, at once vigorous and generous, of a Beethoven at the height of his artistic maturity. In the second instalment of his recording of the complete concertos, the German pianist Martin Helmchen performs these two contrasting works with Andrew Manze and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. © Alpha Classics

Over the years, long-time collaborators Elisabeth Leonskaja (pianist) and Tugan Sokhiev (conductor) have developed an artistic partnership that has frequently brought them together with the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse. Sokhiev had the pleasure of being the appointed music director from 2008 until 2022 when he was forced to resign for political reasons due to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Recorded in 2017 and 2018 in the legendary Halle au Grains, the place the Orchestre du Capitole calls home, this record, devoted to Piano Concerto No. 3 and 4, exudes an aura of fresh nonchalance. The pianist and orchestra converse in perfect symbiosis under the watchful baton of a keen-eared conductor who seeks to capitalise on every inch of the score. The sound recording only magnifies Leonskaja’s skill, wrapping it in silky orchestration. What a delight!The Third Concerto, published at the dawn of the 19th century, forms part of a vision of Beethoven’s homage to the elders of the classical period (predominantly Mozart). Commencing with an atmosphere of heroic tragedy, the work finds a much more triumphant conclusion in its last movement. The approach of the Fourth Concerto is more surprising. It opens with a solitary piano cadenza, which sets the general tone of the piece before developing further to combine with the orchestra. The piece provides a glowing example of the natural balance between a solo instrument (piano) and an ensemble. The work can, at times, take the form of a symphonic poem with an abundance of imagery that reveals a dazzling discourse, a testament to the composer’s profound humanism. ©Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 was the piece with which Glenn Gould made his orchestral debut when he was 13, and he performed it more often than any of the composer's other concertos. This recording, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic, was made in 1961. Gould's performance is thoughtful, nuanced, and not at all eccentric. What's most striking about his playing is the degree to which he's able to bring out the individuality of the contrapuntal lines. His performance is extremely graceful. The opening of the first movement is luxuriantly fluid and sensuous, and the rhythmically driven sections are delicate and cleanly articulated. It's an understated performance that perfectly suits the character of this most subtle of Beethoven's piano concertos and Gould hides the work's technical demands by making the music seem effortless and spontaneous. Bernstein leads a soulful reading that's not at all flashy, which reveals the work's substance without putting a hugely individualistic stamp on it. The New York Philharmonic's sound is warm and full, and the playing is absolutely secure. Gould's characteristic humming is occasionally audible, but at such a low level that only the purist who demands absolutely clean sound is likely to be offended. A minor quibble: the CD only lasts a little over 35 minutes, and since Sony is reissuing all Gould's Columbia recordings, it would have made sense to pair the concerto with another piece to fill out the disc.© TiVo

The album “Aufgelebt” is all about revival, rebirth and recreation, the promise of new beginnings. Beethoven worked on his Piano Concerto No. 4 and the Op. 61a (piano version of the Violin Concerto) in the same period of his life. Both concertos were neglected and would have been forgotten had it not been for the attention of Felix Mendelssohn, who revived the Fourth Piano Concerto in 1836 and conducted the Violin Concerto, in 1844. Since then, these two concertos have been considered to be masterpieces of classical music literature. The Violin Concerto had yet another chance of rebirth long before young Joachim’s success. After attending the premiere of the piece, Muzio Clementi asked Beethoven to transcribe the work for piano and orchestra. His wish was promptly fulfilled by the composer, who at the same time enriched the new piano version with authentic cadenzas, of which the first - in the first movement - is very special and modern as the piano is accompanied by timpani! © Challenge Records

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Given his lineage and earliest recordings, one might not have expected Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin to deliver such poised and polished readings of Beethoven's Second and Fourth piano concertos. This was, after all, the pianist who turned in sumptuous Rachmaninoff and expressive Shostakovich before he turned 21, and many listeners expected Kissin to grow into a more or less typical Russian super virtuoso, specializing in the highly emotional music of his countrymen. Instead, Kissin has developed into not just a super virtuoso, but a refined and eloquent pianist whose crisp attack, brilliant tone, and effortless technique are ideally suited to Beethoven's most Classical concertos. Unfortunately, Kissin seems to have left his deeper emotions back in the USSR. The outer movements of the Second Concerto have the appropriate lift and drive, but the central Adagio seems entirely too prosaic. Similarly, the Fourth's opening and closing movements are nicely self-assured, but the dramatic central Andante con moto seems oddly distracted, as if Kissin were not fully involved in the music. Accompanied with impeccable distinction by Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, this recording may be of interest to Kissin's followers, but it is unlikely to take a place in the pantheon near the greatest recordings of the past. EMI's digital sound is rich, lush, and colorful, but more than slightly muffled.© TiVo