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

The late Beethoven recordings of pianist Mitsuko Uchida have been career makers, and it is cause for celebration that she has capped them with the 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120, a work that perhaps poses deeper interpretive challenges than any of the late sonatas. The Variations often show a kind of rough humor, and a performer may pick up on that, or the player may deemphasize the humor and seek out the epic qualities of the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, and Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. Uchida does neither. The outlines of her usual style, high-contrast and a bit dry, are apparent, but she does not let them dominate her reading. What Uchida realizes is that the abrupt transition from humor to the deepest existential ruminations is part and parcel of Beethoven's late style, and she works to hone the particular character of each Beethoven variation. Her left hand, as usual, is strikingly powerful, and this brings out many striking details (consider the stirring variation 16). The trio of slow minor variations toward the end are given great seriousness but are not in the least overwrought; Uchida achieves an elusive Olympian tone through the final variations. There is much more to experience here, for each variation is fully thought out, but suffice it to say that this is one of the great performances of the Diabelli Variations.© TiVo

The Smetana Quartet are a true legend. For over four decades (1945-1989), the ensemble gained critical acclaim and enthused audiences all over world, particularly in the UK, USA and Japan. They attained perfect chime and extraordinary flexibility in voice leading, resulting in part from their playing the entire repertoire by heart. The quartet performed Beethoven’s works throughout their existence – following Smetana, he was the composer on whose music they focused the most and whose complete quartets were in their repertoire from 1974 onwards. They explored some of Beethoven’s pieces for several years before including them in their concert programmes. In collaboration with a Supraphon team, in 1976 the ensemble embarked upon a colossal project, which in 1985 came to fruition with the release on Nippon Columbia of a recording of the complete Beethoven string quartets. Even though the past decade has seen significant changes pertaining to interpretation and technology, the Smetana Quartet’s account of Beethoven’s works is by no means a “museum exhibit”, with their vivacity and dynamism still enthralling today’s listeners. The recording, carefully digitally remastered from the original analogue tapes, is the very first release beyond Japan. Lovers of perfect sound are afforded the opportunity to listen to it Hi-Res 24 bit/192 kHz. © Supraphon

Programs containing a Baroque or Classical work, a Romantic work, and a 20th century work used to be standard, and with its Prism series the Danish String Quartet, of which this release is the first, seems poised to bring new rigor to the concept. They intend not only to combine works from these eras but to pass from "a Bach fugue through one of the late Beethoven quartets to the music of a subsequent composer" and to draw "lines of connection" among them. On the latter count the quartet might have chosen more direct lines: the String Quartet No. 12 in E flat, Op. 127, is perhaps the least contrapuntal of the late Beethoven quartets, and it seems less connected to the agonized, irregular String Quartet No. 15 in E flat major of the dying Shostakovich than would one of the other late quartets, perhaps the String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, with its intense depiction of illness and recovery in its formally shocking central movement. Leaving these qualms aside, however, the performances are beautiful, with the quartet shifting effortlessly from smooth, almost glassy textures to violent paroxysms. The Bach fugue that opens the program (Mozart's arrangement is used, which works well with the overall concept) sets a meditative space, and the Shostakovich, edgy and violent, and the Beethoven, mysteriously lyrical, form a compelling pair. Sample the Beethoven slow movement to hear the silent, spacious acoustic treatment given the Reitstadel Neumarkt by the ECM engineering staff, who have outdone themselves here. One awaits with pleasure future releases in the series.© TiVo

Recorded between 1964 and 1968, Paul Kletzki's respected cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies on Supraphon rightly should be classified as a historical item for specialists, rather than as a recommended option for anyone seeking a great (and great sounding) modern set. Kletzki was an admired and popular conductor, noted for working with both European and American orchestras, and his interpretations of Beethoven are intelligent and insightful, regarded by some reviewers as among the finest of their time; the performances are still valuable for their musicality and significance among mid-20th century offerings. However, these recordings predate the movement for historically informed performance practice, so fans of late Classical and early Romantic period style will find this set of little interest, and only traditionalists will be enthusiastic about it. These analog versions don't compare well with the best contemporary digital recordings, and the sound of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is a bit too homogenized and at times too muddy in this remastering to make the music fully enjoyable. Although the instruments can be made out clearly enough, some of their upper partials seem to have been eliminated in the reduction of tape hiss, and the ensemble's overall sound seems a little dulled in tone as a result. Artistically, there is much to appreciate here, but this box set faces serious competition from later and better sounding alternatives. © TiVo

This release marks the completion of Brendel's third recorded cycle of the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas. His second one, spanning the 1970s, was also for Philips, and his first, from the 1960s, was for Vox. Brendel has also recorded the five Beethoven piano concertos three times. Has there been another pianist to have thrice traversed these monumental sets? To my knowledge, there hasn't. It is well known that Brendel has devoted much time to Beethoven away from the recording studio as well, having on occasion played the complete sonata cycle over a period of several successive concerts. He has also studied and written extensively about Beethoven's music. What I guess I'm saying, albeit in a rather circuitous fashion, is that Alfred Brendel must be regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the performance and analysis of Beethoven's piano music. Auditioning the disc under review confirms his preeminence in this hallowed corner of the repertory.Brendel's account of the E Major Sonata is a tad faster than his earlier Philips rendition, but does not take a significantly different interpretive stance. The newer performance is both high-caloric and muscular, and more often looks forward to the Romantic movement than backward at the Classical period. The earlier Philips recording is clearly a more pristine, leaner rendering of the work, yet is rooted in the same pianistic framework of judicious tempos, scrupulous adherence to the composer's directions, and facile technical control, while eschewing the least hint of virtuosic grandstanding. Either version is good, then, but I'll opt for the newer, somewhat more substantive reading.The A flat Sonata is played with virtually the same arsenal of pianistic virtues and, again, is superior to the earlier, slightly superficial Philips account. Here Brendel catches the beauty, the lightness, the depth, and the humor, all in proper measure and all in a rich, gorgeous tone that has evolved over the years from the leaner, less legato-laden style of his earlier years. Speaking of his earlier years, Brendel's Op. 111 rendition on Vox seems quite typical of his pianism then, and offers considerable contrast to the newer version. It's a performance that certainly is compelling, if a bit less probing than his latest account. Even though there's much to commend in his youthful first foray--and in the first Philips effort, as well--I personally favor the newer reading. When you listen to the sublime fifth variation and recapitulation of the main theme in the second movement, you notice greater depth, greater monumentality, a sense that you are being transported to the profound spiritual planes that so clearly occupy the final pages of Beethoven's last piano sonata. And try the fourth variation (track 9; 6:44), where Brendel's dexterously inflected, adroitly agitated enactment of this rather threadbare, yet miraculously rewarding thematic digression points up its auguring of much of the syncopated music of the twentieth century. (Did Beethoven here foreshadow rock 'n' roll?) There have been many fine pianists who have recorded the Beethoven sonatas with acclaim, including Richard Goode (a pair of his releases didn't impress me favorably, though), Vladimir Ashkenazy, and the justly praised Artur Schnabel. Brendel certainly takes his place among the greatest Beethoven interpreters of any time, and this disc finds him at his most inspiring. Philips supplies sumptuous sound and informative notes. Strongly recommended.© TiVo

A true ‘apotheosis of the dance’ in the words of Richard Wagner, Beethoven’s Seventh has enjoyed perennial popularity ever since its premiere - unlike his sole ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, of which only the overture has remained (more or less) familiar to us. To offer a new version of a key work in Beethoven’s corpus while reviving the complete version of one of his most unjustly forgotten masterpieces: such is the challenge brilliantly taken up by the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester, under the direction of their Konzertmeister Gottfried von der Goltz. © harmonia mundi