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The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos
Garrick Ohlsson
Classical - Released May 12, 2023 | Reference Recordings
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Gramophone Editor's Choice
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
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Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97 "Archduke"
Yo-Yo Ma
Classical - Released March 15, 2024 | Sony Classical
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The "Beethoven for Three" series, featuring piano trio arrangements of Beethoven's symphonies, offers one or more symphonies together with one of the composer's actual piano trios. The three performers, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianist Emanuel Ax, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, could probably have sold albums on name recognition alone, but they deliver performances worthy of their names. Certainly, arrangements of Beethoven's symphonies for smaller forces were common enough in the 19th century, but the ones here, by composer Shai Wosner, are new and frequently quite artful; hear the delicate slow introduction to the first movement of the Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, where Wosner interprets the original rather than straining to duplicate it. The highlight on this volume may come with the masterful reading of the Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97 ("Archduke"), where the players' familiarity with each other really shows. Sample the Scherzo, where there is not a note that isn't distinctively articulated in some way, and the fascinatingly deliberate opening to the finale. Sony Classical contributes impressive engineering from a new studio venue at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York. This album breathes new life into the all-star format, and it made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: Diabelli Variations
Mitsuko Uchida
Classical - Released April 8, 2022 | Decca Music Group Ltd.
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Gramophone: Recording of the Month
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
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Variations & Bagatelles
Ronald Brautigam
Classical - Released September 6, 2019 | BIS
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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 4 & 5
National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center
Symphonies - Released May 19, 2023 | National Symphony Orchestra
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The early reviews on conductor Gianandrea Noseda's tenure with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington are good, and it may be that he will become as familiar a figure in the U.S. as he is across the pond. He has recording projects underway devoted to the contrasting figures of Beethoven and George Walker, and these have been positively reviewed. This live recording (no audience noise or applause) of Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60, and Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, offers fine examples of Noseda's rigorous yet eminently crowd-pleasing style. The Symphony No. 5 opens with a strikingly short pair of fermatas in the famed "Fate" motif, and the forward motion thus propelled never really lets up. The first movement is impressively concentrated and exciting, although by the time the finale is reached, one has a bit of a feeling that there is no higher level to go to. However, Noseda's slow movements are elegant, and there are signs that he is getting a more beautiful sound out of his large string section than has been heard in some time. At times (hear the beginning of the Symphony No. 4 Scherzo), that string sound falls victim to Kennedy Center's indifferent (and much-tinkered-with) acoustics, but this is a satisfying Beethoven recording from a conductor emerging as one of the world's best.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: Complete Symphonies & Concertos
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released October 9, 2020 | Challenge Classics
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60
Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Classical - Released January 1, 1984 | Orfeo
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Beethoven : Bagatelles
Tanguy de Williencourt
Classical - Released February 7, 2020 | Mirare
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5 de Diapason
With this album, pianist Tanguy de Williencourt offers an original vision of Beethoven. The album includes various pieces, some with a “Webernian” length of 30 seconds to 2 minutes, consisting in skits into the musician’s imagination, like ripped off pages of the genius’ diary. In the time of Beethoven, French was in fashion. As their French inspired name indicates, the Bagatellen were sometimes light, sometimes erotic. Beethoven’s Bagatellen, as a name (more than a form) punctuated the composer’s entire career. Yet, he referred to them as his ‘Kleinigkeiten’, little things. A series of charming and dedication pieces (Für Elise), they, nevertheless, became almost prophetic in 1825, when Beethoven’s language resolutely began to foresee the future. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Honegger: Symphonies Nos 1-5, Pacific 231, Mouvement symphonique No. 3
Serge Baudo, Czech Philharmonic
Classical - Released January 1, 1991 | Supraphon a.s.
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Prism II (Bach, Schnittke, Beethoven)
Danish String Quartet
Classical - Released September 13, 2019 | ECM New Series
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5 de Diapason
This release by the Danish String Quartet is part of a five-album series titled "Prism," each of which will apparently include three works: an arrangement of a Bach fugue for string quartet, one of Beethoven's five late quartets, and a 20th century work that somehow lies in the shadow of both, or, to use the quartet's own words, "a beam of music is split through Beethoven's prism." In this case, the program is unusually coherent, with the String Quartet No. 3 of Alfred Schnittke engaging itself directly with the Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130, and Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, here played as the finale of the String Quartet No. 13 as Beethoven originally conceived the work. Logically, the Beethoven should go in the middle, but after you hear the Danish String Quartet's blistering performance of the String Quartet No. 13, you'll agree that it would be an impossible act to follow. The group gets just how radical this quartet was, especially with the Grosse Fuge in place, as sharp contrasts grow throughout the work and explode in the unthinkably intense fugue. The quartet takes the first movements of the six-movement work very rapidly, with the lighter melodic passages seeming like passing thoughts, takes a deep pause with the Cavatina slow movement, and then plunges into the fugue at top power. They are aided by magnificent engineering work from ECM, working on the Reitstadel Neumarkt, a riding stadium with famed acoustics. The Schnittke quartet is a fascinating work in itself, quoting the Beethoven extensively and exploring its sharp contrasts (sample the Agitato middle movement). One awaits the rest of the Danish String Quartet's series breathlessly, but it's possible that this volume, with a Beethoven performance for the ages, will tower over the rest. A bonus is a set of notes by the great Paul Griffiths, writing mostly for ECM these days.© TiVo
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Beethoven: Fur Elise, Bagatelles Opp. 33, 119 & 126
Paul Lewis
Classical - Released July 10, 2020 | harmonia mundi
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‘Miniature’ Beethoven! In our collective idea of the piano, Beethoven’s name is associated with the monument of the thirty-two sonatas, which have often been elevated to the status of the ‘New Testament’ beside the ‘Old Testament’ of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Yet, over a period of decades, the composer of Für Elise constantly returned to the genre of the bagatelle, which he called ‘trifles’ but which actually meant a great deal to him. In this small form par excellence, as in the sonata, Beethoven laid the foundations for a flourishing new genre, the piano miniature. Whether they last a few minutes or a few seconds, these Bagatelles are masterpieces! © harmonia mundi
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, Op. 60 & Leonore Overture, Op. 72
George Szell
Classical - Released July 20, 2018 | Sony Classical
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Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin
Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released September 25, 2014 | Challenge Classics
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Prism I (Bach, Shostakovich, Beethoven)
Danish String Quartet
Quartets - Released September 21, 2018 | ECM New Series
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5 de Diapason
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
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4
Jonathan Biss
Classical - Released January 25, 2017 | Orchid Classics
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Brahms: Ballades - Schubert & Beethoven : Sonatas
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Classical - Released January 1, 1999 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
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Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos
Paul Lewis
Classical - Released August 1, 2010 | harmonia mundi
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Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4, Op. 58 & "6", Op. 61a
Gianluca Cascioli
Concertos - Released November 5, 2021 | harmonia mundi
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Unexpected Beethoven. With Beethoven’s Piano Concertos No. 4 and Op. 61a, the latter being the composer’s own transcription of his Violin Concerto, Gianluca Cascioli, Riccardo Minasi and Ensemble Resonanz present two milestones of the piano literature. Basing their interpretation on intensive source research in the archives of the Vienna Musikverein and on handwritten notes by Beethoven, the performers suggest an alternative, more varied and virtuosic version of the piano part in Concerto No. 4. © harmonia mundi
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B Flat Major & Symphony No. 6 in F Major "Pastoral"
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Classical - Released November 1, 2010 | Channel Classics
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Two fundamentally different symphonies: both works explore feelings from anentirely different point of view. The Fourth is about human feelings andmoods: obsession, love (what a melody in the second movement!), happiness,fun, wit, (Beethoven's most humorous finale!). The Sixth is about feelingsthat nature awakens in us: calmness, meditation, thankfulness.It has been an especially creative process to work on these masterpieces. Wediscovered that the Fourth Symphony sounds better with natural horns andtrumpets. In the Pastorale we used a different seating arrangement, with the winds scattered among the strings, so that each soloist was surrounded bymusicians playing the flow of Beethoven's nature music. After the storm, when we hear the first tentative horn call with a bagpipe-like accompaniment, suggesting signals across the mountains, we found it appropriate to answer with a solo violin, which is gradually joined by the whole orchestra. Iván Fischer
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Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 - Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
Evgueni Mravinski
Symphonies - Released June 1, 2016 | Praga Digitals
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