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The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos

Garrick Ohlsson

Classical - Released May 12, 2023 | Reference Recordings

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 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: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral" (Live)

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Classical - Released February 12, 2021 | Reference Recordings

Hi-Res Booklet
Conductor Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recorded this live reading of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, in 2019. The marketplace was not exactly crying out for a new Beethoven's Ninth, even considering Honeck's strong track record in Classical-era repertory and Reference Recordings' increasingly fine results in Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall. However, it is absolutely worth experiencing Honeck's accomplishment here. The reading is distinctive and justified at length in a booklet essay by Honeck. His reading is fast, blazing, kinetic, with moments of high contrast, such as the ethereal third movement in its entirety, giving the listener breathing space. The first movement is quick, but Honeck relaxes the tempo just slightly as things proceed, making room for the brass to give their stentorian statements. The scherzo is very fast throughout, which has the effect of not stealing the delicate discourse from the slow movement, and the finale, though also fast, is never rushed. There is a certain logic in playing the work this way, inasmuch as the impossible-to-sing passages in the solos become just a bit less impossible at these speeds. Most impressive is that Honeck holds the musicians and the singers together at his blazing speeds; his 22:30 timing for the finale comes in more than two minutes faster than, say, Fritz Reiner's classic Chicago Symphony recording, and Honeck would have been even faster had he not offered a rather deliberate reading of the movement's recitative introduction. The soloists shine, and they deliver in a difficult reading that, at its best, feels like the cry of exultation Beethoven envisioned. The slightly American accent of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh is somehow not a detriment but an inducement here; there is real energy running through the performance and real joy. Reference Recordings has once again produced audiophile-quality sound whose depth and transparency are awesome even on everyday equipment. © TiVo
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Brahms: Violin Concerto Op. 77 by David Oistrakh

David Oïstrakh

Classical - Released January 30, 2023 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Schumann: The 4 Symphonies by Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein

Classical - Released January 17, 2023 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 9,7,5,3 by Ferenc Fricsay

Ferenc Fricsay

Classical - Released March 4, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Mozart: Don Giovanni by Wilhelm Furtwängler

Wilhelm Furtwängler

Opera - Released January 8, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Serge Rachmaninoff

Classical - Released March 15, 2021 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Albéniz: Iberia, Cantos de España, Suite Española by Alicia de Larrocha

Alicia de Larrocha

Classical - Released March 13, 2023 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Beethoven: Violin Concerto Op. 61 by David Oistrakh

David Oïstrakh

Classical - Released October 31, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas

Clara Haskil

Classical - Released September 22, 2021 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111 by Sviatoslav Richter

Sviatoslav Richter

Classical - Released March 3, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works by Manuel Rosenthal

Manuel Rosenthal

Classical - Released December 31, 2021 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 by George Szell

George Szell

Classical - Released January 17, 2024 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 by Kirill Kondrashin

Kirill Kondrashin

Classical - Released June 1, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 by David Oistrakh

David Oïstrakh

Classical - Released December 30, 2021 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Dvořák & Janáček: Orchestral Works

Manfred Honeck

Classical - Released July 8, 2014 | Reference Recordings

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Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 by Pierre Fournier

George Szell

Classical - Released January 14, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

Vladimir Horowitz

Classical - Released March 26, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Ports of Call

Eiji Oue

Classical - Released September 23, 1997 | Reference Recordings CD

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Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 "From the New World" by Ferenc Fricsay

Ferenc Fricsay

Classical - Released June 1, 1960 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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