Beethoven Piano Concerti
I recently received a new set of the Beethoven piano concertos. The pianist performing is Pierre-Laurent Aimard with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting. I played them twice and could not put my finger on why I didn't like them. I was talking to a very dear friend in France and told him about the recordings and about my displeasure with the performance. He said he also had the set and found that there was to much Aimard and not enough Beethoven. After playing the 4th concerto today I would have to say my friend's assessment was with merit. So..... I now have a set that will probably be relegated to the top self to collect dust. I will stick with the Pollini and Brendel sets.
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I sympathize with you Stephen. I know how that is. I have a few CD's like that myself. Don't you just hate it when that happens? You can't go wrong with Brendal.
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'Truth and beauty joined''Truth and beauty joined' -
That's what I like about Hogwood's set. Lubin's not a virtuoso, he's a man that knows pianofortes and does justice to the music, that happens to Hogwood too. So you get lots of Beethoven.
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"Wer ein holdes weib errungen...""Wer ein holdes Weib errungen..."
"My religion is the one in which Haydn is pope." - by me
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"Set a course, take it slow, make it happen."Comment
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The Perahia set is also very fine.....
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Beethoven the Man!Beethoven the Man!Comment
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I have been listening to some Richter recordings and they are fantastic interpretatons of Beethoven, he is a kind of thinking man's Horowitz (spell check).
I think Gurn has already identified Richters's strength, but over all I think Brendel still has the edge on Beethoven, because there is a kind of stillness at the heart of Brendel's playing that brings out previously unknown depths the music.
It is like Shakespeare's late plays which have that sense of surpassing awe and mystery at the heart of things. Oddly enough this is what Brendel refers to in his book , 'Veil of Order' . So yes, Richter is a phenomenal player, but, the laurel has to go to Brendel on Beethoven, to my mind.
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~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~Comment
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