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Ludwig van Beethoven: The Piano Concertos
Ludwig van Beethoven: The Piano Concertos in Bloomington, MN
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Beethoven
is not really the beat of the experimentally minded
ECM
label, but one can see what attracted them to this performance by pianist
Alexander Lonquich
with the
Münchener Kammerorchester
. For one thing, the space was unusual -- an old city hall auditorium, the Rathaus Landhut outside Munich -- and just about as ideally suited to this interpretation as could be imagined. For another, these are unusual
concerto performances. The ensemble is a true chamber orchestra, with 12 violins, four each of violas and cellos, and pairs of the other instruments, and likely not far from orchestras
knew. And
Lonquich
, conducting from the keyboard and furnishing his own cadenzas, has rethought these pieces thoroughly. He offers his ideas on the music in an informative note; the physical version is recommended for those with the wherewithal.
locates the inspiration for
's concerto language in
Mozart
's piano concertos, pointing out that the big
concertos, like the
Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503
, were quite young when
wrote his first works.
applies this idea not only to the first three early concertos, but to the later
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
, and
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ("Emperor")
, which are quite delicately played. This puts some emphasis on the slow movements of these works, which are particularly eerie and mysterious (and this is true of the
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
, as well); there is no stomping giant in the
Fourth concerto
.
's handling of the orchestra is quite careful and detailed; hear the beautiful treatment of the winds in the first big modulations of the first movement of the
Piano Concerto No. 4
. You have to wonder how
is going to give the
"Emperor"
sufficient heft given the generally restrained nature of his playing: listeners will have to decide for themselves whether he pulls it off. But this is doubtless a fresh reading of
's well-worn concertos, beautifully recorded. A note to radio programmers: in many tracks, the music takes several seconds to begin. ~ James Manheim
is not really the beat of the experimentally minded
ECM
label, but one can see what attracted them to this performance by pianist
Alexander Lonquich
with the
Münchener Kammerorchester
. For one thing, the space was unusual -- an old city hall auditorium, the Rathaus Landhut outside Munich -- and just about as ideally suited to this interpretation as could be imagined. For another, these are unusual
concerto performances. The ensemble is a true chamber orchestra, with 12 violins, four each of violas and cellos, and pairs of the other instruments, and likely not far from orchestras
knew. And
Lonquich
, conducting from the keyboard and furnishing his own cadenzas, has rethought these pieces thoroughly. He offers his ideas on the music in an informative note; the physical version is recommended for those with the wherewithal.
locates the inspiration for
's concerto language in
Mozart
's piano concertos, pointing out that the big
concertos, like the
Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503
, were quite young when
wrote his first works.
applies this idea not only to the first three early concertos, but to the later
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
, and
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ("Emperor")
, which are quite delicately played. This puts some emphasis on the slow movements of these works, which are particularly eerie and mysterious (and this is true of the
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
, as well); there is no stomping giant in the
Fourth concerto
.
's handling of the orchestra is quite careful and detailed; hear the beautiful treatment of the winds in the first big modulations of the first movement of the
Piano Concerto No. 4
. You have to wonder how
is going to give the
"Emperor"
sufficient heft given the generally restrained nature of his playing: listeners will have to decide for themselves whether he pulls it off. But this is doubtless a fresh reading of
's well-worn concertos, beautifully recorded. A note to radio programmers: in many tracks, the music takes several seconds to begin. ~ James Manheim
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