Our Summer BAL 41 : Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 in E Flat Major

[Barbirollians]

I was rather amazed to see on Presto's site that there is only one recentish BAL of a Beethoven Piano Concerto - namely No 3 .


Hence , how about a summer BAL on probably the work that opened the door for me to classical music .

For that reason I shall always put the first recording I had to the top of the pile - Barenboim/Klemperer -ASD2500 . A terrific combination of youth and experience . For a long while I found it very hard to listen to any other recording.

Finally, Fischer/Furtwangler - which is so different opened my ears to other recordings. It remains extremely special . Others have followed that I also love

Kovacevich/Davis
Solomon/Menges
Gilels/Ludwig

And others that I admire and enjoy greatly

Pollini/Bohm
Fleisher/Szell
Firkusny
Casadesus/Rosbaud
Brendel/Rattle
Perahia/Haitink
and Uchida/Sanderling

[verismissimo]

I am rather amazed that, given the extensive number of versions of Nos 1 to 4 that I have, I seem to have only two Emperors, and those both on LP - Fleisher/Szell and Brendel/Haitink. I'll review them both this week, but something new would be very welcome.

I used to have Arrau/Haitink, which I loved, but foolishly let go of at some point.

[vinteuil]

... current favourite :

Schoonderwoerd / Cristofori

also like

Lubin / Hogwood, AAM
Levin / J-E Gardiner, Orch Rev & Rom
Tan / Norrington, LCP
Bronfman / Zinman, Zurich

[Tony Halstead]

... current favourite :

Schoonderwoerd / Cristofori

also like

Lubin / Hogwood, AAM
Levin / J-E Gardiner, Orch Rev & Rom
Tan / Norrington, LCP
Bronfman / Zinman, Zurich

What about NEWMAN ( fortepiano)/ Hanover Band / Simon ?

[vinteuil]

What about NEWMAN ( fortepiano)/ Hanover Band / Simon ?

... sounds interesting - do you have more details? - is it still available?

[Tony Halstead]

... sounds interesting - do you have more details? - is it still available?

Hmmm... I'm talking about a series of recording sessions in which I took part, in London ( St Giles Cripplegate church) in about 1986 or 1987.. my memory is clearly faulty, as the orchestra wasn't actually 'on paper' 'The Hanover Band' but a freelance outfit comprising quite a few members of The Hanover Band, operating under a 'stencil' name e.g. London Antiqua Orchestra or 'some such'.
During those sessions we recorded Beethoven's Piano concertos # 1 and 5 ( and also maybe # 2 although I have no memory of it) as an attempt to complete the 'cycle' that had begun the previous year in New York when the 'members of the Hanover Band' had recorded Beethoven's Piano concerto 3 while on tour in the USA.
However I do recall that, following the completion of the recording of the Emperor concerto played by Anthony Newman ( the conductor Stephen Simon was excellent by the way) I had a rehearsal that same day in the evening with Malcolm Bilson - who asked 'how did it go with the Newman-Beethoven recordings'?
I replied - 'very good' - 'he got all the right notes'
to which Malcolm replied
'Christ, that's a HORRIBLE thing to say'....!

[vinteuil]

Hmmm... I'm talking about a series of recording sessions in which I took part, in London ( St Giles Cripplegate church) in about 1986 or 1987.. my memory is clearly faulty, as the orchestra wasn't actually 'on paper' 'The Hanover Band' but a freelance outfit comprising quite a few members of The Hanover Band, operating under a 'stencil' name e.g. London Antiqua Orchestra or 'some such'.
.... the recording of the Emperor concerto played by Anthony Newman ( the conductor Stephen Simon was excellent by the way)

... aha ! -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000E016

[Tony Halstead]

... aha ! -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000E016

Oh dear oh dear, I wouldn't pay that much for it...!

[LeMartinPecheur]

I started with the standard DGG stereo Kempff/ Leitner on LP which kept me very happy for years, followed in due course by a CD set of the Solomon complete concertos (I'm a Solomon enthusiast, and will buy anything he recorded pretty much on sight even though I'm not generally one for artists' 'complete recordings').

Lately however I seem to have sprouted a lot of charity-shop Emperors: Gould/ Stowowski and Gelber/ Leitner on LP, Barenboim/ Klemperer, Curzon/ Knappertsbusch, Horowitz/ Reiner, Serkin/ Ozawa on CD.

Some of these I've chosen more for couplings than for the Emperor, not my favourite LvB piano concerto. (The Gould was prompted by sheer curiosity about Gould in Beethoven, after being mightily impressed by some of his early recordings of late sonatas on Naxos).

I favour No 4 well ahead of No 5, but for some odd reason have far fewer recordings. Possibly the classic Gilels/ Ludwig on HMV Concert Classics is unchallengeable in my book?

If pushed I'd probably still settle for Kempff in 5, though I look forward to giving the Barenboim/ Klemperer its first spin, prompted by judicious enthusiasm for it expressed above

[richardfinegold]

My fist was Gina Bachauer, about 40 years ago, which my sister owned. It is in one of the large Mercury box sets. My favorites have been Fleisher/Szell and Perahia/Haitink. Lately I've been listening to Jan Panenka/Musur on Supraphon.

[Roehre]

The one through which I learned to appreciate the Emperor was Casadesus/Concertgebouworkest/Rosbaud (on a Philips re-issue from around 1970 or so- I got it in 1972).
My preferred "big band" is Kempff/BerlinPO/Leitner,
HIPP (more or less) Bronfman/Tonhalle Zurich/Zinman

Op.73 is certainly not my favoured Beethoven piano concerto. That's no.4 op.58.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Play a fortepiano, and "I'll talk" - promise. I like the sound of most early instruments, but not this.

[Petrushka]

Curzon/Knappertsbusch was the BaL choice many years ago, I recall (probably around 1980) and as a result I went out and bought the LP. In the CD age, I've got that as well as Kempff/Leitner, Pollini/Abbado, Brendel/Rattle and, my preferred choice, Murray Perahia and the Concertgebouw with Bernard Haitink.

One other on my shelves is Gieseking/Rother in the 1944 stereo recording with alleged anti-aircraft fire in the first movement cadenza. I say alleged as it sounds to me more like someone in the orchestra dropped something or shuffled a chair but there are pundits out there who claim to be able to say the exact type of anti-aircraft gun that was firing.

[EdgeleyRob]

I remember buying the Rudolf Firkusny,Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg LP during my early record collecting days (early 70s) and playing it to destruction.
I wonder if any forumites remember it or still have it.
Now the only version I have is Brendel/Rattle.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Checking through my library, I have Edwin Fischer/Phil/Furtwangler, Gulda/VPO/Stein, Backhaus/VPO/Schmidt-Isserstedt, and Ashkenazy/VPO/Mehta.

As always, the Vienna Phil dominates my collection.