Our Summer BAL No 56 Beethoven Piano Concerto No4

[Barbirollians]

I like all of the performances I've heard, which are:

Rubinstein & Krips
Grimaud & someone
Bronfman & Zinman
Tan & Norrington
Levin & Gardiner
Immerseel & Weil
Serkin & Ormandy

For whatever reason though, it's the last one I listen to most often, by a fair margin. At his best Serkin the elder's interpretations of Beethoven hit the "sweet spot". (Serkin the younger is no slouch... no Concerto 4 recording though)

One thing I want to hear is a performance that uses Nikolay Medtner's cadenzas, because they are small masterpieces of the genre. Good cadenzas are harder to write than one might think at first....

Grimaud/NYPO/Masur ? The recording with the wolf pictures and the essay - Richard Osborne's review in Gramophone was rather amusing .

[richardfinegold]

Persia/Haitink is a good choice, perhaps my favorite as well. I have lived quite happily with Fleisher/Szell for years. I remember hearing the Rubinstein/Leinsdorf/Boston version being played in a record store (remember those?) and being absoultely transfixed but never acquired a recording of it. Lately I've been listening to Brendel from the big Philips box, which is a huge improvement over the travest of his Vox recording, but not quite of a level with my favorites

[Pulcinella]

Perahia/Haitink here too, and another, from absorbing my partner's collection with mine: Ashkenazy/Solti, which doesn't seem to have been mentioned yet.

[Barbirollians]

I haven't played it for a little while so time for a spin for Perahia/Haitink .

[verismissimo]

I seem to have more than my usual quota of this concerto including some not yet much mentioned: Gulda/VPO/Stein, Kovacevich/ACO, Brendel/LPO/Haitink, Fleisher/Cleveland/Szell, Conrad Hansen/BPO/Furtwangler, R Serkin/Philadelphia/Ormandy and Lewis/BBCSO/Belohlavek (which I've yet to hear). I must like it a lot.

My first was a much-loved Arrau/Concertgebouw/Haitink which I miss greatly having injudiciously parted with it at some point.

[rauschwerk]

As for Katchen: Cyrus Meher-Homji (isn't he the Australian Eloquence guy?) suggests in his notes for the 2004 reissue that Katchen rushes in the some of the passagework, and I think he is right. However, that doesn't really detract from my enjoyment, and the 1963 Decca sound (Walthamstow) is first rate.

As for the opening solo: does one crescendo to the sforzando in the third bar (Beethoven gives no instruction) or not? Katchen does not: Perahia and Fellner do, to different degrees. I find myself wondering how Beethoven might have imagined it. Would he have played it the same way every time? I doubt it.

[Barbirollians]

There is a lovely late Arrau 4 with Colin Davis coupled last time I saw it on a no doubt deleted Philips disc with that 1985 Emperor recording that RO praised so in Gramophone .

[verismissimo]

I recently inherited an extensive collection of Paul Lewis's recordings - mostly Beethoven and including his concerto cycle. It strikes me as superb, close to ideal, but he seems to get mixed reviews on these boards - and I wonder why?

[BBMmk2]

I like Paul Lewis's recent recording, with the much missed Jiri Behlohlavek and BBCSO, Of the older ones is Ashkenay's classic one with Solti and CSO? Off hand can't remember

[HighlandDougie]

I'd join Cloughie and Alain M in flying the flag for the young Gilels (recorded in 1957) with Leopold Ludwig - and for a more modern recording, although there is not much wrong with the EMI remaster of the Gilels, Richard Goode with the Budapest Festival Orchestra/Ivan Fischer.

[pastoralguy]

I like Paul Lewis's recent recording, with the much missed Jiri Behlohlavek and BBCSO, Of the older ones is Ashkenay's classic one with Solti and CSO? Off hand can't remember

We have Lewis' Sonatas and borrowed the concertos from the Library. Sounded pretty excellent to us!

[EdgeleyRob]

No takers for Kissin,LSO,Davis ?

Has poor reviews but I rather like it,in fact the whole set isn't bad IMO.

[Petrushka]

Somehow missed this thread. I'm with those praising the Perahia/Concertgebouw/Haitink recording. Indeed that whole set has been my preferred one for all of the piano concertos for a very long time now. I can't for the life of me think what BBM can find in the sound to complain of, it's excellent in my view.

[Bryn]

I will also put in a vote for PB-S with Collegium Aureum. The original LP release has an extra track with the composer's alternative cadenza for the first movement (replete with the tutti conclusion to the movement. Sadly the DHM CD release lacks the extra track.

[Pulcinella]

Somehow missed this thread. I'm with those praising the Perahia/Concertgebouw/Haitink recording. Indeed that whole set has been my preferred one for all of the piano concertos for a very long time now. I can't for the life of me think what BBM can find in the sound to complain of, it's excellent in my view.

I wonder if BBM is thinking of Perahia's Mozart piano concerto set, which did have some remastering issues, iirc.