Beethoven Piano Concertos [Import]

This proves to be a worthwhile companion bluray disc to the recent outstanding Thielemann Beethoven symphony set. (see my review.)I am not usually a big fan of combination pianist/conductor set-ups, but in this repertoire, I much prefer this version to the Barenboim set, good as it is.

Buchbinder plays with a much lighter touch than Barenboim, and seems more whimsical.The tempi are considerably quicker. Plus you don't have to watch Barenboim mopping up his perspiration every few bars! I really enjoyed #'s 1 & 3 here more than I usually do, due to his playing sensibilities. I've always been fond of #'s 2 & 5, but I still don't love #4. Buchbinder plays and conducts without a score, a sign of his knowing these concerti inside out. (I'm always skeptical of pianists that need a score in performance.) There just seems to be so much joy in his playing, and this infectiousness is evident in the orchestra members as well.

What can you say about the Vienna Phil. and Beethoven? They are inseparable, Every bar is in their blood.You will hear details in the score you have not previously heard - some of this due to a slightly scaled-down orchestra (only four basses). The sound quality in DTS-MASTER AUDIO is immaculate, both for piano and orchestra.

The video is outstanding also - using unusual camera angles from behind and above the orchestra to show the pianist's keyboard technique.

There is a short interview with Buchbinder and Dr.Joachim Kaiser that delves into the differences in the original and newer editions of the scores - showing mistakes that were made in the copying and hence performance errors - fascinating stuff!

I bought this disc from Amazon UK (available earlier and cheaper than Amazon USA) If you buy discs from them, they show them at 17.99 pounds, but when you check out it reduces to 14.99. Even with a cost of $5 shipping, with the current exchange rate, this means you get a bluray for $29 delivered. If you buy multiples, your shipping cost is much reduced. Bear in mind, too, that you get over 3 hrs. of glorious music on one bluray disc!

To sum up, absolutely indispensable and a screaming bargain to boot!

This blu-Ray recording of the Beethoven piano concertos is a winner. Excellent interpretations of both piano and orchestra, and both of them are conducted such as to compliment with each other beautifully. Buchbinder was perhaps a bit too spritely when he played the piano for his previous Mozart piano concertos on DVD, but here his performance of the piano parts of beethoven's concertos are superiorly well nuanced. The Steinway he was playing on also gave out rich bass sounds, which are crucial for bringing out the atmosphere of the third movement of the fifth concerto.

Particularly well done was the first movement of the fourth piano concerto, which is perhaps the most difficult of all of beethoven's piano concertos for which to play the piano part with balanced nuances and also to complimentarily blend both piano and orchestra parts together. This movement is fiendishly subtle and is very easy to perform with imperfections of interpretive balance! But here this movement is interpreted with excellent balance and nuance, so Buchbinder passed the test here with high marks.

All the concertos are excellently performed. One of the better recordings of the saturated Beethoven piano concerto market.

The predominant impression gained when experiencing this set of performances by Buchbinder is that of affection. This is apparent in every note or phrase that is played, by his interaction with members of the orchestra and also in his whole stage manner which is immensely genial and likeable.

What about the musical detail? Buchbinder has made an incredibly thorough study of these concertos as he explains in the fascinating bonus documentary. This has led him to collect considerable numbers of editions of all of these works including the first editions in Beethoven's own hand. In doing this he has found numerous discrepancies between editions, even in first editions following on from Beethoven's original manuscripts.

Essentially these editorial discrepancies have frequently deleted many of Beethoven's instructions concerning phrasing, tempi changes and dynamics. Those instructions amount to subtleties of expression which imply more freedom than that allowed by a strict classical approach. Buchbinder maintains that by restoring these instructions, the player has to be more expressive than is often the case and is therefore nearer to Beethoven's original intentions. This makes an interesting challenge to some of the 'authentic' instrument options currently available which are often wary of interpretive expressiveness.

In case this should concern the listener, it should be firmly stated that these changes, although important, do not radically change what would be expected. More importantly it should be noted that these performances, although more flexible and featuring a modern orchestra of fair size, still have bite as required. Energy is apparent throughout as well as a lightness of touch which underlines Beethoven's frequent enjoyment in rhythmic interplay.This is a truly excellent set of the concertos and the engrossing accompanying documentary makes everything that Buchbinder does absolutely clear and completely justified.

The recording maintains the excellence we have come to expect of C Major and provides crisply detailed imaging without being invasive plus excellent DTS surround sound.

This set could easily be considered by many as the leading contender in this field and is therefore worth every one of 5 stars. This is an outstanding issue in my opinion and should give considerable pleasure. For those who would prefer a more dramatically rigorous approach to these works I would suggest that the equally satisfying Barenboim set might be worth considering.