Vous voulez voir cette page en fran�ais ? Cliquez ici.

Quantity:

More Buying Choices

12 used & new from CDN$ 17.48

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Piano Concertos 1-5 Complete [Box set]

~ Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Georg Solti (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Performer)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Price:	CDN$ 23.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

11 new from CDN$ 17.48 1 used from CDN$ 67.29

Product Details

Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Georg Solti
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Audio CD (Aug 16 1995)
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 3
Format: Box set
Label: London
ASIN: B0000041K9

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #25,935 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Popular in these categories:

#12 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( A ) > Ashkenazy, Vladimir
#29 in	Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Short Forms > Bagatelles
#45 in	Music > Box Sets > Classical > Symphonies

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Disc: 1
1. Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Major, Op. 15: I. Allegro con brio
2. Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Major, Op. 15: II. Largo
3. Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Major, Op. 15: III. Rondo: Allegro
4. Six Bagatelles, Op. 126: I. Andante Con Moto, Cantabile E Compiacevole
5. Six Bagatelles, Op. 126: II. Allegro
6. Six Bagatelles, Op. 126: III. Andante, Cantabile E Grazioso
See all 10 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: I. Allegro con brio
2. Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: II. Largo
3. Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: III. Rondo: Allegro
4. Piano Concerto No. 4 In G Major, Op. 58: I. Allegro moderato
5. Piano Concerto No. 4 In G Major, Op. 58: II. Andante con moto
6. Piano Concerto No. 4 In G Major, Op. 58: III. Rondo: Vivace
Disc: 3
1. Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro
2. Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major, Op. 73: II. Adagio un poco mosso
3. Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major, Op. 73: III. Rondo: Allegro
4. Piano Concerto No. 2 In B Flat Major, Op. 19: I. Allegro con brio
5. II. Adagio: 2. Adagio
6. Piano Concerto No. 2 In B Flat Major, Op. 19: III. Rondo: Molto allegro

On this CD:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conducted by Georg Solti
Bagatelles (6) for piano, Op. 126
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Bagatelle for piano in A minor ("F�r Elise"), WoO 59
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conducted by Georg Solti
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conducted by Georg Solti
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major ("Emperor"), Op. 73
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conducted by Georg Solti
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conducted by Georg Solti

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Each of these performances has its own profile. The orchestra plays incisively in the First Concerto, but Ashkenazy's plush lyricism doesn't make a good match either with the orchestra or with the music, and he makes one weird ritard in the first movement. The Second Concerto is uneventful, rather bland and pleasant. The Third Concerto seems to be the best performance of the lot, with dramatic playing by soloist and orchestra, but it's sabotaged by blurry recorded sound, the only serious problem with sound quality in the entire set. The Fourth Concerto is enlivened, at least intellectually, by Solti's approach, constantly revealing interesting unfamiliar details in the orchestral score. Ashkenazy's detachment makes this a frosty but fascinating experience. The "Emperor" is a good routine performance, nothing special. The Bagatelles aren't much of a bonus, since they're rather dully played. (Why not the "Choral" Fantasy?) There's nothing actively bad about this set, and it's reasonably priced. But Beethoven deserves better, and gets it from many performers, including the fascinating Uchida-Sanderling collaborations. --Leslie Gerber

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

	60% buy the item featured on this page: Piano Concertos 1-5 Complete 4.2 out of 5 stars (16) CDN$ 23.99
	40% buy Complete Piano Concertos

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars What is Ashkenazy up to?, May 15 2004

By	Prescott Cunningham Moore - See all my reviews

After purchasing Ashkenazy's complete set of the Mozart concertos, I decided to get this one of the Beethoven concertos. Although some of the reviewers had voiced complaints about this set, I felt that it couldn't be that bad. Indeed, it's not that bad, but its not that good either.

To me, it seems as if Ashkenazy has no sense of style. His approaches to these concertos are more lyrical and romantic rather than classical. Take the first, for example. Ashkenazy treats the piano line as if he were playing Chopin. Solti, on the other hand, seems to feel that louder is better. Thus we have a very bizarre dialogue between piano and orchestra in the C major concerto. The second isn't much better. Although Ashkenazy gives a much better reading, Solti again feels that the CSO must play as forcefully as possible. The concerto is rather bland in the first place and Ashkenazy's approach is nothing special. The third concerto is wonderfully played by both Ashkenazy and the CSO. Ashkenazy treatment of the piano line is more classical while Solti's boisterous approach actually works in this powerful work. However, poor recording conditions (the evident hiss in the background) ruin the largo. The G major concerto is the most interesting in the set. Solti's treatment of the orchestra accompaniment is quite inspired - this is Solti at his most tender. However, Ashkenazy's icy interpretation is detached, it seems as if he and Solti are on two entirely different pages. Although the recording is remarkable in its beauty, Ashkenazy's lack of warmth leaves a chilling cloud over the performance. The fifth is nothing special. Solti is back to being loud and Ashkenazy gives a good, routine performance.

All in all, even at a budget price, this set is not highly recommended.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, but not perfect, Feb 15 2004

By A Customer

This is a good set of the piano concertos. However, the main problem is in the Fifth (Emperor): the second movement is extremely slow and faltering. This is one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed and the second movement MUST be perfect, as the version of Perahia: astonishing sensible, rhythmic.

Having problems in the Fifth is almost unforgivable in a concert like this, and is the main reason to give only 3 stars instead of 5.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1.0 out of 5 stars OK performances, TERRIBLE sound, Jan 20 2004

By	W. Hill (Newark, DE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having enjoyed Ashkenazy's recordings of the Beethoven piano sonatas, I decided to give this set a try. Ashkenazy's playing is excellent as always, and Solti provides good if not spectacular accompanyment, but all involved are betrayed by the atrocious remastering of these recordings, particularly on the third concerto. Hard as it may be to believe, I have several recordings of these works from the 1940s & 50s that sound better than this. I agree with the previous reviewer who said that it sounded like it had been mixed in a restroom. Or perhaps an airplane hanger. Absolutely awful for such a recent (mid-1970's) recording. Some of the other reviewers here who praise the sound leave me feeling very confused -- perhaps there are some defective pressings of these CDs in circulation? Have they recently remastered this set without updating the packaging? (my set says it was released in 1995).

For those on a budget, I would recommend Szell / Fleisher, or the recent bargain re-release of the Brendel / Levine set instead. At about the same price (or even slightly cheaper), they are both much better sets all around.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 16 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, not perfect
This is a good set of the piano concertos. However, the main problem is in the Fifth (Emperor): the second movement is extremely slow and faltering. Read more

Published on Feb 22 2003

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard to do worse
This is one of the worst collaborations out there, and I can't recommend it even at a bargain price. Read more

Published on Dec 5 2002 by John Grabowski

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsurpassed after a quarter century
This recording is not only the best set of the Beethoven Piano Concertos I know of, but also represents the peak performances in the history of Georg Solti and the Chicago... Read more

Published on Sep 16 2001 by Stan Vernooy

5.0 out of 5 stars I love Ashkenazy and the Chicago Symphony!
If you're a fan of Vladimir Ashkenazy, you'll probably enjoy this set. He has recorded Beethoven's five piano concertos three times. Read more

Published on Jun 5 2001 by Book Music Movie Lover