Fantastic to have another additional collection of all five of Beethoven's piano concerti. Spanning his life we can really get to grips with his evolving use of the orchestra in these works. From the Third's action packed finale to the Fourth's beautiful expressions to the grandeur of the much loved Fifth. The playing is precise, dramatic and full of energy; as indeed it should be. Aimard's playing is always well crafted and beautifully shaped. This is an insightful disk and has taken the musicians an awful lot of hard work. A must-have for any lover of Beethoven's piano music. If you usually go for his chamber music or string quartets why not branch out and explore Aimard's wonderful take on these concerti? Well worth buying and indeed an inspiration for myself and other pianists alike.
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As I said on the Harold review, you could really benefit from giving more details of the works and particularly performances as you are clearly referring to a specific recording. After all there are about a gazillion recordings of the Beethoven concertos to choose from, why you think this one is a keeper should be more extensively covered... Berli
Crimsonflame 10.08.2006 02:23
I agree with the preceding comment, i will re-rate on update, just let me know. Crimp
Newfloridian 09.08.2006 22:22
Welcome toCIAO. I hope I don't dampen things too much but you have chosen a particularly hard subject for your first reviews here. You are describing a cycle of five major works of classical music. You have really said nothing about the composer, the soloist or the orchestra - let alone the presentation, the performances, costs etc. Would the average Radio 2 listener know any of the tunes?! Please imagine that you were selling this package to ME. If it helps, my own version is the set live recordings (June 1983) played by Alfred Brendel (soloist) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine on the Philips label - Alan
Aimard is best-known as an exponent of contemporary music, Harnoncourt as a founding ... more
father of the period instrument movement. To the provocative Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 1-5 both bring elements of their contrasting backgrounds--Aimard in the luc...
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Aug 9th, 2006
somewhat helpful by (100%):
