Piano For Lovers - 101 Strings Orchestra

Advantages: dynamic and gripping
Disadvantages: none

...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.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Everything you could ever want from a classical CD
Disadvantages: none

...Beethoven 5. Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 6. Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E minor Composed by Sir Edward Elgar 7. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov 8. Concierto de Aranjuez Composed by Joaquín Rodrigo 9. Swan Lake Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky 10. Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" in E minor Composed by Antonín Dvorák 11. Variations on an Original Theme, 'Enigma' Composed by Sir Edward Elgar 12. Sonata for Piano No. 14, 'Moonlight' in C sharp minor Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven 13. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C minor Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov 14. Adagio for Strings Composed by Samuel Barber 15. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21, "Elvira M in C Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 16... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: One of the most Romantic concertos around, full of beautiful melodies and passion
Disadvantages: over-recorded

...and with the piano still insisting on the development's rhythm. The piano takes over the first theme in a more gentle fashion, at the end of which a solo horn brings back the second theme. Instead of a cadenza the piano, with the orchestra in the background, performs a kind of free rhapsody that ends with the piano beginning a semiquaver passage, finally bringing the movement to a close with a final three chord tam-TAM-tam on the piano. II. Adagio sostenuto The slow movement is one of the most famous movements Rachmaninov ever wrote, especially after its use in the 1945 film Brief Encounter. The mood of this Adagio is that of a nocturne which begins with four introductory bars on the strings, providing a transition from the C minor of the first movement to E major of the second. The piano enters with gentle groups of arpeggios that gradually descend... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful