Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Stephen Kovacevich, Australian Chamber Orchestra :: Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" / Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

Emperor Concerto + Grosse Fuge = A Classical Treat

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 10/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rare is it anymore that a well-known work of Beethoven's can be combined with a far lesser-known piece by that same composer on any recording, the assumption being that Beethoven's works have been flooding the recording market since time immemoriam. But this is one of those occasions where that rule is put to bed. This 1989 recording by pianist Stephen Kovacevich and the Australian Chamber Orchestra cagily combines Beethoven's legendary Piano Concerto No. 5, the aptly sub-titled "Emperor" concerto, with the 1825 "Grosse Fuge."



Although it has a deserved reputation for being a work of significant size, the Emperor Concerto, like its predecessors, does not require more than a medium-sized orchestra to demonstrate why it is such a powerful piece. The piano part, however, is quite tricky (owing to Beethoven's increasingly severe deafness at the time of its composition in 1810), and it takes a soloist of exceptional skill to naviagte through this. Fortunately, Kovacevich had recorded this piece nearly two decades before with Sir Colin Davis and the BBC Symphony, so he knows his way around it. But he also sets himself a challenge by conducting this work from the piano, making this second recording an impressive achievement in its own right.



The Grosse Fuge, meanwhile, was originally intended for the composer's String Quarter in B Flat, composed in 1825, but the difficulty its original audiences had in understanding it caused the work to be published separately. In the string orchestra form as presented on this recording, the work is a fusion of a classic form mixed with innovative string writing, setting the stage for later works for string orchestra such as Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night" and Barber's "Adagio For Strings." Kovacevich's conducting of the A.C.O. through this piece is very impressive.



All in all, this recording is highly recommended for those who want a tried-and-true work combined with another, lesser-known but still important piece."