Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, John Eliot Gardiner, Robert Levin :: Beethoven: The Piano Concertos - Choral Fantasy / Levin, Gardiner

The most interesting perfomance of the last 20 years

Daniel | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 11/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have found in this CDs an example of the great evolution of the great german composer as well as the piano: in those 20 years it changed dramatically its shape and its sound. Levin payed four diferents pianofortes, corresponding each one to the years of the first perfonce of the works. In my opinion, this os one of the most interesting performances of the Beethoven's piano conciertos."

Pure Beethoven

SERSE | Houston | 04/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Together with Christopher Hogwood and Steven Lubin's version on L'Oiseau Lyre, these are tremendously thrilling performances, with the added clarity of a more recent recording. Far from being an academic exercise in authentic performance, the recording of the 5 piano concertos sustains such energy and spontaneity that puts many performances on modern instruments sound anemic by comparison. An added delight is Robert Levin's improvisations for the lead-ins and cadenzas. Hogwood's traversal of the same concertos are contained in a 3-cd set but this one is a 4-cd set but you get the Rondo which was originally attached to the Piano Concerto No.2 together with the Choral Fantasy and the chamber versions of the Symphony No.2 and the Piano Concerto No.4."

Great performances from all concerned

Steven Guy | Croydon, South Australia | 08/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It never ceases to amaze me when the modern-piano chauvinists make damning declarations about recordings like this one. What is contained on these three discs are performances which exhibit a great love for the concerti of Beethoven, a strong desire to get as close to the music and the spirit of the music as possible, and a clear manifestation of a desire to allow these works to live in grace and be heard in context.



One of the nicest features of this recording is the fact that Mr. Robert Levin uses a fortepiano from around the time each concerto was composed. Mr. Levin's playing is very affecting and I am profoundly satisfied with his approach and his meticulous attention to detail, while, at the same time, he interprets the poetry and passion and revolutionary qualities of these works very strongly. Robert Levin does some of his own cadenzas and in this respect he is very "in touch" with the performance practices of this period. For those who fancy hearing alternatives to Beethoven's own improvised introduction to the Choral Fantasia, Mr. Levin provides two of his own at the end of the disc. I quite like them, although they are no real substitute for Beethoven's own.



The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is in fine form and they compliment the sounds of Robert Levin's various fortepianos in a very colourful and powerful way. One can hear how hard Beethoven drove both his orchestra and the soloist in these recordings, he frequently pushed the players to the edge, and then some. Modern orchestras using modern instruments are never really "tested" by this music, no matter how loud or grand they make the music sound.



Of course, what makes this recording of these works so interesting and compelling is that we have the opportunity to hear a basically 18th century orchestra and instruments pushed and pulled as hard as possible by Beethoven. The sound is a lot "edgier" and more brittle than that of a modern orchestra - and a smaller but more "driven" sound. There are other HIP recordings of these works - Hogwood, Immerseel and Norrington have all recorded the Beethoven fortepiano concerti, and I've enjoyed many things about all of them (Immerseel's Emperor is probably the most powerful HIP rendering of this work I've heard) - but this Levin / Gardiner recording is my favourite. If you're only interested in one recording of these works on the fortepiano, then I would suggest that this is the one to go for.



Highlights? The 3rd and 4th concerti are my favourites and both the soloist and orchestra are absolutely wonderful in these two works on this recording. Gardiner's and Levin's Choral Fantasia is simply the best I've heard - it is performed with a great sense of fire, wit and élan! And, of course, you are free to nix Beethoven's intro ... if you feel like it!



Shame on DG and Universal if this marvellous and essential set is no longer available!

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