Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Simon Rattle, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3

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David Saemann | 11/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Alfred Brendel's fourth recording of these concertos. I have his third version with Levine and the Chicago Symphony. Those recordings were done live, and have a greater feeling of tension and excitement than the studio recordings with Rattle. Also, the sound engineering on the later version is not notably better than on the earlier one. The recorded balance is good, but the overall texture of piano and orchestra is rather muffled. Nevertheless, there are new insights on this later disc that make it highly worthwhile. The Vienna Philharmonic plays with a softer, more delicate sonority than the Chicago Symphony, and Brendel responds with a lot of soft, even delicate playing. There also is greater flexibility in the later version, as Brendel slows down at times to bring out greater detail. Nothing that Brendel does is without interest, and although I feel that his Chicago recording is a more central take on this repertoire, the Vienna recordings in their way are equally rewarding and certainly offer a fascinating glimpse of a great artist."