Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, 'Emperor' / Triple Concerto ~ Fleisher

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the five piano concertos composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" has always been my personal favorite. This is the best version of the "Emperor" concerto I've yet heard. Pianist Leon Fleisher plays the first movement with majestic power, giving it an almost martial feel. The second movement, poignant and tender, gives way to joyful exuberance in the third and final movement. As always, the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by the legendary George Szell, plays with crisp precision and wonderful musicianship.

The second concerto on this CD, Beethoven's "Triple Concerto," is also superb. Eugene Istomin (piano), Isaac Stern (violin), and Leonard Rose (cello), who made such a wonderful team on the Sony Essential Classics CD of Beethoven's "Archduke" and "Ghost" piano trios, are equally impressive here in their musical dialog with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The sound quality for both concertos, recorded in 1961 and 1964 respectively, is excellent.

This is a superb coupling of two Beethoven concerto masterpieces. Highly recommended!

Fleisher's recording of the Emperor with the Cleveland Orchestra is one of the most thrilling recordings of any work of music I have heard, and ranks (in my view) with Bruno Walter's electrified recording of the Eroica (Symphony #3) with the New York Philharmonic back in the 50s. What makes this recording so special is the way the pianist and the conductor read each other; the prescience is remarkable. The Cleveland Orchestra was at the top of its form for this, a well-oiled machine perfectly suited to Beethoven, and in the hands of Szell, this machine is driven true to the heart of Beethoven's vision; the music feels right, joyfully right--the perfect balance of the elements when the horns pick up the second theme of the first movement, the palpable tension following this before the main theme is picked up again; in countless places, I listen in awe. To put this in perspective: I have listened to this recording (at least the first movement of the Emperor, though often the full work) over one thousand times (every day for over three years), and I still jump out of my skin when my wife puts it on the stereo, I still drop what I'm doing and listen intently. This recording is that good.
For the record: while not a purist, I've listened quite extensively to classical music for almost all of my life and have a sizeable collection of recordings, many chosen on the basis of research into "best" recordings.

Prior to his recording career being limited by the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome, Leon Fleisher was emerging as one of the great U.S. pianists of the century. This is his finest recording, made with Szell & the Cleveland Orchestra (at their peak) in the early '60's. Fleisher plays with hair-raising intensity and the result is thrilling. If you're going to try one disc of Beethoven's piano concertos, start with this one. Fleisher's recordings of the 1st 4 concertos are also excellent.

I don't know what is wrong with the one who said it just an OK recording (maybe he meant the CD is only recorded in 'ADD', but not the performance itself; or he took the average of the Piano Concerto and Triple Concerto in this CD). I would say this is the best performance ever among the existing recordings, new or old, for Beethoven's "emperor" Piano Concerto. Just listen to its clarity, tempo, and the interpretation by Fleisher and the wonderful chemistry between the soloist and the orchestra under the baton of the great George Szell. (If you appreciated the CD of Carlos Kleiber conducting Vienna PO on Beethoven's Symphony #5 & #7, you know what I mean here).

As for "Triple Concerto" by Philadephia Orchestra in this CD, I couldn't care too much, even though Stern is it. There are certainly other CDs for "Triple Concerto" that have better performance than this. I don't understand why Sony put these two together in one CD.

These recordings are simply the best ever recorded. Whenever you first put the CD in you hear a blast of beautiful orchestra/piano music that is breathtaking, however do not linger here too long because there is more to come! The next movement is absolutly beautiful, a soft, ambient sound written in "Adagio un poco moto"! The last movement of the E-major concerto is a folk-like dance that is really quite nice. Then the "Triple Concerto" begins! It begins with a rich full movement that is performed beautifully by Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose and Eugene Istomin (this is one that you cannot stop listening to)! After the rich first movement, there is another slow, ambient piece (not as beautiful as the second movement of the E-major concerto but still nice to listen to) that you should enjoy. The last is another folk-like piece that is intriguing and it is just as good as all the rest! This is a must for any music-lover! If I could I would give it 20 stars!

I'm listening to this recording's Third Movement of the 5th Piano Concerto as I write this, and I can't hear the clumsy piano playing. I also own the well-regarded Arrau/Davis version and a version by Backhaus/Schuricht (Ermitage). This recording is the equal of the former and is superior to the latter, at least in sound quality. But don't take it from me. The Fleisher/Szell recording is recommended by Classical Net on the internet, and by Bill Parker in his book Building a Classical Music Library. My one complaint is the languorous middle movement, a drawback it shares with Arrau/Davis CD. Backhaus/Schuricht take this a minute faster and add some pulse to it. To my ears the faster, more rhythmic pace is closer to the spirit of the piece. But that's just me.

As to the Triple Concerto, it's a delight. No, it doesn't scale the heights or plumb the depths, but it's not intended to. It's a charming throwback, a mixture of chamber music and concerto, a piece meant for an evening's entertainment at the palatial home of one of the composer's patrons. Imagine the Archduke Rudolph at the keyboard, Beethoven conducting the private orchestra, servants in livery offering drinks. And, for a price under ten dollars, you can be there too, and you don't even have to RSVP.

I second the opinion of the reviewer below who complains about the bad sonics in this Emperor concerto from 1961. Sony has remastered the Flesiher-Szell Beethoven Concertos #3 and #4 to get rid of the grit and microphone shatter. Let's hope they do the same with this one, too. As for the interpretation, Szell's propulsive, somewhat chilly and classical accompaniment works better for me in the earlier concertos. This Emperor feels a little brusque, but there's no denying how wonderfully Fleisher plays--he's powerful and expressive even at high speed--and anyone who favors period-performance style will welcome the fast tempos. As an overall favorite I prefer the riveting Serkin-Bernstein from 1963, also on Sony.

The Triple Concerto makes a generous disc mate on this 73 min. CD. The performance dates from 1964, and it's apparent immediately that Ormandy is not as vigorous or exciting as Szell, but he's experienced and reliable. Tempos are normal, a minute slower in the first movement than the classic Richter-Oistrakh-Rostropovich version on EMI. In all respects the EMI performance is better (it's truly a great recording of the century). All three virtuosos, along with Karajan as conductor, approach the Triple Concerto as a heroic work and also a showpiece. That's not as true here. We have a more blended group whose approach is less romantic. Even so, Istomin, Stern, and Rose are master musicians, and their performance bows its head only to Richter, Oistrakh, and Rostropovich. On its own, this is a great reading, the second best I've ever heard.

This one of the most beautiful recordings of a truly masterful piece of music. the 5th piano concerto by Beethoven has been considered one of the most difficult pieces for piano ever composed. It doesnt show here though as Leon Fleisher plays the piano with ease. Excellent recording.

I agree with the positive comments of most of the reviews below on the excellence of this "Emperor." Unfortunately, for me, the first movement is rendered unlistenable by serious distortion in the sound. When things get loud, there is a "frying" noise that is probably caused by the recording level being set too low. This disappears in the other two movements, but it's too little too late. It's a pity this fine performance is marred like this, and I'm surprised no one else has remarked on it.

"Emperador" es el gran concierto y si esta o no dedicado a Napoleon es una discusión que solo especialistas tienen, para nosotros lo importante es poder disfrutarlo, y en este caso, eso es lo que hacemos. Leon Fleisher es un gran pianista, claro que de los años sesenta y no tan popular, lo he comentado son grabaciones de la CBS-Columbia (hoy Sony classical) que por años registro de manera grandiosa una amplia gama de obras con solistas de gran nivel que no alcanzaron resonancia tiempo despues salvo algunos casos, asi tenemos a Leonard Rose, Eugene Istomin, Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern y el propio Fleisher, que bajo la batuta de George Szell y Eugene Ormandy lograron grabaciones excepcionales. El triple Concerto por su lado aunque una obra simple en su estructura nos muestra la genialidad de Beethoven al integrar tres solistas y lograr que el cello no sea opacado por el violin o el piano. Istomin, Rose y Stern, hacen de este concierto una pequeña obra maestra. Ormandy los acompaña como siempre de la mejor forma.
George Szell un director húngaro al igual que Ormandy realiza interpretaciones de un nivel insuperable, sinfonías que van desde Mozart a Bruckner, conciertos y otras obras son presentadas por este director de manera soberbia.