Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor" [Original recording remastered]

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Colin Davis (Conductor), Dresden Staatskapelle (Orchestra), Claudio Arrau (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Claudio Arrau
• Orchestra: Dresden Staatskapelle
• Conductor: Colin Davis
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B000051YD6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,902 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest performance of Concerto No. 4 available., July 13, 2002

By 

D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor" (Audio CD)

The Emperor Concerto probably is supposed to be the main attraction on this CD, and the performance of it presenteed here is laudable. But for me the lovely 4th is the most beautiful of the Beethoven Piano Concertos and this performance by Claudio Arrau and Sir Colin Davis is special. It is, quite simply, the most beautiful performance of this uniquely lyrical concerto that I have ever heard. Yes, the tempos are somewhat slower than usual, but this allows Arrau and Davis to bring out all the subtle glories of this very special masterpiece. There are many fine performances of the exhuberant Emperor Concerto available but few pianists and conductors -- even among the most famous -- seem capable of understanding and presenting the gentler beauties contained in the 4th concerto. Arrau and Davis have captured and presented these exquisite beauties better than any other pianist and conductor. If you love the gentler side of Beethoven -- or just great piano music -- I beg you to get this CD and listen to it with open ears. You will be amply rewarded.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arrau and Davis at their best, March 29, 2001

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor" (Audio CD)

I strongly commend Philips for reissuing these recordings and putting them on one CD. Without question, these are two of the finest performances of Beethoven's last two piano concerti. Arrau gives two great performances. He is at his soulful best in the fourth concerto, playing with much warmth and tenderness, especially in the second and third movements. Yet his performance of the fifth is just as compelling; I would say that it is quite possibly one of the three finest recordings of the "Emperor" concerto that I've heard, alongside Perahia's splendid performance recorded by CBS/Sony Classical with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Stephen Kovacevich accompanied by Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra on a Philips recording that may no longer be available here in the United States. Speaking of Sir Colin Davis, he conducts the Dresden Staatskapelle with much warmth, without getting in the way of Arrau's lyrical pyrotechnics on the piano. The Dresden's flawless playing is as warm as the Berlin Staatskapelle's wonderful performances of the entire Beethoven symphony cycle conducted by Daniel Barenboim, their music director. Hopefully Phillips will reissue the other three concerti in the Arrau/Davis/Dresden Staatskapelle cycle soon.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect., October 29, 2004

By 

Pupil (Malkuth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor" (Audio CD)

Claudio Arrau was one of those rare musicians who possessed a spiritual and emotional depth so vast, so natural and so spontaneous that he was capable of allowing music as eternal as these Beethoven concertos to speak freely and sincerely through his fingertips.

Here, there is a complete lack of effort or concern, an open and natural absence of shovanistic artistry and interpretation. One only hears the majesty of Beethoven's music, and feels the security of being led by musicians speaking from the heart.

Sir Colin Davis provides an extraordinarily sympathetic and lustre accompaniment and the sound is as full and as warm as a Caribbean breeze.

I return to these recordings often. I feel that they are limitless and speak universally, and I would like to take this opportunity to recommend them to everyone.