Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Fifth Concerto, the Emperor, remains the most popular, and has been recorded innumerable times. First choice for me is perhaps Murray Perahia on Sony. Wonderful playing, very much from the eighteenth century, and a finale that really sparkles, but which does not lack power. Beautiful sound too, but rather short measure.

I understand why some like the Emperor to be played in a style akin to Tchaikovsky's First Concerto, in a grand romantic style (e.g. as Horowitz used to play it). I also used to like this approach, but Perahia's is more stylistically idiomatic. Don't for a moment think that this version is underpowered, because it certainly is not: his playing is full of authority and the orchestral playing under Haitink is the most thrilling I've heard in this piece.

My other favourites in this piece:

Wilhelm Kempff's stereo DG account from 1961 is fine: magnificent playing throughout, with a sense of humanity in the Adagio that is compelling in its intensity. The finale is well paced: it is difficult to accept that Kempff was aged 65 when this recording was made.

Michelangeli's DG recording with Giulini is not one of his finest; anyone wanting to hear Michelangeli in this work, one of his most famous interpretations, should seek out his 1957 Prague Festival performance on Praga, in remarkably fine sound.

In his eighties, the late Claudio Arrau recorded a fine version of the Emperor Concerto on Philips. Highly spontaneous, with a superb orchestral backdrop provided by the Staatskapelle Dresden under Sir Colin Davis.

A remarkable performance of the work can be heard on a Piano Library CD: Walter Gieseking's 1944 Berlin broadcast in superb early stereo, which sounds remarkable in its clarity. This remains one of the most exciting Emperors ever, with the protaganists even ignoring audible anti-aircraft fire during the closing pages of the first movement.

The Concertgebuow always sounds great, which is the case here. The strings never get mushy as they sometimes do in recordings of Beethoven piano concertos. Everything is crisp and tight. Haitink also lets fly when necessary, generating plenty of excitement, especially in the final movement. I also love Murray Perahia for what he does, which is a lyrical sort of playing maybe better suited to Mozart than Beethoven. There's no threat of a nasty tone or harshly struck chord, and this has its downside: the reading is polite in spots. There's not as much suspense as with "angrier" players like Stephen Kovacevich, who often seems on the verge of chaos. Perahia's piano is less featured and the overall effect is more classical. You could argue this is appropriate for the material, but there's something viceral about a more aggressive interplay between the piano and orchestra, a la Kovacevich-Davis.

Haitink's backing of Perahia is more crisp and dynamic than Colin Davis and the BBC Orchestra's backing of Kovacevich. I guess I'd really like to hear Haitink with Kovacevich, but all in all this is one of the best recordings of 5 I've heard--only to be outdone by Kovacevich and Davis.

A note of correction: the version in the movie "Immortal Beloved" is Perahia with Georg Solti and the London Symphony, which judging from the snippets of soundtrack, is even better than Perahia-Haitink. Unfortunately it's not available in complete form, or better yet as a complete concerto cycle.

Simply the most beautifully played "Emperor" available; all helped by wonderful, full sound. Perahia's playing is flawless, full of color and poetic phrasing one expects from this great artist. The entire concerto set is also a top- flight recommendation.

The entry of this Emperor Cto., issued in 1989 as th capstone to his complete Beethoven cycle, helped to mark the beginning of the end of heroic Beethoven playing. In the next twenty years we would become adjusted to more inward, reflective, restrained Emperors, and I am sorry for that. The unbridled exuberance of Horowitz, amounting to aristocratic arrogance, the Olympian grandness of Michelangeli, the kinetic power of Serkin -- goodbye to all that. Perahia contains enough of the older influence that his reading cannot be accused of timidity, but whenever he has a chance to turn down the temperature and fall into a cooler, more elegant style, he does. Haitink is more vigorous than he was in the preceding four concertos, again harking back to an older style.

Bold, exciting Beethoven didn't have everything its own way. Among the older generation there was Gieseking, whose precision, lightness, and elegance entered into the playing of, say, Len Fleishcer. Still, the model of Schnabel and Edwin Fischer was unassailable -- until the tide turned. Perahia is such a thorough musician that he can turn moderation into a virtue; Brendel and Richard Goode do the same, so far as their fans are concerned. I cannot argue with his poise and assurance in the slow movement (he's equally good in the slow movements of the other four concertos). the melodic line never droops, no matter how slender it gets. The finale is expert and contains a good deal of buoyancy from both conductor and soloist. Yet Kissin with Levine on Sony burns the house down in this movement, and Perahia's hesitant phrasing in the development tends to pull back when I want the momentum to keep moving forward. Among modern Emperors the ideal comes closest in that Kissin reading and Pletnev's on DG, which caps the most imaginative, exuberant cycle in two decades.

I've done my best to be objective about a recording that won raves from the Gramophone -- as did Perahia's whole cycle -- even though the most I can offer it is respect.

Beethoven
Bernard Haitink

Piano Concerto No. 5 for Piano & Orchestra "Emperor"

Murray Perahia - Piano / Klavier
The Concertgebouw Orchestra
(CBS Masterworks - DDD - 1987)

While their performances of the 3rd and 4th were good, in this CD of the 5th piano concerto their performance is magnificent. This CD stands as one of the best.
This is a Five Star CD

Say what you want to about this disc, there's no denying the majesty and glory of hearing Haitink and Perahia perform this concerto. From the first opening chords, you can tell that you are going to hear a performance that does justice to the royalty of this concerto. It's a surprise after hearing what comes before in Perahia's set, as grandeur was anything but a top priority in the preceding concerti. But here, our musicians seem to realize that they can't get away without making things powerful. The Concertegbouw plays with more bite and Perahia actually delivers some masculinity, surprising for a pianist whose strength has never been in that area.

Is this an unbuttoned performance? No, it's anything but that. There's a strong sense of stateliness, almost as if though we're right in the court of the king himself. Of course, there's not room for a lot of risks there. After all, can't kings become arbitrary and get you in trouble for little or no reason? And moving into the actual musical realm, it's as if though Perahia and Haitink feel the same way about taking risks. It doesn't hurt too much, but I wouldn't mind sitting on the edge of my seat a little more, which would certainly require more chances on the part of Perahia and Haitink.

I'm really just quibbling, though. This is a fine performance, one that has lots to offer. If you want an Emperor that takes the presence of His Majesty very seriously, look no longer. If you're trying to live up to the nickname of this concerto, you really couldn't do a better job. Is this the end goal when playing this concerto? I'll leave the answer to the question up to you. It certainly could be.

Sir Georg Solti chose this version for the film "Immortal Beloved". That's the best proof of its character.

The timing (not too slow, not too fast) and the perfect synchronization with the orchestra make this version the most beautiful and perfect available.

please delete my former review (I don't know thus version, I made a mistake)

Perahia is much better suited for Mozart, Schubert and other pieces which do not demand strong playing. He clearly has superb technique though I'm not crazy about his dynamics and interpretations.

For a strong version, try Pollini with Berlin Orch or Kempf