Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have listened to many performances and recordings of this beloved concerto and this one, in my opinion, always ends up on top. It defines musical perfection. The majesty of the Emperor, its delicacy, its sweetness, its passion are all captured with such clarity it is impossible to listen to this performance without getting caught up in the emotions of this great concerto. If one has to choose which performance to get, this should be number one! The quality of this recording is also excellent.

This was the recording that introduced me to Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto, making me wonder how I had missed it in all my years (15+) of listening to classical music. I listened to my cassette until it was completely ruined. Although I have yet to hear other renditions of this piece, I can compare it to my other Beethoven symphonies (among others). In that light, I find this particular recording to be flawless. The piano is fluid and seems to dance with the orchestra, and it reminds me of watching a pair of excellent dancers--you watch one, then the other, then back, and marvel. It's the same with this piece. It has no hiccups, no glitches.

I too found the sound quality distracting, which is a shame. There are pops and general noises in some of the quiet parts. Then, there are also weird sounds that I assume are coming from the bass fiddles when they really bow with force. It could be that on vinyl these things weren't as apparent, but in the digital age it just didn't cut it for me.

This is indeed a great recording of the Emperor (the same May 1, 1962 session also yielded a great Choral Fantasy, now paired with the 3rd Piano Concerto, Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 / Choral Fantasy, already its companion on the original LP release), but who would want a CD with ONLY the Emperor and less than 39 minutes of music (apparently this series from Sony reproduces the original LPs), when one can have the same, very cheap as I write, paired with an excellent reading of the 3rd Piano Concerto with the same performers (adding a substantial 36 minutes), on various Sony Bernstein or Sony Serkin editions? See Bernstein Century - Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 3 and 5 / New York Philharmonic, Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 "Emperor" (Bernstein: The, Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 or (more expensive as I write, but nobody can predict the future except Nouriel Roubini and you don't really want to know about THAT future) Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 "Emperor". I have reviewed the performances in details under these various entries. I'm also a bit puzzled by the comments of other reviewers pertaining to the poor audio quality of this specific reissue (not clear if they are refering to the download only, or also to the CD): I have this recording in its earliest CBS reissue from 1987 (not yet Sony!), paired with the 4th Piano Concerto (Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 4 & No. 5 "Emperor " ~ Serkin), and the sonics are simply stupendous.

So I guess this release can be of interest only to those who have already the 3rd Piano Concerto either in its pairing with the Choral Fantasy or in its earlier CBS release, paired with the 1st (conducted by Ormandy): Rudolf Serkin: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 3. Even in those cases (I have 1 & 3), duplications can be avoided by purchasing the Choral Fantasy on the Bernstein Edition, volume 11, where it is paired with the Missa Solemnis and Haydn's Theresienmesse (Beethoven : Missa Solemnis / Choral Fantasy & Haydn : Theresia Mass), and the Emperor paired with the 4th on the early CBS reissue refered to above. But truth is, I bought the latter years ago. Now, rarity of that early reissue has apparently propelled the price upwards.

Anyway, if those duplication issues aren't a concern to you, go to any of those cheap CDs with the 3rd Piano Concerto.

What can I add that hasn't been said? This is a terrific recording of a terrific performance of a terrific concerto. 'Nuff said.

This wonderful performance of Emperor is captivating and lively from the very first opening notes. You can't listen to this CD just once! It's just that good. But in the louder passages there is an audio transcription problem (mostly noticeable in the right channel) which adds some minor crackling noises and loses crispness on a few crucial areas.

The more I listen to this CD, unfortunately, the more I notice the flaws. It tends to spoil it for me.

I'm going to buy another CD of this piece. If there's one with as good a performance, minus the audio problem, that's what I hope to find.

This has always been and continues to be one of my favorite pieces of music. This is a great recording!!!

All other reviewers seem to be satisfied with the quality of this recording, I found mine to be very poor. The performance is beautiful-you would be hard pressed to find better; however my download was riddled with not only digital but also very distracting background noise. At times it seems as if the recording was made from someone in the audience. The moving climactic crescendos are marred by slight distortion and at times you can hear what sounds like humming. I've owned a copy of this recording in the past and don't remember all these imperfections. You might be better served buying a hard copy of this recording.

Beethoven escribio este grandioso concierto, una joya musical.
Leonard Bernstein dirije en forma sobresaliente a una impecable Filarmonica de Nueva York y Rudolf Serkin nos deslumbra en forma extraordinaria. Es una presentacion colosal.
El concierto que tiene un inicio sublime se empieza a energizar y se convierte en una sesion de vigor intenso; luego un adagio sutil, sentimental, profundo va poco a poco destinado a explotar en un allegro generoso, potente y vibrante.
Es de verdad una interpretacion soberbia en uno de las mejores grabaciones de este concierto.
Busquen la edicion real (Sony Classical - CD azul) en que se incluyen el concierto N°3 y el N°5.

Fast, professional handling and completion of order handled DIRECTLY from Amazon. Excellent CD at very good price. Note stark contrast to terrible service received on 2 other orders placed at same time via Amazon that were handled by external vendors. Neither vendor would honor address change request placed as directed by Amazon. So far, after 1 month, have received one refund, but 2nd vendor refuses to even communicate with me (he got his money, I got nothing). Lesson is to BEWARE of orders not handled directly by Amazon.