Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4; Piano & Wind Quintet

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This CD is part of a complete Beethoven concerto cycle from the 41-year-old French pianist, François-Frédéric Guy. He's all but unknown in the U.S. and has attracted close to zero notice at Amazon. But critics are enthusiastic about his stylish exuberant playing, and his Beethoven cycle features a lovely piano and excellent sound from Naive. In every installment conductor Philippe Jordan has made a strong contribution, too. My only reservations have been about Guy's tendency to fall back upon a restrained view of the scores, especially in the finales, where he tends to lose steam. On the other hand, his lyrical gifts show up nicely in all the slow movements.

Piano Cto. #4 has always been considered the most feminine concerto among the three mature ones, although a few pianists (Serkin, Kissin, and Pletnev comes to mind) take it into the forceful world of the "Emperor." Guy doesn't. His playing remains on the same scale as in the First and Second Cto. I find that too limiting, but he's appealing and stylish within the boundaries he set for himself, and listeners who are young enough will probably accept middle period Beethoven on a smaller scale; it's the prevailing style, alas. Be prepared for a quick Andante that downplays the drama of Daniel in the lion's den. Given some canned tuna and a snuggle, these cats settle down easily. The zingy lower strings in the finale are an indication that HIP style may be entering the picture. In any event, approaching the fourth Cto. as a cousin to the First doesn't work for me.

Quite a few cycles give us a filler on the third disc, usually the Chorale Fantasy. Guy offers the more unusual Quintet for Piano and Winds that Beethoven modeled on a (much greater) work by Mozart with the same instrumentation of Piano, bassoon, horn, oboe, and clarinet. The work is appealing but not inspired, and for me it takes an exceptional performance to make an impact, such as the one delivered by Radu Lupu on Decca. Guy's reading features lovely piping winds and vivid sound. as music-making it's attentive, balanced, and satisfying. There's also more energy in the allegro passages than in the concerto, so overall I'd rank this a notch higher.

My disappointments in the concerto cause me to demote this installment of the complete cycle; try the pairing of Cto. #1 and #5 if you want to hear the best of what Guy offers.