Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 5

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Two years ago I wrote, more than a little amazed at its high quality, about a CD of Beethoven sonatas played by a previously unknown-to-me French pianist, François-Frédéric Guy. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Hammerklavier; Pathétique; Op. 49, No. 1 I was particularly impressed by his high voltage 'Hammerklavier' sonata and described his playing as a sort of hybrid of Sviatoslav Richter and Murray Perahia, if you can imagine. Now comes a disc containing Guy playing the first and last of Beethoven's piano concertos and it too is a real winner. Indeed I heard things in the First Concerto that made me admire it afresh. (For instance, I loved the way Guy gave a joyous loose-hipped rhythm to that 'Tico Tico' bit in the last movement.) The First Concerto has always been my least favorite of the Beethoven Five but I found myself grinning with pleasure repeatedly during this performance. His first-movement cadenza, surely Beethoven's wildest, is filled with both joy and discovery. There is both subtlety and joie de vivre in Guy's playing. The middle movement, with its Mozartean grace, is an island of lyrical repose, which makes the whirling finale all the more boisterous. One almost feels like dancing. Guy has a magnificent technique, needless to say, but he also clearly has considered every note, every dynamic and every phrase with his sophisticated musical intelligence. His accompanist in both concerti is the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under young Philippe Jordan (son of the late wonderful Swiss conductor, Armin Jordan, and soon to take over the Paris National Opera). The playing of this orchestra is not the last word in suavity and there are a few moments of less than world-class ensemble or tonal allure, but Jordan is someone to watch and it is clear that he and Guy are of one mind about how these concerti should go.

If I say that Guy's 'Emperor' Concerto is not quite on the same level as the First, this may be at least partly because recorded competition in this concerto is so fierce. Compared, for instance, with the fairly recent recording by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, it seemed ever-so-slightly generic in spots. At least that was my thought the first time through, but on subsequent hearings I began to hear things from Guy that struck me was apt and highly personal. The forward drive of the martial first movement is palpable. And one almost weeps at the ineffable beauty of his second movement (and here I must add that the muted strings of the French Radio orchestra are sublime). That so-simple and yet so-effective transition directly from the end of the second to the beginning of the third movement strikes one anew as something fresh and original; Guy (and Jordan) hold back seemingly forever with that transitional material and when the finale proper begins it is like a child bursting into a room with excitement. This feeling continues through to the very end. Yes!

François-Frédéric Guy is reportedly in the midst of a several year devotion to the music of Beethoven. He is currently giving recitals in which he plays the complete set of sonatas and he apparently will be recording the remaining three concertos with the same forces in the near future. One looks forward to hearing them.

Enthusiastic recommendation.

Scott Morrison

France is such a self-contained culture that its musicians drift in and out of the international scene, sometimes with long stretches when you barely notice them. After the era of Robert Casadesus and Monique Hass, I can't really think of a prominent French pianist, but now there seems to be an abundance of them. Although not as famous as Helene Grimaud or Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the French label Naive has put its faith in François-Frédéric Guy, who still seems to be breaking out. A native of Normandy, at age 41 he belongs to the same echelon as Paul Lewis, the 38-year-old British pianist, and like Lewis, Guy is establishing himself through his Beethoven playing. This CD of the Concertos no. 1 and 5 won prizes in France; he is undertaking a complete sonata cycle, and in 2008 he undertook the marathon of playing all 32 sonatas in Monaco and Paris.

Scott Morrison's excellent review captures the feeling of Guy's playing, which is as exuberant as Leis's but at its best less influenced by the dry, intellectual classicism of Brendel (who was one of Lewis's teachers). I also like Mr. Morrison's choice of words like joie de vivre to describe the inner vitality of Guy's approach; he seems to lean into the line, always giving a sense of excited forward motion, which is a trait one finds in Richter and Serkin's Beethoven. There's enough panache and exuberance here to keep you listening to the relatively unformed Concerto #1, which is buoyant from beginning to end. Pollini himself cannot match Guy's lovely lyrical line in the slow movement. Only in the finale does Guy fall into somewhat generic playing -- he lacks the mercurial imagination of Argerich and Richter in this movement, even though his execution is still very fine. (Among recent concerto cycles my preference is for Mikhail Pletnev in DG, who turns idiosyncracy into a virtue, much as Glenn Gould once did.)

The first thing one notices about Guy's 'Emperor' Cto. is the sheer pleasure of hearing such a beautiful piano captured in Naive's impeccable sound (far ahead of what EMI gave Kissin in his Beethoven concerto cycle from a few years ago). Philippe Jordan is also a strong presence, leading a vigorous, assured accompaniment that is never routine. I think he does more here than in the First Cto., but then, there's much more to work with. Despite the inroads of period style, the "Emperor" remains a big work from which we expect the heroic exertions of a Horowitz, Serkin, Arrau, and Michelangeli. Guy stops halfway there, but his more modestly scaled approach is alive and rhythmically alert. One difference between the old guard and the new is that the great virtuosos dominated the orchestra while in latter days the model of Perahia and Brendel is more unassuming, blending more into the overall picture. Guy again goes halfway, and Mr. Morrison's feeling of generic playing struck me, too -- Pletnev seizes the bull by the horns and forces you to listen to every note, while Guy's impact is sometimes felt and sometimes not. His slow movement doesn't soar, and he's too cautious in the finale, although Brendel and Perahia are, too. It's a choice not to burn the house down. My only deep disappointment comes in the second theme of the finale, where Guy (like so many others) loosens his rhythmic grip and lets the line sag a bit.

In the end I arrive at the same conclusion as Mr. Morrison: a delightful First and a too-generic "Emperor." For that reason, I can't quite give Guy a top rating, impressive as he is.