Customer Reviews

Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Triple Concerto / Brahms: Double Concerto

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's interesting that there are quite a number of negative comments about this performance of the Beethoven here. I didn't dislike it, but it is true that I almost always jump straight to the Brahms' Double Concerto. The piece and the performance are beyond praise, quite frankly.

The same could be said of David Oistrakh. I know of nobody who can play Brahms and Beethoven as this Russian genius does: his performances of the violin concertos are -- adjective defying...

Do have a look at Oistrakh's performaces of Beethoven's violin concerto, either with Cluytens (perhaps not available now) or in the easily got hold of disc on Testament (Erhling). For the Brahms violin concerto there is also the other CD from EMI with Otto Klemperer from 1960, which is also great (but not a patch on this one. It does, howver an amazing performance of the Sinfonia Concertante, with Igor Oistrakh which is the stand-out performance on the CD.)

A wonderful version of Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Double Concerto. These pieces are a superb coupling on one CD. David Oistrakh (violin), Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) and Sviatoslav Richter (piano) make a dynamic team with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for the Triple Concerto. All of Beethoven's passion and power shine through admirably. Again, Oistrakh and Rostropovich are in top form playing Brahms' Double Concerto, this time with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra.

One minor problem is the CD's engineering, which lets the players down just a little bit. "Forte" passages seem too loud, and as a result lose some of their definition. This is less of a problem in the Brahms Double Concerto.

Despite this minor shortcoming, this is definitely the best recording to own of both Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Double Concerto.

Historic for having three of the greatest musicians who ever walked the earth on one disc, these are also fabulous concertos, at once strong and graceful, melodic as well as grand, and beautifully played by these extraordinary masters.
David Oistrakh (1908-1974) has always been my favorite violinist, Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) one of the finest pianists of the 20th century, and Mstislav Rostropovich is almost a father figure in Russian music, whether as a superb cellist or conductor.
They share a similar heritage, having all lived in the Soviet Union (Oistrakh and Richter were born in the Ukraine, Rostropovich in Azerbaijan in 1927) during relatively the same time frame.

The Beethoven Triple Concerto was started in 1803, and it is fascinating to read in the liner notes how many compositions Beethoven had going at the same time, and major works, like the Eroica Symphony, the Waldstein Sonata, and Fidelio, and during this time managed to weave this marvelous (and unusual for its combination of instruments) piece into his composition schedule. As much as I love the Beethoven concerto, the Brahms "Double" is the winner for me...it gets me in its opening bars of a strong motif, the passionate "conversation" between cello and violin, to come back forcefully to the motif, and it never lets up that intensity for its duration. Oistrakh and Rostropovich have never been finer in what is a definitive performance of this concerto.

The Beethoven, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Brahms, with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, were both recorded in 1969, and the sound has been well re-mastered and is very good for its age. Total playing time is 69'54.

To have three of the greatest soloists of our time together in one recording is pure ecstasy. The Brahms concerto couldn't have been played finer, precise with the sweet tone of Oistakh, deep passionate playing of Rostropovich, and the outstanding conducting of Szell. There are several great recordings of the Double, like Heifetz & Piatagorsky with Sargeant, but that version is lacking the deep felt emotions felt by Oistrakh and company. The Beethoven triple, however, is not up to the same level as the Brahms. This is due largy to Herbert Von Karajan. He just doens't have what it takes to be a sympathetic accompanist. As usual, HvK has smoothened out the lines imposing that Karajan sound on the Berlin Phil. As it is well known, Richter and HvK couldn't stand each other (listen to their recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto available on DG, Richter is great, it is still a satifying recording due to the simple fact that three of the greatest soloists of our time are performing in this one recording. Reccomended!!!

Just coming off hearing a live performance of Brahm's Double, I hoped this was as powerful, and to my delight it is. The violin and cello in this recording are very much voiced together, and their harmonies are breathtaking yet strong.

This is first for Beethoven's Triple, and I am captivated. The first movement is powerful, sweet yet building to that confident, robust finish. The rippling piano in the Largo is so wonderful a backdrop for the strings to soar around and over. Then it cascades ever so quickly into that glorious Rondo. Here Karajan and the Orchestra really surge and shine

This is certainly a candidate for essential of these two magnificent concertos.

All those big names wouldn't mean a thing if the performances themselves were throw aways or showed little commitment, but that's hardly the case, this is probably the finest recordings of both works. Karajan and Richter for one had some rocky interpretative relations in their recording of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto on DG. That was not a great record, where both musical giants pull and push to try and get their way. So yes, in some ways this Beethoven Triple Concerto presents even more challenges because there are four minds, four egos pitted together in one piece of music and that's not counting the greatest ego, Beethoven himself! Luckily everyone melds beautifully together, the three Russian masters are at their best, with Rostropovich a stand out and shining brightly. Meanwhile Karajan, the Austrian master conductor gives them his usual, grand, lush orchestral backdrop via the Berlin Philharmonic. This is warm-hearted, generous music-making between four fearsomely talented musicians.

The Brahms Double Concerto is just as fine, now we have the two string instrumentalists side by side. Oistrakh and Rostropovich communicate wonderfully together in this major Brahms piece. Szell backs them up every step of the way with his precise yet passionate conducting of the Cleveland Orchestra. The EMI recording sounds very good too in both works and the price is quite nice. An outstanding bargain.

The unbroken tradition of Russian string playing is well-represented on this disc. The Double Concerto is especially wonderful, even rapturous. The two players are beautifully meshed, and Szell and the Cleveland sound warm and emotive, which they sometimes did not, on records and "live". The sessions they recorded for EMI (including a wonderful Dvorak Eighth, far surpassing their recoridng for Masterworks), captured something that often was not well projected.

The remastering captures this warmth, with more brightness than my LP copy of the Brahms ever had, at least after the initial playings.

I used to say that I hated the Triple Concerto until I bought this version! It's amazing what an interpretation can do to the opinion one has of a certain work!

Richter, Oistrakh and Rostropovich under the wise direction of Karajan make wonders in this recording. Who cares if it is true that Richter was never satisfied with it and wanted some of the movements to be recorded again. This recording proves the very high standard of all of these gifted musicians and the beauty of Beethoven's music, even if this concerto isn't as highly rated as some of his other works!

Besides all this, the coupling in this recording is also fantastic. Brahms' Double Concerto is played superbly by Oistrakh and Rostropovich under the direction of George Szell. I was quite happy with the newer version I had of this concerto (Kremer and Maisky under Bernstein), and although the sound is better in that version, the beauty and quality of this older one is unquestionable!

EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" is without a doubt one of the best series of low priced classical music CDs in the market right now. I've bought many and have never been dissapointed!

I bought this mainly for Beethoven's triple concerto. After all, how often would you experience such stupendous soloists playing together?
Prior to this album I had very little exposure to Brahms. But I was surprised by Brahm's double concerto. It was powerful and emotional; matched with superb playing.

I was somewhat disappointed by the Beethoven Triple in this CD. The soloists and conductor struggle to come to consensus on the tempo throughout the piece, and in many spots, it's apparent that the soloists give up their own flow to adjust to each other. Whether the soloists or the conductor has the "right" tempo is debatable (I personally prefer Karajan's choice of tempo), but when they don't agree, then neither makes sense. I also wish Karajan and the Berlin Phil would let the soloists' sounds come through more.
On the other hand, the Brahms Double performance ranks as the best that I've heard. Just hearing Rostro's opening cello recitative makes the whole CD worth it, and better yet, there's no decline in intensity, emotional depth, or clarity throughout the rest of the concerto. Places which I thought were impossible to articulate when played with a full-scale orchestra came through with amazing ease. The third movement is at a slower tempo than other recordings I've heard, but somehow it makes sense when played with such warmth and impeccable technique.