Beethoven Baruda Skoda

This new release opens with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs Symphony in F major, Wq. 183/3. This symphony belongs to a group of four Orchestral Symphonies with Twelve Obbligato Parts, which were commissioned by an unidentified patron in 1775. Next, this release presents Joseph Haydns Symphony No. 39. This work is the first of Haydns minor key symphonies and is associated with his Sturm und Drang period. Finally, Beethovens Symphony No. 1 in C major rounds out this release. The work was dedicated to an early patron of Beethoven, Baron Gottfried van Swieten. This work is a clear indication of Haydns influence on Beethoven.

In recent years the Storioni Trio has established itself as the leading Dutch piano trio. On this disc they perform two of Beethoven’s major works, the Triple Concerto opus 56, and the “Archduke” Trio opus 97. They are joined in the concerto by the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jan Willem de Vriend.

This recording – the first release of a complete cycle with the Finnish pianist and conductor Olli Mustonen, who plays two of his own cadenzas in Opus 15 – demonstrates the vitality of the piano concerto genre, which Beethoven preferred for various reasons. Synonymous with the composer, the five great individualities lie like continents in the sea of music, out of which they were catapulted, as it were, with volcanic force. But their geology also developed in phases of varying lengths. After Beethoven’s turbulent beginning in Bonn with the little E flat major concerto of 1784, historical developments forced a stylistic reorientation. In place of Johann Christian Bach, Mozart became his model.

ECM New Series is better known for its documentation of contemporary works, but the music of the past sometimes receives coverage when artists bring a new perspective to it. The Diabelli Variations, Op. 120; the Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111; and the Six Bagatelles, Op. 126, are among the most original and intellectually stimulating works Ludwig van Beethoven composed for the piano, and the sophisticated interpretations of András Schiff are especially worthwhile for their insights into authentic performance practice and reception. Here, Schiff gives the listener options between a relatively modern sounding version of the Diabelli Variations and a period interpretation, without favoring one or the other. On the first CD he plays the Sonata and the Diabelli Variations on a Bechstein piano from 1921, though with minimal pedaling and a restrained execution that allows every inner voice and subtle dynamic to be appreciated. While this piano is not as hard or bright sounding as a modern Steinway, it is familiar to modern ears and most listeners will readily accept it. On the second CD, Schiff plays the Diabelli Variations, along with the Six Bagatelles, on a smaller sounding Franz Brodmann fortepiano, an original instrument from around 1820, Beethoven's time period.

The pre-eminent Lisztian of our day returns to Brilliant Classics for a symphonic sequel of transcriptions. In 2018, Brilliant Classics issued Leslie Howard and Mattia Ometta playing the 12 symphonic poems of Liszt in the composer's own transcriptions for piano duo (95748). The set won glowing reviews: 'Not only do Leslie Howard and Mattia Ometto navigate Liszt's technical challenges with fluency and ease,' wrote Jed Distler for Classics Today, 'but they also treat the scores seriously… Howard's excellent annotations and Brilliant Classics' budget price further clinch my recommendation for collectors.' As before, Leslie Howard supplies his own, invaluable insights to accompany this trio of symphonies in Liszt's transcriptions for piano duo. As with the symphonic poems,

This unusual coupling works surprisingly well, God only knows why. Perhaps the Britten’s neo-classical (or Baroque) leanings and formal freedom sit well next to Beethoven’s echt-Classical language, but whatever the reason the performances of both works are extremely fine. Paavo Järvi’s expertise in Beethoven with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen is by now well-known, and in Janine Jansen he has a soloist who matches him for vibrancy and freshness.

Jan Caeyers is a Belgian conductor, musicologist, Beethoven expert and biographer. His passion for Viennese classical music, and Beethoven in particular, has resulted in a long history of conducting in European concert halls.

Collection of all five Beethoven piano concertos, played by a young Vladimir Ashkenazy at the height of his piano-playing career. Accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the great conductor Bernard Haitink, this was a first for television.

These recordings of Beethoven's early quartets are excellent. The Tokyo String Quartet's technique has never been in doubt and needless to say, just as all great string quartets, the members are perfectly synchronized, playing together as one, as if controlled by a single mind.

Pablo Casals was once the greatest living cellist. His technique was formidable, his tone was magisterial, and his interpretations were sovereign. In the '20s and '30s, Casals was a charismatic virtuoso on the same level as Kreisler and Horowitz. Those days were over by the time he recorded Beethoven's works for cello and piano with the superb Rudolf Serkin in 1954. His formidable technique had irrevocably decayed: in the fast passages and movements, Casals could barely keep up and he dropped notes like a tree drops leaves in a late autumn rain. His magisterial tone has deteriorated: in the slow passages and movements, Casals groaned and growled like boughs and branches in a hard autumn wind.