Beethoven Concerto 3

With this special edition DG pays tribute to an extraordinary musical partnership. The 5CD box set collects all the concerto recordings made by pianist Martha Argerich with conductor Claudio Abbado over more than 45 years.

Listening to the thousand-and-one tinkerings that Mikhail Pletnev makes in the simple Concerto #1 of Beethoven, I was reminded that this quirky artist feels free to embellish any composer at will. One finds this trait either irritatingly intrusive or delightfully imaginative. There are days when I can't decide which. Here the overall results are undeniably appealing. We know that Beethoven improvised freely at the keyboard, and although Pletnev doesn't add new notes, he improvises the feeling of the music, tending toward a romantic sprightliness, if I can put it that way. He makes a phrase erupt, then whisper.

Nigel Kennedy - Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4, Horace Silver: Creepin` In 2008
Classic | Label: EMI Classics | 14 April 2008 | Total time: 77:54 | MP3 @320 | 172 MB

Album Description
For over twenty-five years, Nigel Kennedy has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading violin virtuosos and is one of the most important violinists Britain has ever produced. His virtuosic technique, unique talent and mass appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire. He is the best selling classical violinist worldwide.
This album combines his first-ever Mozart recording with a fresh perspective on the Beethoven violin concerto he first recorded in 1992. He collaborates again with the Polish Chamber Orchestra of which he has been Artistic Director since 2002. He directs the orchestra from the violin in both concertos to achieve a more direct communication of the orchestra members and the cadenzas are very much his own.

Kennedy says the main reason for re-approaching the Beethoven concerto is that today, he hears the piece as having more rhythmic vitality which he wants to bring out in his new recording, despite still cherishing his first recording with Tennstedt, which he said had a more old-fashioned, romantic approach and was played slower.

Listen out for the Mozart cadenza which definitely gives the piece a contemporary edge. It was recorded with his electric violin and Kennedy expresses in it what the concerto means to him personally and wants to open listeners' minds to change their view of the piece. He has also introduced a harpsichord to the work which adds warmth and gives it even more life.

"Jansen is a completely winning soloist, with consistently lovely sound, a superb technique that is always at the service of the music, and a rare instinct for how and when to build towards climaxes."

Our series of historic radio recordings from Russian archives has proved very popular all over the world. Many people have chosen performance over recording quality. – which, when necessary, we have improved optimally. – Thus allowing themselves the infinite joy of listening to legendary performers. The musicians in this large set are all (living) legends indeed: pianists, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Lazar Berman, Evgeny Kissin; violinists David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Viktor Tretiakov and Gidon Kremer; cellists Rostropovich and Daniel Shafran. Solo works, chamber music and works with orchestra are included.

TTC Video - The Concerto (2011) REPOST
DVD-Rip | AVI | XviD MPEG4 @ 1 Mbit/s | 640x480 | MP3 Stereo @ 256 Kbit/s 48 KHz | 18 Hours | 9.73 GB
Genre: Classical Music, Concert History, Education | Label: The Great Courses | Language: English | Subtitle: None

In this series of 24, 45-minute lectures, Professor Robert Greenberg gives you a guided tour of the concerto from its conception as a child of Renaissance ideals, through its maturation in the Classical age, its metamorphosis in the Romantic era, and its radical transformation in the 20th century. The course closes with a look into the future at concerto composers who are now in mid-career and poised to carry this vibrant musical tradition well into the 21st century. These lectures are musically rich, including selections from nearly 100 concerti representing more than 60 composers—from Gabrieli to Gershwin, from Schumann to Shostakovich.