Beethoven Haitink London Tower Records

The Piano Concerto No. 2 is also Beethoven in classical mode, using an orchestra that would have suited a Mozart piano concerto equally well. What marks it out from other classical works of the time are the solo outbursts in each of the first two movements. In the first, a contrapuntal cadenza with exciting modulations takes us into new and more individual territory, in which the keyboard becomes absolutely the composers focus; in the second we are treated to some powerful, improvisatory solos. The last movement, a rondo with a highly rhythmic main theme in 6/8, manages to introduce a descending chromatic progression towards the end and closes with the piano oscillating rapidly between major and minor chords (a light hearted conclusion to the piece, but one which taxes every pianist).

Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concertos No. 5 "Choral" Fantasy
Alfred Brendel / London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir / Bernard Haitink
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 254 MB | Full Artwork: 96 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Philips # 420 347-2 | Country/Year: Germany 198_, 1977
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Piano

"…a commanding performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy… Brendel's playing of the slow movement of No. 5 was for me one of the high spots of his set, for its measured calm is perfect…" –Gramophone

This Haitink/Beaux Arts/LPO Triple Concerto is superb and also unique in my experience. The acoustic captures the BA Trio so closely that one can hear their playing in minute detail. At the same time, the orchestral playing is equally detailed and attractively unbloated. The BA plays the concerto from a chamber music perspective more than a triple superstar perspective. Nothing drags and the bouyancy helps. Pressler and Greenhouse are especially eloquent. Both play with beautiful tone.

Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 4
London Symphony Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
PS3 SACD ISO: 4,06 GB (2.0/5.1) | EAC Rip, FLAC LOG & CUE: 251 MB (2.0) | 24B/88,2kHz FLAC (2.0): 1,07 GB | Lossless Artwork: 110 MB | Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: LSO Live LSO0716 | Country/Year: UK 2011 | Genre: Classical | Hoster: Filepost/Filefactory

…The LSO play with their customary precision and refinement, which goes a long way in music that can often be so ethereal and uplifting as Bruckner's. And when the orchestra get a chance to come into full bloom in the biggest crescendos and fortissimos, they sound wonderful, especially with Haitink guiding them so evenhandedly…

Haitink's integral set of Beethoven Symphonies with the London Symphony has none of the stodginess that sometimes afflicted his earlier recordings with the Concertgebouw. His restudy of the works, and the presence of concert audiences translate into faster tempos, sharper accents, wider dynamic range and an overall sense of energy that imbue these nine masterpieces.

The London Symphony Orchestra (Haitink) - Bruckner Symphony No. 9 (2014) {B&W Society of Sound} [24/96]
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time ~ 68 minutes | 1,39 GB
Official Digital Download - Source: bowers-wilkins.com | front & back cover

Bruckner followed suit in 1896, leaving his ninth ‘unfinished’. Having written three monumental movements over the preceding nine years, he never completed the big finale he had envisaged. Although attempts have been made since to reconstruct the last movement for performance, it’s arguable whether this adds anything. The three-movement work is eerily satisfying as it stands and is the version favoured by Bernard Haitink here.