Would someone recommend a Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle?

There are many great sets of the concertos, from Kempff in the '50s to Lewis / Behlolavek last year. Among the fairly recent cycles, Brendel / Rattle needs a good stereo to come alive but once there, is really good. My two overall favorites are probably Perahia / Haitink and Lupu / Mehta. Depending on taste, other good but more disputed sets are Schiff / Haitink, Zimerman / Bernstein, Barenboim / Klemperer and possibly Kissin. Too many to choose from, really!

Cheers,

EJ

The only complete set I own is the Perahia/Haitink. It's excellent, I think.

Regards

Nigel

Many sets to choice from but if only one it would have to be Kovacevich/Davis on Philips. 

Karl

Of course, how could I forget?

EJ

Another vote for Brendel / Rattle

I have Walter Gieseking/Arthur Rother/Berlin Reichsender Orchestra for Concerto No. 5. 

You can hear anti-aircraft guns shooting at the allies during the quiet passages. Kinda creepy. It was recorded in Berlin during Autumn, 1944. It's also one of the very first stereo recordings. 

I like Yefin Bronfman (3 & 4) with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra ~ David Zinman

Presently available for only £1.59 via Amazon.

(and just noticed the 1&2 concerto new for 74p + p&p, so ordered a copy! : )

Also, another vote for Stephen Kovacevich,

BBC Symphhony Ocrchestra/Sir Colin Davis

Have the 6 cd box-set below, more expensive but fantastic... worth every penny!

You can (or used to be able to) buy Friedrich Gulda's Decca stereo recordings of the Beethoven concertos with Wiener Philharmoniker/Schmidt-Isserstedt, plus his 1968 complete Beethoven sonatas, in a ridiculously inexpensive Amadeo box. The sonata recordings ought to be heard by any Beethoven lover, so the concertos can be regarded as a welcome bonus, all at a ridiculously low price.

It's a shame that Maurizio Pollini's earlier set of the Vienna recordings of the concertos under Boehm (3 to 5) and Jochum (less good in 1 and 2) has been supplanted by the later Berlin recordings with Abbado.

Emil Gilels' even earlier EMI 1950s Philharmonia/Ludwig recordings of 4 and 5 are pretty much the best that I've ever heard, and are available on a mid-price GROC.

But the Kovacevich Philips set shown above, with his never-bettered Diabelli Variations and a few other random sonatas, is pretty well unmatched among modern recordings.  

Nonesense on the stereo issue. Stereo was already eleven years old by then, though no commercial issue was made in stereo till 1955 of course.

As for the performance,.. well if you like Nazis and Nazi sympathisers playing revolutionary [anti-establishment] music this may appeal. Otherwise, [having heard it] there is in my opinion absolutely nothing to recommend it to the general classical music enthusiast.

Best lest in the vault in my view.

ATB from George

Not to be missed as well

Who's your favourite Bethoven's Piano Concertos?

Dear Kuma,

My favourites second.

Firstly let me completely agree with the recommendation above for Steven Bishop's set on Philips mentioned above. Not simply a safe choice, but a great one in every way, either as an introduction or as a counterpart to any other set.

My favourites, otherwise, include the following individual recordings:

First and Second. Solomon Cutner, Philharmonia Orchestra, currently available on Testament.

Third and Fourth: Edwin Fischer, Philharmonia Orchestra, also on Testament.

Emperor Concerto, Edwin Fischer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Possibly still available on EMI.

And I have a particular favourite for the whole set, being Artur Schnabel, with the London Symphony Orchestra [London Philharmonic for the Second] and Dr Malcolm Sargeant. I think these are out on Naxos now, but be warned, they were recorded between 1933 and 1935, and are not the last word in recording perfection, though the sound is very clear, but occasionally the old recording mechanism produces some peak crackling! But the playing is priceless.

In the modern era, I have a very soft spot for the colaboration between Daniael Barenboim and Otto Klemperer with the Philharmonia, recorded in 1967 in exceptional sonics, which enhamce the grandeur and soul-searching nature of these somewhat eccentric performance. Full of solid musical virtues, no one would confuse these performances with fast! But slow they are not either, but simply magesterial, gentle on times, trenchant like a symphony here and there, and beautifully played without romantic distortion or additional showmanship. I find them the most fascinating of performances, and they appear on the iTunes search quite often.

If you enjoy the solomon recordings of the first two, Testament have the entire set with him. Very fine they are, but from these my favourites are definitely the first two.

An additional favourite I have is Dame Myra Hess with the London Philharmonic conducted by Sire Adrian Boult from a 1960s BBC Prom concert. The recording is not at all bad, and the playing has something very special about it, from Hess and the orchestra. BBC Legends ...

ATB from George

If you're in the UK and have Sky TV lookout for Barenboim's set with the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted from the keyboard -  on Sky Arts. Wonderful intense overwhelming music making and being able to watch Barenboim drive  the orchestra, covered in sweat and completely transported is unforgettable. It's like he plays not only the piano, but the orchestra too. I think there's a DVD of the same set too. On cd I value Brendel/Rattle and Perahia the most; Paul Lewis is good but somehow doesn't seem to take me anywhere.

Thanks George.

I have never heard of Cutner or Fischer, so I hve to try it.

I recently got a Schnabel's No.3 ( recorded in '47 ) with Dobrowen but sort of ho hum both the performance and recording quality.

I ought to try him with LSO/Sargent to see if I like it any better on the 3rd.

Dear Kuma,

I agree that the post-war Schnabel cycle [not completed] was not a patch on the early thirties effort.

Glad you tried it though. That is the way. Some purchases are less wonderful than others.

ATB from George

George,

Are you familiar with Schnabel/CSO/Frederick Stock Beethoven's 4th concerto (Recorded 1942.)?

Thanks for all the input. 

Many names I've never heard of, so that'll keep me busy on google and wikipedia for a while.....

Dear Kuma,

Unfortunately not. Just added to my watch list. I watch out [sometimes for years] and pick these things up! Sometimes a hit and sometimes a miss! But always a grand experience!

ATB from George

Dear Kuma,

One of the lovely things about so many older recordings coming along in mostly rather good restorations on CDs, is that you can listen to a performance that time simply would not have allowed a person to hear otherwise. I always take the view that the cost of the CD is usually very small if you think of the costs would have been in getting to concerts! I found the Myra Hess recording of the live Prom performance of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto as a pure impulse buy. I would have been about two when it was given, and so would probably not have appreciated it much if I'd been in the Royal Albert Hall that notable evening when the performance caused the audience to more or less raise the roof at the end. Such recorded moments are actually priceless!

So there is always room for an impulse buy. I take a different view with artists still with us. I'd rather listen to the live radio relays, and canocerts, than take the studio recording! Of course, after listening to a live concert or broadcast, sometimes I do then go off and buy the commercial recording!

ATB from George