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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 73 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I find this collection of the five Beethoven piano concertos totally satisfying: excellent performances from both the pianist and the orchestra, well recorded with a natural and detailed sound. I have two more sets of the Beethoven piano concertos: Maurizio Pollini with the Berliner Philharmoniker directed by Claudio Abbado (recorded live), and Wilhelm Kempff with the Berliner Philharmoniker directed by Ferdinand Leitner, both on DG. Very difficult to say which one is the best. But I think my favorite one is the Kempff-Leitner set, by a very small gap with respect to Pollini-Abbado and this Perahia-Haitink.
I have just one complaint about the packaging of this triple CD. The digipac (plastic and cardboard) is nice (even if cheap) but I find very annoying that no booklet is provided. There are the track listing plus place and date of recordings printed on the packaging and nothing more! Not even time length of each track! Surely the price is low, but someone buying physical CD (and not digital downloads) is used to have always such additional information. So, five stars to the music, two stars to the CD packaging.
I have just one complaint about the packaging of this triple CD. The digipac (plastic and cardboard) is nice (even if cheap) but I find very annoying that no booklet is provided. There are the track listing plus place and date of recordings printed on the packaging and nothing more! Not even time length of each track! Surely the price is low, but someone buying physical CD (and not digital downloads) is used to have always such additional information. So, five stars to the music, two stars to the CD packaging.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
These are totally reliable accounts of these great cornerstones of the piano concerto repertoire.I mean no faint praise by this - to be reliable in these works means scaling great heights - something that Perahia and Haitink seem to do effortlessly - and nothing less than this will do. No - I merely mean that there is nothing shocking or disturbing in these accounts: these performers have no need to reinvent or surprise to do justice to such frequently recorded works and to rise to the top of the crop.
These accounts are, then, first recommendations and the price is good too. But for me and many others one way of playing these marvellous works will just not suffice. So, while recommending this set wholeheartedly, I must also go on to tell you that the Aimard/Harnoncourt set is very very special - very different to Perahia but extremely musical and a constant delight and one that frequently finds new depths in these much recorded works - and that the Kempff/Leitner and the Solomon sets are also must haves!
These accounts are, then, first recommendations and the price is good too. But for me and many others one way of playing these marvellous works will just not suffice. So, while recommending this set wholeheartedly, I must also go on to tell you that the Aimard/Harnoncourt set is very very special - very different to Perahia but extremely musical and a constant delight and one that frequently finds new depths in these much recorded works - and that the Kempff/Leitner and the Solomon sets are also must haves!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I don't know if there is another pianist who knows more about sensitive lyric beauty than Murray Perahia. The thoughtfulness that is always present in his work makes him one of the world's greatest pianists. Partnered with him on this disc is the famed Bernard Haitink, who leads the illustrious Concertgebouw. I have to say that our partners do a fabulous job pulling out the lyric beauty in these works. You'll probably never hear the Beethoven concertos given an account that is this sensitive again. Perahia and the Concertgebouw blend in a chamber-like way that brings out wonderful detail, but not in a way that sacrifices the "full orchestra" effect. The detail that is brought out is ravishing.
Having said this, Perahia's set is not one that reveals much of the masculine side of the great master. It wouldn't hurt to have more fire in these works. Some people will find the interpretation tame, complaining that he should have "let loose" more. But then again, others will be extremely sympathetic with his approach, as some experienced listeners point to this as their very favorite Beethoven concerti set. I'm somewhere in between, although I lean towards the second, more favorable group. I personally think Perahia is better with music that isn't so big and grand; his Bach sees him at his artistic height. Sometimes in the course of this set it becomes clear that Perahia isn't at his best with heroic material, as he occasionally sounds a bit harsh.
Still, I still find this to be a wonderful disc, one that I'm sure glad to have in my collection. I'm honestly very tempted to raise my rating to 5 stars as the lyricism that is present makes for a real treat. This is nostalgic Beethoven that will ravish the ears. Those who like performances that let the music speak for itself will find this disc very much to their liking. I certainly think this is a set very well worth checking out, especially if the positive aspects I mentioned sound inviting. I'm certainly going to want to turn to it now and then for the wonderful qualities it has to offer.
Having said this, Perahia's set is not one that reveals much of the masculine side of the great master. It wouldn't hurt to have more fire in these works. Some people will find the interpretation tame, complaining that he should have "let loose" more. But then again, others will be extremely sympathetic with his approach, as some experienced listeners point to this as their very favorite Beethoven concerti set. I'm somewhere in between, although I lean towards the second, more favorable group. I personally think Perahia is better with music that isn't so big and grand; his Bach sees him at his artistic height. Sometimes in the course of this set it becomes clear that Perahia isn't at his best with heroic material, as he occasionally sounds a bit harsh.
Still, I still find this to be a wonderful disc, one that I'm sure glad to have in my collection. I'm honestly very tempted to raise my rating to 5 stars as the lyricism that is present makes for a real treat. This is nostalgic Beethoven that will ravish the ears. Those who like performances that let the music speak for itself will find this disc very much to their liking. I certainly think this is a set very well worth checking out, especially if the positive aspects I mentioned sound inviting. I'm certainly going to want to turn to it now and then for the wonderful qualities it has to offer.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Typical Perahia
As you would expect, Perahia plays beautifully in these recordings, but occasionally I miss the sense of drama and grandeur so essential in Beethoven. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Elpenor
Beware - there are some SONY rotten lemons out there of this...
No serious quibble with other reviewers of this magnificent 3-CD set.
It is just that the set I bought, from one of the more noted larger sellers (new and sealed)... Read more
It is just that the set I bought, from one of the more noted larger sellers (new and sealed)... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Judy Spotheim
Wonderful music making!
Beethoven's Five Piano Concertos are in the hands of master-performers here and I found listening to this set a very inspiring and hugely enjoyable experience. Read more
Published 18 months ago by ronaldo
Beethoven - The Complete Piano Concertos
Murray Perahia playing with Haitink conducting the Royal Concertgebouw. With that line-up, what could you criticize? Well, nothing really. Read more
Published 20 months ago by richard
Beethoven - the complete piano concertos.
ASIN:B000P7VOXU Beethoven - [[The Complete Piano Concertos]]
A top class performance. Far better than I expected for such a low purchase price.
A top class performance. Far better than I expected for such a low purchase price.
Published on 4 Feb 2010 by Mr. S. Carroll
Not as wonderful as other recordings
I knew the Emperor Concerto very well and wanted to get to know Beethoven's other piano concertos. The CD certainly provided that with perfectly good musical performances and... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Dr. S. Gouldsworthy
Murray Perahia at his best
A superb collection of Beethoven's piano concertos. As usual, Murray Perahia's playing is as near perfection as you can get. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2007 by Evan Jones
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