With all five Beethoven piano concertos, plus the Choral Fantasia, for under £8 you might think that 'value for money' is the big selling point of this collection featuring John Lill with Sir Alexander Gibson conducting the Scottish National Orchestra. However, the performances and sound quality could hardly be bettered. Unlike his symphonies, where Beethoven took off from where Mozart and Haydn left off and developed that form into something else, something distinctly his own, his piano concertos display all the felicitous melodic charm and inventiveness, delivered in the usual three movements, that you'd expect of later Mozart. Punchy and delicate, as and when required, though, these performances perfectly capture the exuberance with which Beethoven developed and built on a good tune when he got one - and with the mighty 'Emperor' concerto his effort to pummel something a little bit more from the keyboard, to go beyond the shadow of Mozart, is almost palpable. This collection is not just a bargain, it's also packed with great performances of works that will impress, please and swirl round your mind for a long time.
