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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Magic!, 24 May 2008
Great Pianists: Artur Schnabel [1882 - 1951] plays Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4. Naxos Historical 8.110639.
Details: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37, was recorded at the EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1 in London on 17th February 1933 by HMV. - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58, was recorded on the previous day at the same venue. In both cases the orchestra was the London Philharmonic, directed by Malcolm Sargent. This restoration by Mark Obert-Thorn appeared to celebrate Schnabel's 100th birthday. Total playing time: 70'04".
Artur Schnabel was, in his day, generally considered the greatest living interpreter of Beethoven's piano works, and it was after his highly successful appearances in London concerts that HMV's Fred Gaisberg managed to persuade him to begin recording, something he was initially very unwilling to do (apparently because he didn't like the idea of people listening "casually" to records instead of with rapt attention at a concert). Gaisberg originally wanted recordings of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, but Schnabel insisted that he should also record the five Piano Concertos, and today we can be extremely grateful that he did so, because, despite the age of these old recordings, they still today convey a good deal of the magic of Schnabel's performances.
Naxos Historical have no less than five recordings of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 currently in their programme, but of the three I have heard to date, Schnabel's is the best, both for its interpretative value and for the sound - although it is, in fact, the oldest of all! HMV did a wonderful job, and the balance of these mono recordings is amazingly good, with even a good deal of orchestral detail to be heard. Nalen Anthoni's notes make a good deal of Schnabel's liberties and risky playing and point out that for the first movement the score he had available to him had a wrong tempo marking. Be that as it may, I found myself riveted to the loudspeakers, enjoying a Beethoven that seemed so eminently "right" and a partnership between Schnabel and Sargent that really worked well. - The Fourth Concerto was, for a time, considered to be more "feminine", but Artur Schnabel demonstrates that it is musically above such categorizations, with his pearling runs a delight to the ear and his somewhat drawn-out slow movements conveying a true sense of the spirituality behind this music. Despite the constant "hiss" which is a corollary of listening to such old recordings, the word that sprang to mind for this CD was "gorgeous". If you love or admire Beethoven, have good stereo equipment and can imagine listening to old mono recordings without wincing, then I strongly advise you to get hold of this disc (and the other two of the series) before it is too late!
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