Bernstein Century - Beethoven: Piano Concertos no 3 and 5 / New York PO

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
There are two kinds of collaboration possible between conductor and soloist. The first kind happens when both completely agree about the way the music ought to go because they share the same approach. The second type features two artists of very different temperament, and it's more dangerous but also potentially more exciting. The danger arises when the two performers fail to agree on anything, and each goes his own merry way. But when they really stimulate each other a new sort of musical fusion results, and then just listen to the sparks fly! That's exactly what happens here. Bernstein's passionate immediacy of response seems to feed onSerkin's disciplined severity, and the result is Beethoven for the record books. Let it rip! --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: I. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: II. Largo
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37: III. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 5 In E-Flat Major, Op. 73 'Emperor': I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 5 In E-Flat Major, Op. 73 'Emperor': II. Adagio un poco moto
Piano Concerto No. 5 In E-Flat Major, Op. 73 'Emperor': III. Rondo. Allegro

Amazon.com essential recording

There are two kinds of collaboration possible between conductor and soloist. The first kind happens when both completely agree about the way the music ought to go because they share the same approach. The second type features two artists of very different temperament, and it's more dangerous but also potentially more exciting. The danger arises when the two performers fail to agree on anything, and each goes his own merry way. But when they really stimulate each other a new sort of musical fusion results, and then just listen to the sparks fly! That's exactly what happens here. Bernstein's passionate immediacy of response seems to feed onSerkin's disciplined severity, and the result is Beethoven for the record books. Let it rip! --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

After over forty years, it's still the best.......2006-01-31

Since I was never trained as a musician and can barely whistle on key, I cannot pretend to give you any new insights or technical appraisals of these famous recordings. Beethoven's music was sublime, and you don't need to be a musician to understand this. However, as a fan of classical music, I own four or five copies of the Beethoven concertos. This particular one was one of the first pieces of classical music I bought when I was in college. (The very first, which I still have in my possession, is Mozart's flute concertos.) Because I was lucky enough back in the early seventies to purchase one of the finest recordings of a Beethoven piano concerto ever made, the impact has remained with me. None of the other recordings are quite as satisfactory as this one. I don't know why. It really is a mystery to me. I've heard this piece performed by the best orchestras and pianists in the world, but there is definitely something about this particular version that is compelling and singular. If you are casting about for a version of the Emperor concerto to own, or just looking for an alternative to the ones you already have, you would be well advised to get this one. After forty years and more, it stands the test of time.

Excellent remastering of two great performances--incomparable.......2005-11-13

These two Beethoven concerto recordings from 1962 (Emperor) and 1964 (Third Cncerto) are the only time, besides an equally commadning "Choral Fantasy" from the same era, that Bernstein and Serkin ever recorded together. The pianist was a dominant figure among the Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who put New York musical culture on the map, and Bernstein of course was the culmination of that phenomenon--he became the prodigal son returning to Vienna in triumph. There is a special, all but unmatched electricity in the meeting of these two greats.

I suppose Amazon's unreliable reviewer has a point in contrasting Serkin and Benrstein, but the actual performance speaks otherwise: both performers are galvanic. In five decades of listening I've grown used to listless accompaniments for the Beethoven piano concertos--even maestros on the order of Hiatink, Abbado, and Solti simply don't care. Here Bernstein acts as if these works are full-scale Beethoven symphonies, which is especially fortunate for the Third Concerto, so often underplayed as quasi-Haydn. Not this one; it's a robust cousin to the Emperor.

This Emperor was for 25 years the staple recording for Columbia, CBS, and Sony, put forward early in the digital era in a tinny mastering, now emerging in much better sound in the Bernstein Century series. Like the Third, it's a lion of a peformance, perhaps not as dominant in the field as the Third since there are so many great versions. But this one has the flavor of Bernstien's early exuberance and Serkin's profound understanding of Beethoven. Five stars without a doubt.

The Second Best.......2005-06-25

Excellent. But Serkin's performance of the Emperor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Eric Leinsdorf conducting, was (in Cole Porter's phrase) the top.

At Least He Was Never Dull.......2004-04-24

Great as he was, Berstein did have his flaws. As clearly displayed by the performances on this cd, he ocassionally was guilty of what I can only describe as an excess of enthusiasm. The expansive fifth concerto withstands the onslaught, but the more restrained classicism of the third is almost smothered by it. Thus, if you are looking for an exciting performance of the fifth, plunge ahead. If, however, you are, like me, primarily interested in the third, hold out for something more appropriate.

Perhaps some day the Gary Graffman / Chicago Symphony recording of the third will be released on cd. It comes as close to perfection as anything I have ever heard.

Best Emperor that I have heard so far.......2002-11-14

I may not agree with every aspect of Serkin's views on Beethoven, but these recordings are wonderful. Serkin brings out both the strength and the delicacy of these masterpieces when required, and the tempos and phrasing that he uses are remarkably original and beautiful. However, the real stars are Bernstein and the NYPO. By far, this is the best orchestral accompaniment to the Beethoven concertos that I have ever heard; incredibly warm, heartfelt and passionate, I have to think that Beethoven would have been very pleased with the way these works are interpreted. These recordings are wonderful, especially that of the Emperor, but I will continue to look for a pianist that interprets the music exactly the way that I would like, if such a thing exists; namely, I will look for a recording with a little more power from the pianist, and a slightly warmer, more singing tone ( I suspect that Hofmann would have had such an interpretation, but his surviving recordings are few and far between). However, I do not hesitate in the least to recommend this CD to anyone that wants a good recording of either concerto.

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