Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concertos (Stephen Hough)

Information

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

CD1:

• Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19

CD2:

• Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
• Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

CD3:

• Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major 'Emperor', Op. 73

Stephen Hough, piano

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Hannu Lintu, conductor

Date: 2020

Label: Hyperion

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68291/3

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Review

By the age of 40, Beethoven had completed all his piano concertos. He sketched bits of a sixth at 45, but gave up, presumably because he could no longer trust what was left of his hearing to perform it himself; so there are no visionary late concertos to match the Ninth Symphony or last quartets. Stephen Hough and his conductor Hannu Lintu appear mindful of this in their fresh approach to these scores.

Hough’s individualities of phrasing and subtleties of pedalling are all contained within a relatively Classical sense of order. He brings splendour to the greater grandiosity of the Emperor Concerto, but never seems tempted to inflate it into a prototypical Rachmaninov as some of his eminent predecessors have. Lintu steers a judicious course between Romantic indulgence and ‘authentic’ briskness in his choice of tempos and draws crisp, bright textures from what sounds like relatively modest orchestral forces.

Two slight caveats. The piano sounds as if miked slightly closer than the orchestra, and in the last two concertos some of the highest piano notes ping suspiciously as if not quite in tune. No matter: your reviewer found himself so absorbed by the renewed freshness and inventiveness of scores he thought he knew all too well, that he forgot he was supposed to be ‘objectively’ appraising their interpretation.

-- Bayan Northcott, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Apr/Beethoven_PCs_CDA68291.htm
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-piano-concertos-steven-hough

https://www.allmusic.com/album/beethoven-the-piano-concertos-mw0003362598

https://artsfuse.org/206366/classical-cd-reviews-beethoven-complete-piano-concerto-box-sets/

https://www.classicalsource.com/cd/stephen-hough-plays-beethovens-five-piano-concertos-with-the-finnish-radio-symphony-orchestra-conducted-by-hannu-lintu-hyperion/

https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/booksrecords2/classicalabeyond/30298-beethoven-the-piano-concertos-stephen-hough-finnish-radio-symphony-orchestra-hannu-lintu

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Concertos-Stephen-Hough/dp/B084DGQKW8

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Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. Beethoven is acknowledged as a giant of classical music, and his influence on subsequent generations was profound. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas and 16 string quartets. Many of his most admired works come from the last decade of his life, when he was almost completely deaf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

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Stephen Hough (born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, as recitalist on the major stages, and as chamber musician with top musicians. He is also known for his various dazzling recordings of encore pieces and for championing lesser-known composers. His recordings (more than 50 of them) received multiple awards. As a composer, he has written over 30 published pieces, and often includes his own works in his recitals. As a writer, Hough has written about his homosexuality and its relationship with both his music-making and his religion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hough

http://www.stephenhough.com/

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