Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos

Herbert von Karajan’s EMI recording of Beethoven’s piano concertos with the Bulgarian Alexis Weissenberg as soloist divided critics when it was first released in 1978, and has been only sporadically available since. This reissue on Warner Classics shows that the interpretations amply repay fresh investigation. Piano Concerto No. 1 has a distinctly Mozartian flavour, Weissenberg phrasing with a limpid clarity not dissimilar to the fortepianos of Beethoven’s period. Lightness of touch remains a hallmark in Weissenberg’s performance of No. 2, where the scampering finale is a delight. Both Weissenberg and Karajan find subtle shadings in the darker, minor-key No. 3, where their tenderly introspective account of the central “Largo” is an obvious highlight. Grace and delicacy abound in Weissenberg's interpretation of the lyrical Fourth, and similar qualities infuse his beguilingly poetic playing of the beautiful “Adagio” in No. 5 (the “Emperor”). Weissenberg’s strutting pianism in the Fifth’s finale, abetted by Karajan’s muscular accompaniment, brings this underrated set of performances to an ebullient conclusion.