Repertoire: The BEST Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycles

When I was 16, I decided to listen to the first Mov of Beethoven’s Fifth, just for fun. I then heard the 2nd Mov, kinda by accident. When I heard the melody, it touched my heart, it literally struck me inside and I couldn’t understand how I had never been exposed to this music earlier in my life. I couldn’t stop listening to it. I then went into a music store, I was looking through some CD boxes, now interested to hear more from “this beethoven guy”. I then found this Zinman box. I was like “well, there’s a lot in there, sounds like a good deal”. My oh my, was it one of the best decision in my life. This box literally changed my life, as after hearing all the wonderful music in that box, I was fully converted; from a hard EDM and Trance addict to a total classical nerd. Here I am today, 9 years later, listening to Schumann in the morning and to Bruckner in the evening. I’m sure we all have our stories, but this box sparks so much nostalgia and so much emotions for me!

I just picked up the Fleisher/Szell cycle last week and it's fantastic. Thanks for the great content.

Speaking of consistency I definitely miss the Kovacevich/LSO/Davis cycle!!! For me Kovacevich is one of the artists who is consistently true to the Beethovenian spirit and idiom, helped here by one of the greatest accompanist ever lived IMO. And oh guys that Adagio of "Emperor" is simply cosmic beauty if there was ever.

I so do agree with you on the Arrau 4 & 5. The 5th was the first Beethoven piano concerto recording I got when I was 17. I listened to it 4 times in a row. My reference version of the work.

Thank you very much for such of review and recommendations.

When I heard you mention on your romantic piano concertos repertoire video that you had separate Beethoven repertoire entries, I went and found them immediately. I absolutely love the Ashkenazy cycle that you referenced here - mainly because I agree with you that he's an underrated Beethoven player, but also because he's been able to consistently make me feel something almost every time I've listened to him play darn near anything! I am definitely picking up the Bronfman cycle and listening to it after hearing you talk about it - I think he's a magnificent player in general - and he may have done my favorite Ossia Cadenza version of the Rach 3 that I've ever heard, period (though I am still digest and have some notable ones to go, among them Van Cliburn's) - so many thanks for pointing me to Bronfman's cycle - now I know what I'll be listening to over the next few days - going to digest that entire collection, including all of the symphonies, never mind the concertos! Your channel is fantastic, thank you.

I own and greatly enjoy David Zinman's Beethoven set of Symphonies, Concertos, Overtures etc. His Eroica is scorching and the piano concertos are full of raw energy. I'm sure he sees Beethoven as the iconoclast forging a new path for music in the 19th century. The other cycle that thrills me is Sudbin / Vanska. This is Beethoven the profound, sublime towering genius. Sudbin is an incredible pianist. His control of dynamics and tempo is exceptional and the music is chrystal clear. You hear every note. I could not believe my ears the day I first heard them play the Emperor. Completely spine tingling. Thank you David for continuing to educate, inform and entertain us.

Dave, thanks for another fascinating talk. Perhaps even more than your specific choices and your description of each set, I appreciate your introductory remarks in which you explain your rationale behind those choices. We non-professional music lovers/ hard-core collectors often rave about certain recordings for simply personal and sometimes sentimental reasons that have little to do with the actual quality of a given performance. It's quite interesting—and often helpful, in practical terms—to have an overview of how a particular critic approaches these questions. It is indeed a mystery how certain soloists work so well with certain conductors to produce performances that stand the test of time. As you say, it can be a matter of two musicians who completely identify with a single aesthetic vision (as with Fleisher/Szell) or, alternatively, two musicians who seemingly are opposite musical personalities (Ashkenazy/Solti) but complement one another. I don't know, but I would guess that in many cases in the recording business, pianist X is paired with conductor Y simply because they both have contracts with the same label, not because they are pals or admire one another. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. (Weissenberg/Karajan, anyone? Young Barenboim and ancient Klemperer? Pletnev at the keyboard and some lackey waving a baton? Brendel and whomever?) I'm quite familiar with Schnabel/Sargent, Fleisher/Szell, Kempff/Leitner, and Ashkenazy/Solti, and admire each of those for its unique individual qualities. I'm willing to give just about anyone a shot in this music, but of your selections, my taste generally veers toward Ashkenazy/Solti, in which the lyrical elements (Ashkenazy) mesh so seamlessly with the dramatic (Solti's muscular conducting and a powerful, assertive orchestral contribution), all in a splendid sonic palette. For many of the same reasons, and more (the Bösendorfer's golden tone, the Klang of the Vienna Philharmonic, and interpretations that are at once magisterial and intimate, timeless and immediate, and sound utterly “right” to me), my ultimate personal favorite is Backhaus/Schmidt-Isserstedt. Here endeth the essay. Thanks again. ~ John Drexel

Many thanks for introducing the Uchida/Sanderling cycle! I love the contrast between the incisive, rhythmically precise orchestra against the sweet touch by Uchida. In the Emperor Concerto for example, I love how the orchestra accommodates Uchida's delicate touch while managing to maintain a certain grandeur throughout.

Wonderful overview. I grew up with the Pollini / Böhm cycle, which I find magnificent all the way through

Hello David, I was friend with Claudio Arraus pupil and intimate Greville Rothon, who lived in Munich as a piano teacher and music critic in Munich. I learned so much from him and he told me so many stories about Claudio. Arrau really was one of the greatest pianists ever and last pupil of Martin Krause, the late pupil of Liszt. Thank you very much for another wonderful review! Best wishes 🙏

One advantage of the Szell/Fleisher cycle in the Sony "Classical Masters" box is that you also get the best recordings of the two Brahms piano concertos plus a wonderful Mozart 25th piano concerto. Thrilling playing that never drags.

I'm personally partial to the Zimerman cycle with the Vienna Phil, sometimes conducted from the piano and sometimes with Bernstein.

great review @DavidHurwitz and i especially treasure the fleisher szell for the spontaneous dramatics and searching slow movements but i must point out my other favorite cycle of perahia and haitink with its superb combination of eloquent poetry, power, and superb Concertgebouw playing.

I keep returning to the Perahia/Haitink set (not one of the sets you mentioned). I find the recording captures the warmth of the orchestra especially the strings and piano tone like none of the others that I have heard. Very satisfying sonically. The emperor concerto falls a little short in this regard but still very good.

I imprinted on the Kempf/Leitner set, which is an all-time classic, then got the Perahia/Haitink set which is great for its sincere musicality and the beautiful sound of the Concertgebouworkest. I think these two cycles are what you would call introverted versions. Now there is a wonderful cycle on the way for Naxos, corona forbid, with Boris Giltburg and the Liverpudlians under Petrenko (concertos 1 & 2). I heard him live with the Brussels Philharmonic under Thierry Fischer a few months ago here in town in the same concertos (got an autograph on my disc!), which was equally amazing. It's both poetic and muscular when necessary. Thank you for your recommendation, another great review. I'm going to get the Bronfman/Zinman set as well, Bronfman I knew from his great Prokofiev: sonatas and concertos with the Israel Phil/Mehta on Sony.

I enjoy the recent live cycle by Jan Lisiecki with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on DG. Lisiecki is so dynamic and plays the concerti with such poise and confidence for a young pianist. I am guessing that his recordings will only get better so that we may one day talk about Lisiecki (who is only 25) amongst the best Beethoven recordings. Thanks for another informative and entertaining discussion, Dave!

My most fav. set is Backhaus / Schmidt-Isserstedt / Wiener PO. Traditional Romantic style, after pass a lot of set i realized that Backhaus is also great in Beethoven as well as Brahms he did

Yes! My favorite has always been the ashkenazy/Solti recordings. You can really feel the effort and physicality that is going on in ashkenazy's playing. Especially in for example the beginning of five. The strength and control in the arpeggios and trills is almost tangible. You can really picture the way he forcibly and intentionally hits each and every note. He can also be extremely gentle as well. For example the second movement of the fourth. The playing is so calm and serene and light. There's nothing like it. Id also recommend the ashkenazy/Previn recordings of the prokofiev piano concertos for all the same reasons. They're some of my favorite recordings of anything ever.

Another vote for Ashkenazy and Solti, both of whom deliver vivid performances, the Chicago Symphony plays superbly, and the whole glorious enterprise is beautifully captured by the Decca engineers. I also love the Bronfman/Zinman cycle, which I bought on impulse a couple of years ago and was not disappointed - indeed, the entire set of symphonies, overtures and concertos (including an excellent Violin Concerto with Christan Tetzlaff) is quite a bargain. More recently, I've been getting a lot of enjoyment out of the Brautigam set which, for me, demonstrates yet again what an intelligent artist Ronald Brautigam is; it'll be interesting to see what Dave Hurwitz thinks of it in due course.