Comp Pno Cons

A virtuoso pianist of exceptional stature, Beethoven took Vienna by storm upon his arrival in the Austrian capital, eliciting such comments as He isnt a man, hes the devil himself! by contemporary rivals. His expressiveness of playing was in fact responsible for ushering in a new era of the piano concerto, his eccentricity of ideas and hitherto unprecedented violence of key changes creating a music that no longer found fulfilment merely in terms of beauty and originality, but which went the extra mile in now expressing a message. The five numbered piano concertos were written over a period of two decades, roughly between 1790 and 1809. With every new work, comments conductor David Zinman, Beethoven discovered a new world [] They are entirely independent worlds that place different demands on performers. Beethovens piano concertos have been committed to disc by some of the greatest names in music history, and as such any new recording is subject to the highest scrutiny. Yefim Bronfman, here in performances dating back to 2004 and 2005, rises to the challenge admirably, delivering consummate interpretations that combine commanding technique with exceptional lyrical skill. Of the Emperor Concerto, Gramophone described the Soviet-born Israeli-American pianists touch as light, precise though never brittle [], always phrasing elegantly and dipping his tone whenever important instrumental lines need to be heard, also commenting on how he, Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra form a warmly responsive partnership. Voices are introduced into the equation with the Fantasia for piano, chorus and orchestra a work whose variation figures foreshadow those of the much better known Ninth Symphony before a fully- fledged transition into the choral repertoire, the compilation ending with the cantata Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.