It’s quite rare on
disc to have the pianist also as conductor
in Beethoven concertos. A live recording
of such is, I think, unique in terms
of current availability. And this is
a genuine, one-off, live performance
of both concertos, also rare these days,
not a splicing of more than one. So
its integrity is absolute. It shows.
It’s finely articulated and tremendously
engaging. The pianist has a commanding
presence and the young orchestral players
support him fervently.
Piano Concerto No.
3 in C minor, Op. 37 (1803)
Buchbinder the conductor
achieves an orchestral introduction
full of nervous energy, spontaneity,
momentum and spirit, while the lean
string sound assists the clear rhythmic
articulation. The second theme (tr.
1 1:34) blossoms without any halting
of progress.
Buchbinder the pianist
enters arrestingly and continues ardently.
Soloist and orchestra are always of
one mind and the many appearances of
the nervy quaver-crotchet motif from
the end of the first theme’s first phrase
are always clear without ever palling.
Beethoven’s cadenza is sonorous and
fluent. After this the haunting very
soft strings and fine crescendo to the
close are typical of the effective realization
of Beethoven’s dynamics.
Buchbinder the pianist
opens the slow movement with poise,
a contrasting calm and gentleness. The
orchestra brings a passionate involvement
in the creation of a state of acceptance,
a kind of sunny response to the turbulence
of the first movement that in turn underpins
the resolve of the rondo finale. Here
again the pianist sets the mood, this
time of pacy, bouncy, rigorous assertion.
Spiky humour is added at the first episode
(tr. 3 1:14). After this the return
of the rondo theme (2:14) has a marked
strut with the repeated notes emphasised
more, as they are on its next, but not
final appearance; a bit of poetic licence
to provide variety. Another marked contrast
is that between a dreamily relaxed second
episode (3:21) and mettlesome fugue
version of the rondo theme (4:14).
I compared probably
the most famous live recording of all
the Beethoven concertos in recent years,
that made by Alfred Brendel in 1983
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra/James
Levine and now available at mid price
(Philips 4709382).
The playing here is
more stylish, with subtler contrasts
and a consciousness of supreme artifice.
But this isn’t necessarily an advantage
in this concerto in comparison with
Buchbinder’s greater directness and
impact. In the finale in particular
Brendel is more fastidious, even slightly
whimsical and it’s Levine who supplies
the high jinks.
Piano Concerto No.
4 in G major, Op. 58 (1806)
Being in a major key,
this work is happier, calmer, smoother
and suaver, yet also at times just as
enigmatic. Buchbinder’s interpretive
approach is consistent with that of
the third concerto. This is undeniably
valid but for me it sells this concerto
a little short.
Buchbinder the pianist
brings poise and warmth to his opening
solo. Buchbinder the conductor obtains
scrupulous dynamic contrasts and expression
of feeling in the expansive orchestral
response. Yet this isn’t without self
consciousness: the repetition of the
piano’s opening motif becomes rather
staid. Buchbinder the pianist is more
assured, for example his creamy tone
in leading with the second theme (tr.
4 6:45), but this then scrambles into
the tutti. The beginning of the development
(7:15), mysterious and veiled, is more
evocative and the trenchant manner that
follows is here appropriate.
Beethoven left two
cadenzas to the first movement. Buchbinder
plays the longer, better known one.
Midway (15:20) this features a dramatic
transformation of the concerto’s opening
motif , here presented excitingly which
makes the later, rather wistful recollection
of the second theme (16:08) more telling.
The coda is beautifully calm then affirmative.
The slow movement’s
contrasting worlds are vividly laid
out. Firm, blustering, impatient, rather
gruff strings declaim. Smooth, flowing,
patient piano meditates with a glorious
sense of space. The moment they overlap
(tr. 5 1:32) is startling.
In the rondo finale
the orchestra’s soft playing, as at
the opening, is more striking than the
expected macho theme presentations.
The orchestra’s delivery of the rondo
theme is crisp, rather militant and
somewhat joyless. But the central episode
goes with a swing and warmth is achieved
in the rondo theme’s appearance on two
violas and solo cello (tr. 6 5:33) as
a backcloth to the piano figuration.
In the cadenza Buchbinder well contrasts
the brusque and reflective, the latter
through notably idyllic treatment (7:56)
of the second theme.
For me the Brendel
and Levine in the fourth concerto are
more satisfying, largely because they
find more relaxation and therefore serenity,
partly through more assured phrasing
and the Chicago orchestra’s sunnier,
more singing line. The sforzandos are
clear without being in your face. The
finale is similarly more playful. In
the first movement Brendel plays Beethoven’s
other, shorter cadenza which near the
end has an exquisitely plaintive take
on the opening motif.
This CD Accord disc
under review is pleasingly rounded and
perspectived but the piano is recorded
very close, so it dominates the front
and centre of the sound spectrum. I
can live with this as orchestral detail
is still good. A squeaky piano stool
and audience coughs are extra, less
welcome, effects. The Philips Brendel
early digital recording is thinner in
tone, the piano also close but slightly
less dominant and the orchestra more
spaciously spread around it.
This CD Accord’s uncredited
notes are a good mix of historical overview
and analysis of the specific works.
However, the translation from the Polish
is at times peculiar. The immediate
repeat of the main theme in the
introduction to the third concerto is
termed ‘recapitulation’. Cadenza is
called ‘cadence’, you get ‘reflexively’
for reflectively, ‘crack-less’ instead
of seamless. Best of all, for the first
performance of the third concerto ‘Beethoven
was left with a bunch of accidental
musicians’.
To sum up, a vibrant
and absorbing third concerto followed
by a concentrated, but rather sober,
fourth.
Michael Greenhalgh
Sinfonietta Cracovia/Rudolf Buchbinder (piano.
conductor) 
for
details
