This is a really good
box-set collection of Beethoven's five
piano concertos. Emanuel Ax pays the
utmost deference to the notes and delivers
a refreshingly honest interpretation.
On a par with the polished musical performances
is the physical packaging that narrates
a detailed account of the works. In
generous yet digestible paragraphs,
the CD booklet is divided up according
to the stylistic categories, grouping
the first two concertos, concertos 3
and 4, concerto 5 and the Choral Fantasia
respectively.
It is difficult to
fault this recording on technical grounds.
Ax and Previn have a musical compatibility
that announces all five concerti with
the utmost confidence. The opening movement
of the first concerto (chronologically
second to what we know as the Op.19
second piano concerto in B flat) is
superbly crafted. Ax’s ease and virtuosity
is at the same time tenderly vulnerable
– we can hear each of the notes sound
as delicately as though he were playing
a slow movement. Previn conducts a more
cerebrally conceived orchestral support
that nurtures the piano solo in an endearing
embrace.
This dialectic dynamic
is very much the soul of the Ax/Previn
interpretations, and especially in the
earlier compositions. As the concerti
progress, an increasingly dynamic piano
scoring accounts for a gradual shift
in proportions so that by the fifth
and last concerto – famously nicknamed
the "Emperor" – the piano
is clearly in command. Ax makes this
transition but the force of his conviction
is too moderate. Although attention
to dynamics is precise, the spirit and
emotion is often chastened by the meticulous
technician in Ax. This tendency holds
him back from conjuring magic in the
sublime slow movements.
When another brilliant
pianist (Kempff) recorded these piano
concerti (with the Berliner Philharmoniker
in the 1950s), he talked of "the
deep twilight" of the central Largo
from Concerto No.1 in C. Kempff’s audience
can feel the physical manifestation
of this intellectual empathy. Ax would
do well to have more faith in his musical
fantasies.
The final disc rounds
off with a live recording of the Choral
Fantasia under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
The Fantasia was composed in 1808 as
a light finale to an epic concert delivered
by Beethoven himself. The concert included
the fifth and sixth symphonies, the
fourth piano concerto, two movements
from the recently composed Mass in C,
a vocal solo and a fantasia for solo
piano. So what better way to experience
a so-called ‘authentic’ experience of
this humble forerunner to the final
movement of Beethoven's Ninth than to
build up to it with the entire cycle
of piano concerti on this recording
in one sitting?
Aline Nassif
Emanuel Ax (pianist) 
