Beethoven: Leonore Overture; Piano Concerto No. 4; Symphony No. 5; Piano Sonatas 17 & 21; String Quartet "Razumovsky." Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, Karl Bohm, Maurizio Pollini. DG Panorama 289 469 112-2.Beethoven: Leonore Overture; Piano Concerto No. 4; Symphony No. 5; Piano Sonatas 17 & 21; String Quartet string quartet Ensemble consisting of two violins, viola, and cello, or a work written for such an ensemble. Since c. 1775 such works have been perhaps the predominant genre of chamber music. "Razumovsky." Carlos Kleiber Carlos Kleiber (July 3, 1930 - July 13, 2004) was a German-born conductor. Early career Kleiber was born Karl Ludwig Kleiber in Berlin, the son of the German conductor Erich Kleiber and Ruth Goodrich, an American.[1]. , Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI[1] (b. June 26 1933), is an Italian conductor. Biography Born in Milan, Italy, Abbado studied piano at the Milan Conservatory, and went on to study conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. , Karl Bohm, Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (born January 5, 1942) is an Italian classical pianist, who is regarded as one of the greatest living pianists. Biography Pollini was born in Milan, his father being the Italian rationalist architect Gino Pollini. . DG Panorama 289 469 112-2. This set begins DG's second series of"Panorama" double albums, featuring some of the company's best older recordings. Like many others in the series, these discs offer some magical and highly persuasive moments at a relatively low price. The program begins with the Leonore Overture, performed by Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in 1991. It has commendable energy and drive, but it is flawed by mediocre, curiously lifeless sound. It is followed on disc one by the Fourth Piano Concerto with pianist Maurizio Pollini and conductor Karl Bohm with the Vienna Philharmonic. Pollini's playing appears a bit distant but as always his craftsmanship and precision are without peer. The recording, made in 1976, is more full, warm, and ambient than the later Abbado production and provides a more comfortable listening experience. Disc one concludes with what is perhaps the most famous and most critically acclaimed recording of the last quarter century, Carlos Kleiber's 1975 rendition of the Fifth Symphony, again with the Vienna Phil. The price of the set is worth it for this electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. and emotionally charged performance alone. As a side note, DG also offer this Fifth Symphony in their "Originals" series of single discs, coupled with Kleiber's excellent interpretation of the Seventh Symphony. Disc two begins with a pair of piano sonatas, No. 21 "Waldstein," and No. 17 "The Tempest." Both are done up to pianistic pi·a·nis·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to the piano. 2. Well adapted to the piano. pi perfection in a 1989 recording by Maurizio Pollini. The lineup concludes with the String Quartet in C major, Op. 59, No. 3 "Razumovsky." Recorded as recently as 1997 by the Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet is a renowned New York–based string quartet in residence at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Previously the Quartet was in residence at The Hartt School. , it is immediate in sound and evocative in spirit. Given that so many record companies are repackaging older material these days, it's good to see DG doing so with such good taste, creativity, and generosity. |
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