Beethoven: The 5 Piano Concertos
Alfred Brendel, piano
Wiener Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle conducting
Philips (1999)
Listening to disc 2, concertos 2 and 3. This is a very nice collection. Brendel is of course brilliant, and the orchestra and sound are very good, although Rattle’s “allegro con brio” sometimes lacks a bit of brio. Compare, for example, the 1st movement of No. 3 with that of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Charles Mackerras conducting, on Linn. Artur Pizarro’s piano isn’t quite on a level with Brendel, but the pace of the movement under Mackerras feels more energetic.
