Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 28 in A - Hélène Grimaud, piano - Staatskapelle Dresden, Vladimir Jurowski, conductor - 2007.

L.v. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"; Piano Sonata No. 28 in A

Hélène Grimaud, piano

Staatskapelle Dresden, Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

Recorded in Dresden, Lukaskirche, 12/2006 [01-03] &

in Berlin, Siemens-Villa, 7/2007 [04-07]

tracklist:

[01-03] Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major Op.73 "Emperor":

I. Allegro (20:08) - II. Adagio un poco mosso (8:04) - III. Rondo (Allegro) (10:03)

[04-07] Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101:

I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung

(Allegretto ma non troppo) (4:10) -

II. Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia) (5:58) -

III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto) (3:20) -

IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro) (7:27)

~

"This is the stuff from which magic is made: Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 --known as the "Emperor" Concerto, heroic and powerful-- performed by one of our most distinctive pianists, Hélène Grimaud. The excellent Staatskapelle Dresden is led by one of today's young stars on the podium, Vladimir Jurowski, a charismatic musical genius who was recently appointed London Philharmonic Orchestra's principal conductor. The chemistry between these musicians has the potential to create an extraordinary musical experience. On this album, the Concerto is coupled with a piano sonata out of Beethoven's late compositional phase where --noticeable in the slow movement of the concerto as well-- the composer's concern for lyricism had deepened. Thus intimacy and delicacy are the features in the beautiful Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 chosen by Grimaud. This project proves the modernity of Beethoven, firstly by the passionate interpretation of Grimaud and secondly by her being such an excellent communicator of her intentions and perceptions: 'What makes Beethoven an extremely modern composer is this extreme vitality, the desire to never give up, and also this foreverendearing, extremely touching characteristic of the music to always strive to ascend, to really get beyond the frailties and the failures of the human condition by always looking up and trying to reconcile the top and the bottom, the vertical and the horizontal. That is still the struggle of people today --this is what makes Beethoven so timeless'." --(amazon.com)

This is a strikingly original performance, opting for melancholic introspection, and freshly imagined detail, over the usual alpha-male Sturm und Drang. The nuances are equally delicate in Beethoven's piano sonata No 28 in A, Op 101.

--(Record Review / Anthony Holden, Observer (London) / 02 September 2007)

"This is without question the best recording that Hélène Grimaud has made for DG. The opening "Emperor" gushes forth like a sparkling fountain, at a freshly invigorating basic tempo. Give credit to Vladimir Jurowski for his excellent collaboration, and to a Staatskapelle Dresden that really stays on top of its collective toes. Grimaud even manages to make something special out of those upward scales that so often signal the pianist's entrances and exits . . . it's a fleeting memory at best, and the finale goes with all of the joyful enthusiasm that anyone could ask. If anything, the sonata is even finer . . . she simply plays really well, stylishly but with plenty of poetry too. The inner movements are particularly memorable: an alla Marcia full of rhythmic point and a truly cantabile adagio whose "affetto" never degenerates into mannerism. Grimaud potentially is one of the finest pianists in the business, and let's hope this release signals for her a new level of maturity and artistic depth. The sonics, by the way, are also very good, with Grimaud's piano particularly well-caught, and not too much performance noise. Impressive!"

--(Record Review / David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com / 18 October 2007)

"All of the thrust and grandeur he brings to the Russian repertoire is heard here . . . The star of the disc is Helene Grimaud, and rightly so: She usually has a firm intellectual and technical grasp on whatever she's performing, and that's particularly the case here. It's penetrating, dry-eyed Beethoven rendered with such technical clarity that you realize there's even more to the piece than what usually meets the ears."

--(Record Review / David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer / 28 October 2007)

"Hélène Grimaud's performances on this disc . . . are truly fantastic. Her technique is essentially untouchable and her tone is surprisingly colorful. And, as in her previous recordings, her interpretations are outrageous. With Vladimir Jurowski and the Dresden Staatskapelle in the "Concerto," Grimaud is unafraid to do whatever she wants with balance and tempos. And alone in the "Sonata," she is even more audacious, bending, shaping, sculpting the music with no restraint applied except her own taste . . . Grimaud's willfulness matches the composer's own broad streak of ornery individuality, and her sensual shapes and malleable tempos do the same. Jurowski gets the Dresden Staatskapelle to follow where Grimaud leads in the "Concerto," and the results in both cases are perhaps the most persuasive recording of the pianist's career. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is exceptional."

--(Record Review / James Leonard, Barnes & Noble / 07 November 2007)

(...) "this 'Emperor' has much to recommend it. Tempos are well chosen, the orchestra is refreshingly transparent, the winds and brass cutting through colorfully, the strings crisp in articulation and superbly balanced, revealing important secondary detail not always captured in studio accounts. Moreover, Grimaud is technically accomplished, handling the music's virtuosic demands with seeming ease . . . in terms of sound, the recording is astonishingly realistic . . . Grimaud certainly makes sense and raises curiosity about how she might approach some of the other sonatas."

--(Record Review / Mortimer H. Frank, Fanfare (Tenafly, NJ) / 01 March 2008)

~~~

Say THANKS to the previous uploader of this post at torrents site!!

Enjoy the music!!