This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Robert Levin’s 1995-1997 recordings of the Beethoven concertos with Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionaire et Romantique brought us yet another step closer to hearing this music as Beethoven imagined it. Five different contemporaneous fortepianos (or copies) are used, which Levin plays with great authority. While their sound is considerably lighter and drier than that of a modern concert grand, they are capable of producing a wide range of dynamics, and their action allows for dazzlingly clean articulation of scales and passage work. Levin, one of the few fortepianists with a real virtuoso technique, takes full advantage. These are bold, exciting performances, and they are dashingly – if at times a bit aggressively – partnered by
Read more
Gardiner and his period-instrument band. The recordings are full-bodied, fairly well balanced, and admirably detailed. – Ted Libbey, author of
The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection. Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Piano no 1 in C major, Op. 15 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1795; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 09/1995
Venue: St. John's Church, Smith Square, London
Length: 35 Minutes 51 Secs.
Notes: Robert Levin performes here his own cadenzas.
2.
Concerto for Piano no 2 in B flat major, Op. 19 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1793/1798; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 09/1995
Venue: St. John's Church, Smith Square, London
Length: 27 Minutes 58 Secs.
Notes: Robert Levin performes here his own cadenzas.
3.
Concerto for Piano no 3 in C minor, Op. 37 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1800; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/1997
Venue: Colosseum, Watford, England
Length: 35 Minutes 32 Secs.
Notes: Robert Levin performes here his own cadenzas.
4.
Concerto for Piano no 4 in G major, Op. 58 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1806; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/1997
Venue: Colosseum, Watford, England
Length: 34 Minutes 50 Secs.
Notes: Robert Levin performes here his own cadenzas.
5.
Concerto for Piano no 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1809; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 01/1995
Venue: St. John's Church, Smith Square, London
Length: 35 Minutes 53 Secs.
Notes: Robert Levin performes here his own cadenzas.
6.
Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in B flat major, WoO 6 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: by 1794; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 09/1996
Venue: Colosseum, Watford, England
Length: 10 Minutes 58 Secs.
7.
Fantasia in C minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Julian Clarkson (Baritone),
Susannah Spicer (Alto),
Constanze Backes (Soprano),
Angela Kazimierczuk (Soprano),
Robert Levin (Fortepiano),
Julian Podger (Tenor),
Robert Johnston (Tenor)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Monteverdi Choir,
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1808; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 01/1995
Venue: St. John's Church, Smith Square, London
Length: 17 Minutes 57 Secs.
Language: German
8.
Symphony no 2 in D major, Op. 36 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
David Watkin (Cello),
Peter Hanson (Violin),
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1801-1802; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 12/1997
Venue: Henry Wood Hall, London, England
Length: 34 Minutes 29 Secs.
Notes: Arranged: Ludwig van Beethoven (1807)
9.
Fantasia in C minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy": Introduction by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Robert Levin (Fortepiano)
Conductor:
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1808; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1/1995
Venue: St. John's Church, Smith Square, London
Length: 2 Minutes 19 Secs.
Notes: This selection is the first of two alternate introductions improvised by Robert Levin included in this collection.
Sound Samples
Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major, Op.19: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major, Op.19: 2. Adagio
Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major, Op.19: 3. Rondo (Molto allegro)
Rondo in B flat for piano & orchestra, WoO6
Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, Op.15: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, Op.15: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.1 in C majo, Op. 15: 3. Rondo . Allegro
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 3. Rondo (Allegro)
Piano Concerto No.4 in G, Op.58: 1. Allegro moderato
Piano Concerto No.4 in G, Op.58: 2. Andante con moto
Piano Concerto No.4 in G, Op.58: 3. Rondo (Vivace)
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
