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Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5, Sonata No 28 / Grimaud


Release Date: 10/09/2007 
Label:  Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog #: 000984002   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:  Hélène Grimaud
Conductor:  Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Dresden Staatskapelle
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 0 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

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. Only in the slow movement does she indulge in a touch of the preciosity that mars some of her more recent efforts, but 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 Read more is even finer. I have to confess I was a bit worried here: late Beethoven encourages so many pianists to do strange things in the name of "profundity" and "transcendence" and other impressive terms, and to put it kindly, Grimaud can be a bit spacey in this respect. To her credit, 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! [10/16/2007]

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording

1. Concerto for Piano no 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:  Hélène Grimaud (Piano)
Conductor:  Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Dresden Staatskapelle
Period: Classical 
Written: 1809; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 12/2006 
Venue:  St. Luke's Church, Dresden, Germany 
Length: 38 Minutes 14 Secs. 
2. Sonata for Piano no 28 in A major, Op. 101 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:  Hélène Grimaud (Piano)
Period: Classical 
Written: 1816; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 07/2007 
Venue:  Siemens Villa, Berlin, Germany 
Length: 20 Minutes 58 Secs. 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 2 Customer Reviews )
 The Best December 6, 2012 By Bruce Baer (Bloomington, MN) See All My Reviews "This is the best rendition of Beethoven's fifth concerto I have ever heard." Report Abuse
 At Last! December 3, 2012 By John Crosthwaite (Pinawa, MB) See All My Reviews "At last I've heard Beethoven's Emperor as I've always wanted to! You can almost feel the sparks flying out of Helene Grimaud's fingers as she flawlessly masters the Allegro and Rondo movements, subdued only by the feeling of intense beauty that she conveys in the sublime Adagio movement that separates the two. I may as well donate the other two versions that I have in my possession to some charity; it would seem improbable that I will ever again listen to their renditions, which are in every way inferior to Grimaud's. The recording is crystal clear, bright and brilliant. This is Beethoven piano at its finest and purest." Report Abuse
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