This set was somewhat inevitable, after pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet recorded the entire Beethoven Piano Sonata (2012-2016). It comes after many major pianists released their own sets of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos in recent years, including some that were reviewed in these pages – Jan Lisiecki, Stewart Goodyear, Lars Vogt, Leif Ove Andsnes and others. Pianists still feel they have something to say with this repertoire, and many take the opportunity to conduct smaller ensembles from the keyboard.
Out of curiosity, I went back to a previous cycle by this Swedish Chamber Orchestra, accompanying Boris Berezovsky and conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. A fine cycle, with lean but substantial orchestral support and imaginative playing by Berezovsky. The new set has the same trademarks – thin and airy strings (though with less body than the earlier cycle), assured wind playing, and good synchronization with the soloist. This is truly a chamber performance, with a band that includes 6 first violins, smaller than other chamber versions that had 8 or 10. This means that you’ll have to look elsewhere when expecting a warm caress by the strings in slow movements, as you get from Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic (Uchida) or Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Perahia).
This is a direct and to-the-point view of this music, and I was often vividly reminded that these are early to mid-period works, with an unashamed virtuosic display. The lidless Yamaha CFX grand Bavouzet is using here, as in his recent Haydn and “Beethoven Connection” recordings, has an edge to it, sometimes lacking in subtleties. This serves the interpretation well in the First and Third Concertos, when the roughness of the instrument and the orchestral sound enhance the dramatic statements. It works less well in slow movements, when everything is out in the open and wanting in atmosphere. The Second Concerto lacks wit and the finales of Concerto 1-3 are rather matter-of-fact.
Related Classical Music Reviews
- Review: Beethoven – Piano Concertos (Complete) – Jan Lisiecki
- Review: Beethoven – Complete Piano Concertos – Stewart Goodyear
- Review: Beethoven – Complete Symphonies – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – Nelsons
Sometimes I wished Bavouzet would return to a rounder Steinway and a full symphonic orchestra, giving us the same level of execution found in his Bartók and Prokofiev recordings, few of the best Concerto Performances on record. The Third Concerto is the most successful in making a case for compact and dramatic performance, yet this approach fails to persuade in the lyrical Fourth Concerto. Bavouzet and the orchestra are doing their best and are certainly accurate, expert players, but they can’t reach the same sense of exploration and awe Aimard and Harnoncourt possess in their version with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
The Emperor Concerto starts promising, hinting at a high octane performance, almost reminiscent of Stephen Kovacevich’s wonderfully combative recording with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (1991). But something falls down in the long orchestral introduction and never manages to regain momentum. As in the rest of this cycle, even in the best moments, there is a sense of one-dimensional view of the music, one that does not scratch the surface of these endlessly fascinating works. Bavouzet was much more sophisticated in his Sonatas recordings.
The cycle ends with a generous bonus, the “Grand Quintet” Op. 16 for Piano with Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn. As in the Concertos, Bavouzet treats the fast segments as a tool for technical display, missing shades of colors one can hear from Lupu or Perahia in this lovely work.
Listeners who are truly interested in these Concertos played with chamber orchestra on modern instruments can turn to Aimard and Harnoncourt (COE), Andsnes (Mahler Chamber Orchestra), and Bronfman with Zinman (Tonhalle Zurich). The written materials, one of which by Bavouzet, are top-notch, as we came to accept from Chandos. Close and intimate recording made in the mid-sized “Musikhögskolan” of the Örebro University in Sweden, with balance which lets nothing go by but suites the interpretation. This new set will mostly attract Bavouzet’z many fans who cherish his Beethoven Sonatas and want to continue his journey with this composer.
Beethoven – Piano Concertos No. 1-5, Grand Quintet, Op. 16*
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Karin Egardt – Oboe*
Kevin Spagnolo – Clarinet*
Mikael Lindström – Bassoon*
Terése Larsson – horn*
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet – Piano, Conductor
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