# ...Beethoven Piano Concertos: Which is Your Favorite Performance



## ethan417 (Jun 10, 2020)

Hi

I have begun a wonderful exploration of the Beethoven Piano Concertos.

After spending hours researching performances, listening, etc., I have come to realize that there are a lot of fantastic performance out there: Perahia/Haitinc, Fleisher/Szell, Serkin/Ormandy, Serkin/Ozawa, Brendell has 3 separate recordings, Uchida 2, and the list goes on

Which is your favorite performance and why?

Thanks and stay safe.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

For Beethoven's fifth piano concerto it'd have to be that Horowitz/Reiner/RCA Victor recording from the early 50s. I've never heard another as good.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I was raised on Steven Bishop, who later became Steven Bishop Kovacevich, whose recordings apparently no longer exist.

Before I departed this music I most enjoyed the combination of young Daniel Barenboim and old Klemperer for their mix of styles.





















Now I don't think I have listened to an integral set in more than 30 years.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I can't explain three photos above.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

larold said:


> I was raised on Steven Bishop, who later became Steven Bishop Kovacevich, whose recordings apparently no longer exist.
> 
> Before I departed this music I most enjoyed the combination of young Daniel Barenboim and old Klemperer for their mix of styles.
> 
> ...


Lets see if they have gone now .


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

A useful earlier TC thread on this topic:

Good recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Simplicissimus said:


> A useful earlier TC thread on this topic:
> 
> Good recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos.


You beat me by a minute


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I listened to the Fleisher/Szell cycle so frequently in my early years of classical music appreciation, that I don't listen those concertos very often. In recent years, I picked up Perahia/Haitink and several Rubinstein cycles as parts of their respective megaboxes. Perahia/Haitink has received so much praise, I need to spend more time with it.

I also have Barenboim/Klemperer in a box set with symphony cycle. Love the symphonies; don't care for the concertos. I must have HvK/Weissenberg as well. Don't think I've ever played them.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Favorite performances of the Beethoven PCs:

1. Bernstein as pianist and conductor w/NYPO
2. ?
3. Serkin/Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orch.
4. Fliesher/Szell/Cleveland Orch. 
5. Serkin/Bernstein/NYPO


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Uchida/Sanderling! Great sound, fantastic playing, and a tangible sense of fiery enthusiasm that puts a smile on my face every time. Fleisher/Szell and Perahia/Haitink are good mainstream standbys. For something a little different, consider Zimerman/Bernstein for an unabashedly Romantic approach and Aimard/Harnoncourt for a sort of quasi-HIP blend.


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## Gray Bean (May 13, 2020)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Uchida/Sanderling! Great sound, fantastic playing, and a tangible sense of fiery enthusiasm that puts a smile on my face every time. Fleisher/Szell and Perahia/Haitink are good mainstream standbys. For something a little different, consider Zimerman/Bernstein for an unabashedly Romantic approach and Aimard/Harnoncourt for a sort of quasi-HIP blend.


I second these recommendations! Adding the following:
Ronald Brautigam/Die Kolner Akademie/Willens...fortepiano and original instruments...wonderful set on the BIS label.
Wilhelm Kempff/Berliner Philharmoniker/Leitner on Deutsche Grammophon
Wilhelm Backhaus/Weiner Philharmoniker/Schmidt-Isserstedt
NEW CYCLES: Pianists Jan Lisiecki on DG (Lisiecki conducts from the keyboard, beautiful pianism and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields never put a foot wrong) and Stephen Hough on Hyperion. Hough is great and the Finnish Radio Symphony create a big sound that is slightly HIP inflected. Beautifully recorded. 
There you have it!


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