Search - Beethoven, Stancul, Rahbari :: Complete Piano Concerti

First-Rate Beethoven

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 02/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone wanting to purchase a complete set of the Beethoven piano concertos faces a bewildering choice. There are skads of integrals on the market from just about every eminent pianist you can name. (In fact, there are three complete sets available from Arthur Rubinstein and four from Alfred Brendel, to name just two worthies.) This set on the ultra-cheap Koch Discover label more than holds its own with the competition. Ms. Stancul proves to be a first-rate Beethoven pianist with many interesting things to say about the music. (If you doubt me, just listen to her completely intelligent - and completely thrilling - performance of the piano sonata opus 111 that fills out the disc that also contains the "Emperor" Concerto. There is no more intellectually and spiritually taxing challenge to a pianist than this greatest of Beethoven's sonatas!) Plus, she is ably accompanied by Rahbari and his Slovak and Belgian orchestras which project every phrase with meaning and passion. The sound is full digital and first rate digital at that. All of this at an incredibly cheap price! Only Brendel on Vox (his earliest complete recording, made with inferior orchestras and sounding every bit its 35-plus years) and Vladar on Naxos offer comparable excellence at this price. Usually you get what you pay for, but no one could pretend that this is sub-standard Beethoven. Stancul's the real thing and the recording is incredible value."