Search - Beethoven, Lars Vogt, Rattle :: Piano Concertos 1 & 2

BEETHOVEN FABULOUSLY "TWEAKED"

Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 08/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With heady zest and sparkling fingerwork, Lars Vogt, in an excitingly mutual classical collaboration with Sir Simon and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, brings to Beethoven a distinct, spontaneous freshness. His imaginative interpretations seem to always reveal, without a hint of pretense, something new, something heretofore unheard, something thoughtfully convincing. Fast movements are energized and vibrant, never hectic, and perfectly cocoon the meditative inner "heart" of each concerto, the depth of which Vogt transforms into the most honest and hushed musical expressions. The sound, throughout, is rich, warm and full, yet never lacking detail, and the piano image is realistically forward and truthful. For me, though, as if these performances weren't already inviting enough, the clincher is Vogt's decision to use the fascinating cadenzas written by Glenn Gould in 1954, rather than those of Beethoven, in the Allegro con brio and Rondo of the Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15. [Relative to his cadenzas, Gould wrote: "I realized in keeping with my own feeling for this Concerto that the sort of contrapuntal intrigue I had in mind for the thematic motives of the Concerto would require a chromatic style more intense than that of early Beethoven."] Indeed! For some, Gould's rather perverse additions will be a deterrent; for others, however, their intrepid use will add an atonal "spice" that absolutely justifies the means. [Running time: 63:36]"