Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4

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Never for a moment does she over-reach herself or force pace and sonority...Few pianists have ever been more true to their own lights and it is hardly surprising that her many performances of... — Gramophone Magazine, October 2014 More…

Release Date: 14th Jul 2014
Catalogue No: ONYX4125
Label: Onyx
Length: 71 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

October 2014

Editor's Choice
Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2014
Gramophone Awards

2015

Winner - Concerto

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Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Work length36:26

Album only

Maria João Pires, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding

I. Allegro con brio

Track length17:15

Album only

II. Largo

Track length9:50

$1.50

$2.10

III. Rondo (Allegro)

Track length9:21

$1.50

$2.10

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

Work length35:03

Album only

Maria João Pires, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding

I. Allegro moderato

Track length19:43

Album only

II. Andante con motoi

Track length4:57

$1.00

$1.40

III. Rondo (Vivace)

Track length10:23

$1.50

$2.10

About
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About

Maria João Pires joins ONYX. Her first release for the label is of two Beethoven concertos she has played often, but never before recorded. After giving concerts in Stockholm last October, she went directly into the studio with Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. This remarkable recording is the result. These are performances of such passion, poetry and drama - Beethoven as he should sound, just as if you are hearing these great concertos for the first time!

Maria João Pires has provided a personal note on her approach to these works.

Reviews

October 2014

Never for a moment does she over-reach herself or force pace and sonority...Few pianists have ever been more true to their own lights and it is hardly surprising that her many performances of this concerto in London and elsewhere have become the stuff of legends...It is my dearest wish that this will become a complete cycle.

October 2014

the present performances are beautiful … immaculate fingerwork, crystalline sonority and natural, instinctive musicianship … the recorded sound is both clear and warm, which suits these performances very well … Collectors who love these two concertos can never have too many versions of them, so this release should certainly be added.

20th October 2014

Pires’ fingers caress the keys gently in the first movement [of No. 4] and dance over them playfully in the finale, turning her style to suit every phrase and mood...This disc was both exhilarating and enlightening to listen to. Let’s hope there is more on the way.

27th June 2014

Surprisingly, Pires’s beautifully clear singing tone and exemplary articulation, in this set, seem to suit the fiery C minor better than the lyrical G major...the playing of the Swedes is characteristically vivid and sensitive.

31st July 2014

the Swedish orchestra’s strength, subtlety and sonority establish a good foundation and foil for Pires’s performances here. That wonderfully rounded, opalescent tone that her touch invariably produces is coupled with the insight, poetic sensibility and discreet life-giving force that come from years of experience.

18th July 2014

she’s recording the third and fourth piano concertos for the first time — and playing them with such unaffected simplicity that you always feel the notes speaking, never the pianist herself. Turbulent emotions, grandiose gestures and winking gaiety arrive as they should, yet nothing is pushed to extremes.

Classical Music

Pires’ first disc for Onyx is something very special. This is playing of great poise and depth...Harding coaxes lithe, transparent playing from his Swedish colleagues - there’s an almost ‘period’ feel.

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4

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