Beethoven
Piano Concerto nos. 1 in C major, op. 15 and 2 in B-flat major, op. 19
Bruno Weil
Jos van Immerseel, pianoforte
Tafelmusik
Sony Classical/Vivarte
Recording: August 28-30, 1995, Kurhaus Bad Tolz/Germany

Musical quality: 9 - Sonic quality: 9

Is yet another recording of the Beethoven really necessary? Probably
not, but this is on period instrument and there aren't too many of those
available.  Furthermore, this is quite an excellent recording.  Jos van
Immerseel uses a 1988 replica of a Walter pianoforte similar to the
instrument Beethoven owned around the time he wrote these concertos.  He
always uses very little pedal.  This sounds at first hearing strange, but
once you got accustomed to it pays dividends.  Everything gains clarity
and speed by the lighter sound created.  The orchestra is the well-known
Tafelmusik under their conductor Bruno Weil.

The C major concerto begins very nicely with a hushed pianissimo.  At
the subsequent fortissimo, the orchestra shows that a comparatively small
number of musicians doesn't mean it's forceless.  Quite the opposite,
they're producing a real storm.  The first entrance of the solo piano is
a bit odd, since it sound out of tune, as is rather common with period
instruments.  This impression vanished quickly though, and the sound is
very nice.  Especially the bass of the instrument is quite noticeable.  It
is both firm and clear, quite a few modern pianos could deal with a dose
of this.  The treble is softer than we're used to, but not unattractive.
The dynamic range is quite surprising, from hushed to a worthy opponent of
the orchestra.  Jos van Immerseel clearly masters and loves his instrument.
Every phrase is lovingly shaped and well articulated.  The orchestra
accompanies him very well throughout the disc.  Bruno Weil chooses sensible
tempi and never sticks to them metonomically, allowing the music to
breathe.  After the bassoons chatting merrily (4:50 into track 1), the solo
horns accompanying the piano (for instance at 5:10) have a marvellous dark
hued tone, reminding of Brahms.  In the development, the staccato of the
woods at the principal theme could be more pronounced (7:50-8:14) even
though this is only a minor quibble.  The cadenza - like all on this disc
improvised by Immerseel - lasts for nearly two minutes.  It is based on
both principal subjects and fits very nicely into the concert, aside from
an odd-sounding harmonic progression at the beginning.  The slow movement
shows a completely different piano. What was brightly sparkling instrument
now is soft and singing.  The tempo again is very nicely chosen, at slowly
fleeting crotchets, rather than quavers.  Especially in this movement, the
woodwind solos are lovely.  Always expressive, but never falling out of the
image.  The finale begins at a relatively common tempo, showing yet again
another piano. Mind you, there is only one instrument used!  Nonetheless,
the range of colour Immerseel teases out of this pianoforte is stunning.
This time around it is a much smaller and brilliant sound, at times
reminding of a harpsichord.  Especially the orchestra creates a nice
con brio feeling, making it sound a tad faster.  For some strange reason
the cadenza again has an odd moment at the beginning to get then into a
wonderfully Beethovenian mood.  It serves as a last reminder of the slow
movement's world before the joyous end.

The B-flat major concerto is if anything even more successful than the
first.  It sparkles and young Beethoven's very own will shines through
the conventional form very often.  The first movement begins as bright as
it did for the first movement.  Here the piano entrance sounds absolutely
not awkward, but perfectly fine.  Especially noticeable is the magnificent
interplay between orchestra and piano near the end of the exposition (7:30
into track 4) after some wonderful dialogues between chattering woodwinds
and the pianoforte.  The cadenza is clearly better than the ones in the
first concerto, lasting slightly more than two minutes.  It has no odd
moments and sounds echt Beethoven.  The second movement is wonderfully
serene and hushed at the beginning.  Again, the variety of sounds produced
by the instrument is astonishing.  However, in this movement occurs the
orchestra's only serious problem.  The pizzicato-chord in the middle of the
movement are quite badly co-ordinated.  Another session would surely have
fixed this minor issue.  The coda, Beethoven demands 'con gran espressione'
indeed is very expressive.  Jos van Immerseel keeps the pedal open for
most of this passage, again following the score.  This gives a very
magical sound-world, far apart from what the rest of the concert gave.
The contrast made by the quicksilver finale could hardly be greater.  The
piano sounds positively overchallenged by the high pace, however this only
adds to the fun.  The orchestra also sounds rough in the main theme, which
might make you want to hear it a bit slower.  This is the most fun movement
on the disc and it surely will have you smiling.  A magnificent account of
this concerto.

This recording shows something quite important.  Here Beethoven doesn't
sound like the immortal speaking from his high post, but like the skillful
composer who knew perfectly well how to entertain his audience.  Yes,
entertain, not enlighten.  For this alone, the recording should be heard.
The sound quality is excellent, giving a well focused image of the
orchestra with the piano nicely balanced.  The annotation also is very
good, comprising of an essay by H.  C.  Robbins Landon and comments by Jos
Van Immerseel on the instrument used.  The printing is stylish, making
a nice difference to the usual plain text setting.

Jan