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