The Beethoven Journey: The Complete Piano Concertos

Leif Ove Andsnes (1970) - a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician already well known for recording music by many major composers - has been very much in the spotlight lately. That is following the release of “The Beethoven Journey”, a set of three CD‘s, dedicated to the composer’s five piano concerti and the Choral Fantasy. The result of a four-year collaborative project with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (a professional touring ensemble in existence since 1997) , "The Beethoven Journey" is Andsnes’s first published piano music by the composer. The project began at the Prague Spring Festival of 2012, with the live recording of Piano Concerti 1 and 3. Next came the Piano Concerti 2 and 4, recorded in London in 2013. The Piano Concerto No. 5 and Choral Fantasy - presented once again at the Prague Spring Festival in 2014 - were last.As the title of the review suggests, the media, the critics and the general public have all responded in an incredibly positive manner to the Beethoven Journey. In fact, the immediately noticeable quality about this CD set is in the number of awards and recognitions that it has received and that continues to receive.For example, the first CD - with Piano Concerti 1 and 3 - was named the iTunes Best Instrumental Album of 2012. “The Beethoven Journey” set was selected by Gramophone magazine as recording of the month in the November 2014 issue.The CD set was also no. 1 in the “Official Classical Chart” of the October 2015 issue of the BBC Music Magazine. The third CD of the same set - with the Piano Concerto no. 5 and the Choral Fantasy - was no. 2 in the same list.As for the pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes himself, the "New York Times" called him "a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight." The "Wall Street Journal" described him as "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation."Andsnes was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, five Gramophone Awards and was recently inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame, following the release of the CD set. He received the “BBC Music Magazine Award” for his performances of piano concerti 2 and 4 and was on the cover of the May issue of the same magazine which also published a six page interview, dedicated largely to the discussion of the five concerts.The above are the recognitions of which I am aware. Most likely, there are many more.I have all of Beethoven’s piano concerti by various prominent artists. Even so, being already familiar with Leif Ove Andsnes from his “5 Classic Albums” - with the piano concerti of Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Grieg and Rachmaninov; and having read the article in the BBC Music Magazine and learned about his many awards, I decided to order the third CD of the set - with the Piano Concerto no. 5 and the Choral Fantasy.It did not take long before I realized the reasons for so much enthusiasm. Andsnes’ music is so captivating - particularly during some of the solo portions - I found myself transported into a different world, Beethoven’s world, in a manner that very seldom had I experienced before.I ordered the entire set.Leif Ove Andsnes is an artist in the true sense of the word: he does not deliver someone else’s music. He creates it, one more time, in a similar manner as the composer did two centuries earlier. He more than deserves the many awards, as well as the five stars that most of the Amazon.com customers gave him.

It's been quite some times since I invested in a new set of Beethoven piano concertos. For years I've been very happy with my Kempff, Arrau, Ashkenazy, Lupu etc collections, and so far the "original instruments" recordings have left me cold. What induced me to invest in this new set, I don't really know, but it seemed that I might find this worth wile. And so i proved. From the very first note in the first concerto I was captivated. I've so far had only one recording by Mr. Andsnes , the Grieg-Schumann concertos, a recording that was marred by indifferent sound. Not so this time. The sound is wonderfully warm and clear. The engineers did a great job of matching the two recording venues (Dvorák Hall in Prague and St. Jude's in London). On balance, the wonderful Dvorák Hall wins in overall sound. But of course it is the playing that is ultimately the deciding factor. The words "affectionately" and "lovely" came to mind repeatedly. None of the key-thumping of Helène Grimaud, who once famously beat poor Beethoven into submission in his 3rd concerto. Crystal-clear finger work and great coordination between keyboard and orchestra kept my attention focused throughout. Everybody seems to be in total concentration. This is really a series of recordings that make you feel that you are re-learning music you've known all along. The orchestra plays as if on original instruments with a sharply focused sound, very clean but not clinical. Mr. Andsnes immerses himself in the music and manages to disappear so as to make your hear only the music. Wonderful!The discs are in their individual jewel cases, just as they were released separately for the last two years. The only thing Sony did was to enclose them in a cardboard sleeve, made, it seems, for the German market since the printing on the spine is in the old German fashion. No matter, warmly recommended!

Every true star pianist feels, at a certain time in his/her career, the need to measure his/her powers against the immortal masterpieces composed for ages by Ludwig van Beethoven some two centuries ago. Each virtuoso decides to commit to disc his/her vision on them, no matter how many other virtuosos dared before did so too. That happens for the virtuoso of the moment knows that he/she has something important to say by means of these concertante works, something fresh, still unsaid, deeply personal and yet so general human. I think there is something that has to do with the pure pleasure to make great music.This is the case of Leif Ove Andsnes with the present set of recordings devoted to the five piano concertos and the Choral Fantasy made in the recently paired by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. I don’t like to compare these achievements with the plethora of similar others available on the market. Yet, I cannot prevent myself to observe the immense joy of the performer (who assumes the double posture of the soloist and conductor) playing this music. His pianistic style is poised and impeccable, replete with well-calibrated virtuosic outbursts, exhibiting a noble melancholy wherever it is required, all seeming to stem from a deep empathy with the thoughts and feelings of the composer (as noted in the scores, but also from the sources dealing with his life).I am very happy with this 3-CD set for it includes – along with all the 5 concertos - the wonderful Choral Fantasy too. The Prague Philharmonic Choir brings its inspired contribution to the truly appealing result of the latter, while the Mahler Chamber orchestra supports efficiently the proceedings trough out.

A GEM! ONE OF THE GREATEST PIANISTS IN OUR TIME LEIF OVE ANDSNES IN A GEM OF A DOCUMENTARY OF BEETHOVEN. A MUST HAVE.

I wholeheartedly agree with all who have showered awards and praises on the pianist and the ensemble that have given us these excellent renditions of Beethoven's piano concertos.

Il serait pourtant presque question ici de superlatifs pour décrire une apothéose, comme beaucoup d'inconditionnels attendent en un saisissement béat... Quelques-uns ont-ils au moins remarqué la qualité du tour de force d'orfèvrerie qu'ils ont, si ce n'est sous leur yeux, du moins entre leur deux oreilles... Comment laisser dans l'ombre la restitution audio d'un tel défit sans se féliciter de son brillant accomplissement...? Les amateurs de musique classique sont décidément des enfants trop gâtés pour ne pas remarquer et faire partager la réussite d'une telle gageure...Certains ont qualifié Leif Ove Andsnes de pianiste trop raffiné, livrant des interprétations manquant de passion...! Comment porter un tel projet des interprétation des 5 concertos de Beethoven, sur plus de quatre années à travers le monde, sans être nourri de passion... Les prestations d'une telle envergure sont si rares car quasiment impossibles à faire naitre et perdurer sans une énergie et une envie de partage pour le cas vraiment hors normes...En mettant de coté ce tour de force "hors catégorie", ce coffret contient donc le meilleur des enregistrements somptueux de ces concerts, en compagnie de la "Mahler Chamber Orchestra" dont la taille s'accorde parfaitement avec la délicatesse toute relative de notre pianiste norvégien... La qualité sonore de ces enregistrements nous faisant percevoir jusqu'à la tessiture des instruments est d'une perfection sans équivalence pour ce "répertoire complet", et transforme cette livraison en un coffret indispensable d'interprétations homogènes, subtiles, vivantes et récentes des 5 concertos de Beethoven... Bravo et merci...

Aufgrund der guten Bewertungen bin ich auf diese CDs gestoßen und obwohl ich die Einspielungen schon von anderen habe, legte ich mir diese hier zu. Der Klang ist sehr gut, die Interpretation ist halt immer Geschmacksache, zudem bin ich kein Musikwissenschaftler, aber auch hier überzeugte mich diese Einspielung absolut. Es hört sich einfach etwas frischer an und ich lege halt sehr viel wert auf hervorragenden Klang, denn die beste Einspielung nutzt nichts, wenn keine schöne Musik zu den Ohren kommt. Hier habe ich schon Lehrgeld geben müssen aufgrund tolle Bewertungen für CDs, die man vom Klang her in den Mülleimer werfen konnte. Der Preis ist für mich völlig in Ordnung, obwohl ich dazu sagen muss, dass ich die CDs hier gebraucht zum günstigeren Preis bekommen habe.

私の地元でショパンを中心にしたプログラムの生演奏を聴いた時からファンになりましたが、素晴らしいベートーベン・ピアノ協奏曲全集です。ピアノもオーケストラも美しく理知的で引き締まった演奏、しかも価格が驚異的な求めやすさ！