Album

One might have wished that DG had left off the Triple Concerto with Mutter, Ma, Zeltser, and Karajan: a soggy, soupy performance that does neither the work nor the artists' reputations any good. Anyone particularly hard-hearted might have wished that DG had used a different recording of the violin concerto than Mutter and Karajan's; as beautiful as it is—and it is very, very beautiful—it is still the work of a young violinist who may have been a bit too much under the spell of the older conductor. And while one might wish that DG had used a different recording of the violin concerto arranged by Beethoven as a piano concerto—Barenboim's performance is too coy and too cute to be believed—there really aren't any better recordings. But no one could wish for a better modern recording of the piano concertos than this one by Maurizio Pollini, Claudio Abbado, and the Vienna Philharmonic. Pollini is arguably the greatest living Beethoven pianist: the most virtuosic, the most intellectual, the most insightful, and often the most spiritual. Abbado is certainly the greatest living Beethoven conductor: the most skilled, the most inspired, the most inspiring. They are of one mind when it comes to interpretations: their First is brilliant, their Second is graceful, their Third is passionate, their Fourth is sublime, and their Fifth is the most exhilarating, the most astounding, and one of the most profound ever recorded and certainly the best recording by performers of Pollini and Abbado's generation. The Vienna Philharmonic is the world's greatest Beethoven orchestra—the warmest, the strongest, the tightest—and it performs here at the top of its powers.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in C, Op.15 Work Recorded 1982 37:35 Eugen Jochum Conductor, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini Piano
1	1.Allegro con brio	17:28			$2.99
2	2.Largo	11:30			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro scherzando	8:37			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in Bb, Op.19 Work Recorded 1982 28:40 Eugen Jochum Conductor, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini Piano
4	1.Allegro con brio	13:49			$2.49
5	2.Adagio	8:57			$1.49
6	3.Rondo: Allegro molto	5:54			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Rondo in Bb for Piano and Orchestra, WoO6 Work Recorded 1962 Vienna Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sviatoslav Richter Piano, Kurt Sanderling Conductor
7	Rondo in Bb for Piano and Orchestra, WoO6	9:22			$1.49
CD 2 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.3 in C-, Op.37 Work Recorded 1977 34:37 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini Piano, Karl Böhm Conductor
1	1.Allegro con brio	15:54			$2.49
2	2.Largo	9:37			$1.49
3	3.Rondo: Allegro	9:06			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.4 in G, Op.58 Work Recorded 1976 32:36 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini Piano, Karl Böhm Conductor
4	1.Allegro moderato	17:20			$2.99
5	2.Andante con moto	5:07			$0.99
6	3.Rondo: Vivace	10:09			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Romance cantabile, for flute, bassoon and orchestra in E-, Hess13 Work Recorded 1996 Pascal Gallois Bassoon, Patrick Gallois Flute, Philharmonia Orchestra of London Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung Piano
7	Romance cantabile, for flute, bassoon and orchestra in E-, Hess13	4:52			$0.99
CD 3 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.5 in Eb, Op.73 ('Emperor') Work Recorded 1978 38:46 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini Piano, Karl Böhm Conductor
1	1.Allegro	20:32			$3.49
2	2.Adagio un poco mosso	8:03			$1.49
3	3.Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo	10:11			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Concerto in C for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op.56 ('Triple Concerto') Work Recorded 1979 36:20 Herbert von Karajan Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Yo-Yo Ma Cello, Mark Zeltser Piano
4	1.Allegro	17:53			$2.99
5	2.Largo	5:50			$0.99
6	3.Rondo alla polacca	12:37			$1.99
CD 4 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Violin Concerto in D, Op.61 Work Recorded 1979 48:25 Herbert von Karajan Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin
1	1.Allegro ma non troppo	26:38			$3.99
2	2.Larghetto	11:26			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro	10:21			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Movement (Allegro con brio) in C for Violin and Orchestra, WoO5 Work Recorded 1978 Gidon Kremer Violin, Emil Tchakarov Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
4	Movement (Allegro con brio) in C for Violin and Orchestra, WoO5	15:45			$2.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.1 in G, Op.40 Work Recorded 1995 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Gil Shaham Violin
5	Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.1 in G, Op.40	6:13			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.2 in F, Op.50 Work Recorded 1995 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Gil Shaham Violin
6	Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.2 in F, Op.50	7:38			$1.49
CD 5 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto in D (after Violin Concerto, Op.61), Op.61a Work Recorded 1973 44:49 English Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim Piano
1	1.Allegro ma non troppo	24:10			$3.99
2	2.Larghetto	10:54			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro	9:45			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto in Eb, WoO4 Work Recorded 1976 26:49 Eva Ander Piano, Berlin Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Peter Gulke Conductor
4	1.Allegro moderato	9:57			$1.49
5	2.Larghetto	9:01			$1.49
6	3.Rondo: Allegretto	7:51			$1.49