Following on from the du Pré cello concerto recordings I was also fortunate enough to get my hands on another Warner Classics remaster of old EMI recordings.  This one consists of the Barenboim/Klemperer recordings of the five Beethoven piano concertos and the Choral Fantasia recorded with the New Philharmonia Orchestra and the John Allis Choir back in 1967.  I used to own these on vinyl decades ago.  Now they are available as a three SACD set.

As with the du Pré recordings, and for the same reason, I’m going to keep my comments on the playing very brief.  They are a very, very good example of the more traditional approach to Beethoven.  No fortepiano or chamber orchestra here.  It’s full on symphony hall.  And it’s really, really good.  Barenboim really gets inside these pieces and plays with great virtuosity.  Klemperer is a master of structure and he lays out these pieces with precision though maybe some people find him a bit slow.  Surprisingly perhaps, this was the only time Klemperer recorded these works.  The orchestra is first rate.

The transfer to SACD from a 192kHz/24bit remaster is really good.  The piano sound is super realistic and the the orchestra is also captured very, very well.  It’s absolutely top notch when only a few instruments are playing but perhaps isn’t quite as transparent in the tuttis as the very best modern recordings in this medium.  It’s still way better than Roy Thomson Hall!  The soundstage is remarkably solid.  This is a very fine engineering job.  The booklet contains a good historical essay by Richard Osborne.

So, these three SACDs contain three and a half hours of brilliantly played, beautifully recorded and historically significant Beethoven.  It’s only available as a box set of three hybrid SACDs.

Catalogue information: Warner Classics 2173244918