Beethoven’s Piano Concertos are undoubtedly amongst the most influential works in the history of music. “Art demands of us that we shall not stand still“, the composer once wrote, placing the idea of development at the heart of his music. His five piano concertos saw Beethoven take piano music out of the salon and into the concert hall, playing a crucial role in advancing the genre towards the symphony, whilst simultaneously creating a bridge from the First Viennese School to the Romantic period.
Mari Kodama, whose virtuosic mastery of the piano made her a household name all over the world, has completed the Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with her husband Kent Nagano, the international star conductor. “The manner in which Beethoven composed was wild, heartrending, to all intents and purposes revolutionary – true not only of his symphonies, but also the five piano concertos he created“, the pianist suggests. “The depth of his ompositions, the ideas on which his music is based and their timeless quality never fail to captivate me and my husband Kent Nagano.
Beethoven has been a kind of companion to us both in our lives, an important point of reference in our work, yet in different ways. We found ourselves discovering and experiencing Beethoven afresh throughout the intensive process – how incredibly modern, provocative he is, unashamedly demanding of us in our own musical development. On these recordings of the five Piano Concertos, we have sought to bring a rather different colour to the somewhat sombre images of Beethoven. A little brighter in tone, more distinctly shaded." They have succeeded magnificently – Mari Kodama’s interpretation is passionate and dramatic, yet poetic and finely nuanced. Together with the Deutsches Symphonie‐ Orchester Berlin, conducted by Kent Nagano, this is a performance of the highest quality, supremely intense and extraordinarily rich in contrast, thanks in no small measure to the artistic bond between Mari Kodama and her husband. In addition to the complete cycle of piano concertos, this 3CD box set also includes Beethoven’s Triple Concerto – the first of its kind and one of only a few examples hereof in musical history.
