Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 - download (MP3 & FLAC)

Praised by The New York Times for her “clear articulation … unequivocal phrasing … [and] expressivity”, Ingrid Jacoby has established herself as one of the most poetic and admired pianists of her generation. She began her piano studies with Larisa Gorodecka, herself a pupil of Heinrich Neuhaus. Graduating at 16 with highest honours from the St Louis Conservatory of Music, Ingrid Jacoby went on to win the National Baldwin Piano Competition, the Concert Artists Guild International Piano Competition and the Steinway Hall Artists Prize. In America, the National Society of Arts and Letters awarded her one of its highest distinctions, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her discography includes the world premiere recording of Korngold’s solo piano pieces, works of Gershwin and Bernstein with the Russian National Orchestra, and a recording of the Shostakovich and Ustvolskaya piano concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, which earned the highest commendation from the American Record Guide.

This recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 marks Ingrid Jacoby’s debut on ICA Classics ‘Live’ series. It also marks the start of a complete cycle of the Beethoven Concertos for ICA Classics which will be released over the next two years.

The CD contains notes by Richard Wigmore in addition to personal insights by Ingrid Jacoby on Beethoven interpretation. Her performances produce many imaginative and individual touches which make these recordings stand out in a crowded catalogue.

The accompaniment by the Sinfonia Varsovia drew the following praise from Martha Argerich: “...they are wonderful, they are one of the best orchestras, not only in Poland. First class.” (August 2009). Award-winning conductor Jacek Kaspszyk has been Artistic Director of the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic since 2006 and until recently was also Music Director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Here he continues his long association with the Sinfonia Varsovia.

Beautifully recorded in the best digital sound, there is a palpable feeling of the live performance being created in the Witold Lutoslawski Concert Studio.

Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau (1903–1991) was described at various times as ‘Prince’, ‘Emperor’ and ‘King’ of the keyboard, conveying something of the awe in which he was held.

Few artists of any generation prompted such consistent praise, a pianist who embraced virtually every part of the repertoire, including marathon cycles of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt.

Both these broadcast recordings are sourced from the original WDR tapes and not from dubious copies (Chopin Concerto) and have been remastered to a very high standard. In Chopin’s E minor Concerto, Arrau is partnered by Otto Klemperer, another legendary titan in this rare 1954 recording.

Here they create a musical place where there is no sense of an early lightweight alternative to Chopin’s later works. Critic Jed Distler wrote: “There is an emotional freshness and freedom from clichés that draws me into the playing, particularly in the vibrancy and note-to-note intensity of his best live performances. Idealised or not, Arrau's playing boasts a vibrancy and forward-moving sweep that sharply contrasts to his relatively measured studio recording”.

The Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 shows Arrau playing with great freedom in this ‘live’ account from 1959 following his first studio recording in 1955. This recording appears for the very first time on CD.

Emil Gilels (1916–1985), along with Sviatoslav Richter, was one of the most celebrated pianists of the 20th century.

These rare broadcast recordings make their first appearance on CD.

The live recording of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 from the 1966 Edinburgh Festival together with the distinguished accompaniment of Sir John Barbirolli produce a performance of great poetry, imagination and power. Gilels had a wonderful, discriminating ear and throughout the concerto brings a chamber music quality to his playing when the score demands.

Gilels recorded the work in the studio in 1957 and 1968 but there are very few live performances available where the pianist is ‘caught on the wing’ in good sound.

The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 in the abridged version by Siloti from 1959 brings out Gilels’ incredible technique and virtuosity (The New York Times dubbed him ‘the little giant’) with Kirill Kondrashin transforming the LPO into an authentic Russian-sounding orchestra.

Ambient Mastering adds an extra dimension to these distinguished performances recorded over 45 years ago.

This Austrian pianist unusually performed both jazz and classical music. He was highly acclaimed for his Beethoven interpretations. These recordings from 1953/56 include Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 4, as well as 4 Bagatelles Op. 126. These Bagatelles have not been released before.

This release is the first in a series of three which will offer Beethoven’s piano concerts recorded live during the summer 1958 in Italy, performed by two different RAI orchestras.

At the public première of the Fourth Piano Concerto in 1808, Beethoven performed the piano part very ‘capriciously’ according to his pupil Carl Czerny, playing many more notes than are to be found in the printed edition. A clear indication of what Beethoven played comes from his copyist’s orchestral score, in which the outer movements contain annotations in the composer's hand. These have been transcribed by Beethoven scholar Barry Cooper who describes this rarely recorded 1808 version as ‘more sparkling, virtuosic and sophisticated than the standard one’.