Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4

This release concludes Boris Giltburg’s 0-5 edition of Beethoven’s Complete Piano Concertos. As on previous volumes in the series, he’s accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

‘Of all Beethoven’s piano concertos, it was No. 3 in C minor which left the strongest and most immediate impression on me as a child. The tangible tension of the dark, taut opening was electrifying, the inevitable fortissimo explosions awesome, the irresistible energy of the tutti passages exhilarating, and the sepulchral entrance of the orchestra at the end of the first movement mesmerising and chilling.

The Fourth Concerto is the most poetic and possibly the least extrovert of the five. While hardly lacking in pianistic brilliance – in fact, I would rank it as the most challenging of Beethoven’s concerti in terms of sheer technical difficulty – it is the poetry, suffusing every note, which seems to me to leave the biggest mark on both listeners and performers.’

– Boris Giltburg

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4

8.574152

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Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)
Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4

Boris Giltburg, Piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko

For 19th-century audiences Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was the most loved of all his piano concertos, a work in which the balancing of high drama, tenderness, lyricism and humour is most pronounced and in which a coda resolves inner tensions with brilliance and triumphant grandeur. Piano Concerto No. 4 is the most introspective and poetic of the concertos. The simplicity of its opening piano statement gives way to an unprecedented dialogue in the central movement between a heartfelt piano and an austere unison string orchestra, before the infectious energy of the dramatic finale.

Listen to an extract from Piano Concerto No. 4:
III. Rondo: Vivace

About the Artists

Pianist Boris Giltburg is lauded across the globe as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling musician. In 2020 he made audio and audiovisual recordings of all 32 Beethoven sonatas, released in a box set in 2021. The first volume in his complete Rachmaninov concerto recordings series, coupled with the Études-Tableaux and subsequently the Corelli Variations, won the award for Best Solo Recording at the inaugural Opus Klassik Awards, and his recital discs of Rachmaninov, Liszt and Schumann have been similarly well received.

Vasily Petrenko is music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2021), and chief conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra (since 2015). He is conductor laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, following his acclaimed 15-year tenure as its chief conductor (2006–21). His Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Elgar symphony cycles recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic have garnered worldwide acclaim, and his recording of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony (8.570568) was named Orchestral Recording of the Year at the 2009 Classic FM Gramophone Awards.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | © Mark McNulty

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs over 60 concerts each season at its home, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and other venues in the city; it also appears throughout the UK and internationally. The orchestra’s discography includes Vaughan Williams’ symphonies; Rachmaninov’s symphonies, orchestral works and piano concertos with Simon Trpčeski; the symphonies of Shostakovich and Elgar; and Tchaikovsky’s symphonies and piano concertos. Their recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 5 won Recording of the Year and Orchestral Recording of the Year at the 2017 BBC Music Magazine Awards.

More recordings featuring Boris Giltburg, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

8.501111
[11-Disc Boxed Set]

SHOSTAKOVICH, D.:
The Complete Symphonies
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Petrenko

★★★★★

★★★★

‘If you’re looking for a single Shostakovich cycle that gives you all the symphonies and performances that really can’t be bettered as a group, as a whole, then Petrenko on Naxos is the way to go. It’s a superb, superb effort…’
– ClassicsToday.com

DISCOVER

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Sonatas (Complete)

8.509005
[9-Disc Boxed Set]

BEETHOVEN, L. van:
Complete Piano Sonatas
Giltburg

★★★★★

★★★★

‘Giltburg has the full musical measure of whatever sonata is to hand. Certainly one of the most imaginative versions of ‘the 32’ to come my way in quite some while.’
– Record Geijutsu

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8.574151

BEETHOVEN, L. van:
Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Rondo, WoO 6
Giltburg • Petrenko • Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

★★★★★

★★★★

‘With his incisive rhythms and muscular left hand, the Israeli pianist gives vivacious performances, vividly accompanied by Vasily Petrenko and his players.’
– The Sunday Times, London

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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concerto No. 5 / Piano Concerto, WoO 4, 'No. 0'

8.574153

BEETHOVEN, L. van:
Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’
Piano Concerto No. 0, WoO 4
Giltburg • Petrenko • Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

★★★★★

★★★★

‘Boris Giltburg gives a fine account of the “Emperor” Concerto which honours Beethoven’s markings plus the many additional traditions of rubato and tempo modification accumulated in the work’s performance history.’
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★

DISCOVER

8.573629

RACHMANINOV, S.:
Piano Concerto No. 2
Études-tableaux, Op. 33
Giltburg • Royal Scottish National Orchestra • Prieto

★★★★★

★★★★

‘Giltburg brings atmosphere and drama to the Etudes-tableaux, always serving Rachmaninov’s storytelling. The range of his playing – from colour to pacing to emotional shading and sheer heady propulsion – makes for compulsive listening.’
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★

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SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / String Quartet No. 8 (arr. for piano)

8.573666

SHOSTAKOVICH, D.:
Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
String Quartet No. 8
(arranged for piano by Boris Giltburg)
Giltburg • Owens • Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Petrenko

★★★★★

★★★★

‘The concertos are excellent, playful, and brimming with verve and wit. Giltburg has thought through each phrase and given it its own personality and direction; he and the orchestra are fully engaged.’
– American Record Guide

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For Boris Giltburg’s full discography on Naxos, please visit this link.

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Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)
Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4