Beethoven: Concerto No. 5, Movements 2 & 3 (Robert Levin, Benjamin Zander, Boston Philharmonic Orch)
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Beethoven: Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
II. Adagio un poco mosso
III. Rondo: Allegro
Boston Philharmonic Orchestra
Benjamin Zander, conductor
Robert Levin, piano
Recorded live in concert at Jordan Hall, February 16, 2019
This is my favorite piano concerto. Thank you Beethoven!
I Love this so much. I have never heard it in this tempo before and I've been listening to this piece my whole life. I truly appreciate Mr. Zander.
Love all of your Beethoven’s
Thank you very much
Thank you so much for this lovely gift, maestro Zander!
This is so beautiful 🥺
Divine!
Both Zander and Levin are cute old guys 😊😊😊 Thanks for sharing!
I guess the argument for so quick a tempo in the Adagio un poco moss 2nd movement is that Beethoven's piano did not have the sustaining sound of a modern grand. (In fact, the sound of Levin's piano is such that he may not be playing a modern grand.). The other factor is that this is a "qualified" Adagio in that Beethoven asks for a little movement in it. The playing by the BPO, especially its winds, is really wonderful here. The 3rd movement is hard to listen to: it seems more an Allegro vivace or even a Presto than it does an Allegro, but the real problem is that there is no sense of "tempo primo" both overall and even within one or two bar units. It's awfully difficult to play the solo part at this tempo--and it shows. The whole thing sounds more hectic than thrilling and certainly not very interesting or arresting: something of an experiment gone awry.
I think the main argument for a faster tempo in the Adagio is the fact that it‘s written as Alla breve. With a tempo slower than this you simply cannot naturally feel a half-note pulse. I think the only reason this seems fast to us is because we are used to the traditional way of playing this, which is probably just a complete misreading of the score and Beethoven‘s intentions. About the last movement, I also feel it‘s too fast here. It‘s marked as Allegro ma non troppo and I think it‘s important to think about dance, body movement and weight when choosing a tempo for this piece.
@@lukaskatter5849 You are correct, at least up to a point. Despite what may have been Levin's and Zander's intentions, it still sounds like a fast "four" to me. Another of the "faster" performances is Schiff's (Schiff also conducting or really "presiding"). It clocks in at about 25 seconds slower than Levin's, but at times more successfully conveys the alla breve "two". And that is mostly because Schiff is a freer, more expressive player. Agree entirely with your assessment of the finale. Schiff's performance captures that dance quality you speak of a well as, or better than, anyone I've heard.Your reply comment, by the way, is the most relevant and insightful I have ever received on RUclips.
To find a way to the intended tempo and the way of interpretation look at the MM-Signs that Carl Czerny has given in his book about all the Beethoven compositions with piano. There you can learn a lot about the i d e a s that Beethoven had and how the contemporaries thought. Beethovens MM-Signs are not the ones of a deaf idiot living lonely in his chamber. He was living with a lot of musicians around him and a lot of time and many occasions to try and find out how (fast or slow) his music has to be played.
So few views! :(
9:07 that little Db mistake in the bass makes it sound quite hip, he certainly makes up for that glitch at 10:05 with those extra powerful C's in the left hand !!
빠르네요...하지만 이쪽이 더 베토벤스러운지도...
No I'm sorry but I much prefer a normal tempo. It actually doesn't flow like this. The wood winds sound harsh and each time they enter it's a slight shock to the system. I don't want to listen to this piece of music and experience a jarring sensation.
Both you and Ransom Coates (below) might enjoy the performance[s] of Andras Schiff available on RUclips. The finale especially has an entirely different character from what is heard here.
@@MrKlemps thank you for the comment and insight. I guess many performers who are also purists prefer to play exactly as the composer intended and I see nowadays that it is very common for performers to use historically accurate instruments too. But for the pure listener modern instruments sound better obviously. I personally prefer performances with modern instruments. I like to - perhaps ignorantly- imagine that a modern performance would please most composers. After all it's not like romantic composers refused to used pianos in favour of harpsichords. But wow Zander's version of Beethoven's 5th symphony makes you feel like you are hearing it for the first time. It is so intense. The one on TED.
@@jonathanfeatherston758 I have been listening to Ben Zander's performances since 1966 and have heard him conduct the 5th Symphony many times, and even the many-th time has never failed to amaze me! There are now other performances of the 5th that are just as fast or nearly so--including Gunther Schuller's and, surprisingly, James Levine's--but none has the sustained intensity that Ben and the BPO (and before that the NEC Youth Orchestra) bring to it.
@@MrKlemps Brilliant thank you. I'll look up their performances. The faster tempo for the 5th symphony brings expresses Beethoven's rage. I can't think of a classical piece that captures pure rage in that fashion. Also deep disappointment and pain. I can understand how in his time that Beethoven would've been seen as just brash, crude and radical. But they were wrong... BTW if you haven't you should watch Zander's training session he did with a cellist and pianist playing Faure elegie. The increased tempo works.
To play everything exactly as the composer wrote it, is to deny the composer of the talent, the creativity and the soul of the musician. Great musicians like great actors know what a writer was trying to convey, and appropriately add their contribution. Wise composers, like good writers, love their pieces being improved by master actors and master musicians.
Too fast and superficial.