Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Szell :: Beethoven: The 5 Piano Concertos/Mozart: Concerto No.25

Fleisher-Szell=Poise & Power

Todd S. Schurk | San Jose,Ca. U.S.A. | 09/11/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In an interview,Leon Fleisher said that he had been in awe of George Szell from an early age-thanks to a recording of the Brahms D-minor concerto that his parents had given him featuring his future piano teacher (Artur Schnabel!) and Szell conducting. Many years later Fleisher himself would make a series of records with Szell and the Cleveland orchestra in music ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Grieg and Rachmaninoff. Along with their sublime set of the two Brahms concerti(also now available)this set remains a classic in the anals of recording for their forward impetus,sweep,power and poetry.Szell never just supports his soloist,but offers instead an ongoing dialogue between pianist and orchestra.Fleisher plays with all the fire and poetry that hallmarked his famous teacher,and with technical aplomb.The orchestra was at the top of their form-in a word,magnificent! The piano sound is a little hard in places,but the balance is fine. This set is a must for every Beethoven lover,it will never be bettered."

Great Performances

David Juneau | USA | 01/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an outstanding recording. Leon Fleischer and George Szell are a match made in heaven. The standouts in this collection are the Beethoven 4th and the Mozart 25th. George Szell was one of the absolute best conductors of concerti. The musicality and ensemble playing are flawless. The recording of the Mozart 25th is the best I've ever heard. Don't overlook one of Mozart's later masterpieces played so flawlessly. This particular work comes off best with a large modern orchestra,like the CSO, as opposed to a smaller ensemble. Great performances!"

The young Fleisher in dazzling form

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sony has been eprverse with this classic set of Beethoven piano concertos, now over forty years old. It has never let it out of its sight but has never given the cycle the remastering it deserves. Here the sonics are better than the hissy, shallow original LPs form Epic, but at long last Sony has upgraded Concertos 3 and 4 to best sound in the newest Great Performances series. The Emperor desperately needs the same treatment but hasn't got it yet. A word of caution: don't bother sampling the dozens of recouplings that the Fleisher-Szell readings have gone through. None of them is any better than what we get here, and quite a few are worse.



Instead of adding the Triple Concerto, the last CD is filled out with a masterful performance of the Mozart C major K. 503 concerto. Szell's quicksilver Mozartean style is also present in the early Beethoven. He and Fleisher are out to dazzle us with rapid passagework and to make the music zip along in constant high spirits. Their approach is extremely successful in Concerto 1 and 2, perhaps less so in the later works where more heroism and variety are called for.



To most listeners, however, that will seem like a churlish quibble. These are adored recordings that some of us have lived with since we ere kids. As a pupil of Schnabel, Fleisher had much more depth than he displays here; listen to his latest recordings and you will hear what's missing. Yet on the whole no complete Beethoven cycle has ever been better, or even come close to the high polish and technique of Fleisher-Szell. Now let's get the updated sound that it richly deserves."