In their own way Beethoven’s five piano concertos relate a part of their composer’s life. In the previous volume of this complete recording, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado and the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester explored the beginning (Concerto no.2, a springboard to Viennese fame) and the end (the ‘Emperor’) of the story. They now turn to the most personal of all the Beethoven concertos, the Fourth which, at a time when the spectre of total deafness threatened his career, shattered the conventions of the genre - as did such orchestral works as Coriolan and the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus.

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REVIEW:

Repeated listening has convinced me this is one of the finest, most deeply perceptive and thrilling performances of Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto on record. But make no mistake, Bezuidenhout’s triumph could only be achieved by the hand-in-glove support and interplay provided by Heras-Casado and the Freiburgers… If you love Beethoven, delight in the sound of precise and imaginative ensemble and revel in brilliant piano-playing, whatever you do, do not miss this.

– Gramophone