L. Beethoven: Piano Concertos 3 & 4 – Pires

   in Piano International (Nov, 2014)
It has taken until Pires’ 70th year for her to record these works, touchingly dedicated to the memory of Claudio Abbado (with whom Pires recorded). From her side, everything is as it should be; but the decision to record with the Swedish forces under Harding was a miscalculation. While Pires interprets calling on a lifetime’s worth of experience, Harding cannot muster the same level of attunement to these scores.

The gap between them is visceral – while Harding’s orchestral exposition for the Third Concerto is expert, it remains rather workaday and it is only when Pires enters that the music moves up into a different league. Inevitably, Pires’ Third is not …