Beethoven: The Piano Concertos

ブッフビンダー&ウィーン・フィル来日記念盤
ルドルフ・ブッフビンダーは、「ピアニストといえばルディ」と言われるほど、クラシック音楽の本場ウィーンで最も愛されている名ピアニスト。ハイドンからブラームスにいたるドイツ・オーストリアのピアノ音楽演奏解釈で世界的に高く評価されています。日本にもたびたび来日を重ね、2012年6月の来日公演では、リサイタルとコンチェルト両面でその円熟のピアニズムを披露し、各紙誌で絶賛を受けたのは記憶に新しいところです。当アルバムは2011年5月、ウィーン、ムジークフェラインで行われたベートーヴェンのピアノ協奏曲全曲演奏会でのライヴ・レコーディング。ブッフビンダーがピアニストと指揮を兼ねる「弾き振り」での全曲演奏で、ウィーン・フィルがピアニストの弾き振りでベートーヴェンのピアノ協奏曲全曲を録音するのは今回が史上初となりました。お互いに作品を知り尽くしたブッフビンダーとウィーン・フィルが奏でるベートーヴェンは、伝統と革新の両方の要素を満たすことのできる類稀な演奏であり、21世紀に聴かれ続けるべき理想のベートーヴェン像を提示しています。
ソニー・ミュージック

Veteran Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder has turned in mid-career to live recordings, believing that the live situation makes possible a greater degree of spontaneity. In solo repertoire this has sometimes led him to follow his impulses into bold, unexpected interpretations. Here, in Beethoven's five piano concertos, there's less of an opportunity to color outside of the lines, even though Buchbinder serves as his own conductor (a tall order in Beethoven in itself). Yet his approach still works very well. He may deserve credit right off the bat for getting the sometimes recalcitrant Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to go along with what he's doing; the performances have a satisfying unity between soloist and orchestra. Buchbinder doesn't do anything earthshaking here, but there's an X factor working in his favor: he seems to penetrate to the emotional essence of each concerto. The first two concertos are taken quickly and restlessly, with the finales highly evocative of the young German who showed up in Vienna and permanently shook up the scene. The Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, captures the whole sweep of the work rather than emphasizing its lyrical aspect unduly. And the mighty Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ("Emperor"), is as splendid as one could wish, with the slow movement turned into an especially effective night piece to contrast with the big outer movements. This ringing endorsement of the value of live performance in a digital age is well worth considering as a basic Beethoven set, and it comes in an optional DVD version, worth considering as an entree into still deeper aspects of the live Buchbinder experience.