Louis Schwizgebel – Beethoveen: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (2014) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Into the crowded field containing pairings of Beethoven’s first two piano concerto come pianist Louis Schwizgebel (formerly Schwizgebel-Wang) and conductor Thierry Fischer, leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra. They make a mark precisely by not treating these two Beethoven concertos as a pair, but as distinctive entities as disparate as any pair of early piano sonatas might be. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, was actually composed after the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19, but in the hands of Schwizgebel and Fischer, who shape both works with an unusual depth of dialogue, it is the later first concerto that really looks back to Mozart. The first-movement orchestral exposition, under Fischer, even evokes Mozart’s Paris works in its smooth lightness, answered by Schwizgebel with a kind of relaxed wit that spins out into the longer Beethoven cadenza. The Piano Concerto No. 2, by contrast, is ebullient, even rollicking, with the finale taken at a brisk clip that sets Schwizgebel’s sharp accents against the LPO’s winds in a wiry, enthusiastic finale. These are both distinctive Beethoven performances at a very high level, and they apparently mark the beginning of a Beethoven cycle that ought to offer much to look forward to.

Louis Schwizgebel has been described as ‘a pianist with a profound gift’ (Guardian, August 2013) and an ‘insightful musician’ (NY Times, May 2013). Born in 1987, he is already well-known on the international scene (appearances at Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Royal Albert Hall, Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre, etc.). His third album for Aparté is devoted to two early masterpieces by Beethoven.

Louis Schwizgebel was selected by BBC Radio 3 as a BBC New Generation Artist. Here he plays with one of Britain’s finest orchestras, the London Philharmonic, conducted by Thierry Fischer. After his performances of these two Beethoven concertos at the Verbier Festival, under Charles Dutoit, at the Leeds competition and elsewhere, this recording is an eagerly awaited event in the young pianist’s career. Louis Schwizgebel. “Le brio avec lequel il court sur le clavier, et la dynamique qu’il impose… forcent l’admiration”. (Classica Oct 2013)

Tracklist:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
01. Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15: I. Allegro con brio
02. Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15: II. Largo
03. Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15: III. Rondo (Allegro scherzando)
04. Piano concerto No. 2, Op. 19: I. Allegro con brio
05. Piano concerto No. 2, Op. 19: II. Adagio
06. Piano concerto No. 2, Op. 19: III. Rondo (Allegro Molto)

Personnel:
Louis Schwizgebel, piano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Thierry Fischer, conductor

Download:

mqs.link_LuisSchwizgebelBeethveenPianCncerts1220142496.part1.rar
mqs.link_LuisSchwizgebelBeethveenPianCncerts1220142496.part2.rar