Page 421 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

1 September 2022

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, 'Emperor'
Piano Concerto No. 0, in E flat major, WoO 4
Boris Giltburg (piano)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko
rec. 2019/20, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, UK; Fazioli Concert Hall, Facile,
Italy
NAXOS 8.574153 [62]

One can easily feel jaded about works such as Beethoven’s so-called
‘Emperor’ Concerto. We have known them for so long, and heard them so
many times. This is why I decided to try and listen to this performance as if I
had never heard it before – not an easy task. It is a mark of the quality of
the reading that I very quickly forgot my plan and preferred just to listen and
enjoy. And enjoy I did. This is a most satisfying performance of a work one
has known for years. I would guess a relatively restrained number of strings
was employed, giving the winds considerable prominence, though those
opening chords in no way lack power. Textures are clean and lean in the long
orchestral tutti, with figuration in the accompanying passages clear and
precise. Rhythm and accents are spot-on, and dynamics as marked in the
score are followed closely. These attributes are duplicated once Giltburg
takes over. His technique throughout the work is faultless, his control of
phrasing and dynamics masterly. It is playing that is both alive to tradition –
so many great pianists have tackled the work: he has surely heard and
studied many of them – and at the same time quite individual. There is a