Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

This page lists all recordings of Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) on CD & DVD. Generally, more recent CDs and DVDs are listed first, but with priority given to items that are in stock.

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April 2003

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Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 3, & 4

Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

John O’Conor (piano)

London Symphony Orchestra, Andreas Delfs

Hailed for his interpretation of Beethoven’s piano concertos, Irish pianist John O’Conor completes the cycle with Nos. 1, 3, and 4. Beethoven composed the first four of his five mature piano concertos for his own concerts. The Concerto No. 1 in C major (1798) was actually the second to be written, but it was given the lower number because the earlier B-flat Concerto (1795) was published several months later. The opening movement of the First Piano Concerto is indebted to Mozart for its handling of the concerto-sonata form, for its technique of orchestration, and for the manner in which piano and orchestra are integrated. The first movement of the Concerto No. 3 opens with the longest introductory orchestral tutti in Beethoven’s concertos, virtually a full symphonic exposition in itself. Of the nature of the Fourth Concerto, the music authority Milton Cross wrote, “[Here] the piano concerto once and for all shakes itself loose from the 18th century. Virtuosity no longer concerns Beethoven at all; his artistic aim here, as in his symphonies and quartets, is the expression of deeply poetic and introspective thoughts.”

Critical acclaim for John O’Conor’s Beethoven Piano Concerto recordings:

‘… in an overcrowded Beethoven concerto market these distinctive and excellently engineered performances are well worth hearing…….Beethoven’s Second and Fifth concertos make for an uncommon yet attractively contrasted CD coupling. More importantly, pianist John O’Conor and conductor Andreas Delfs invest their much-recorded scores with deep feeling, relaxed yet never draggy tempi, and freshly considered details that provide a welcome corrective to the attention-getting elbow-pokes and finger-jabs favoured by certain recent contenders in the name of “interpretation”’ GRAMOPHONE

Telarc - 2CD80704

(CD - 2 discs)

$17.49

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3

Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Ronald Brautigam (piano)

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Parrott

This is the first disc in Ronald Brautigam’s Beethoven Piano Concertos cycle; part of his ongoing cycle to record all of Beethoven’s music for solo piano. Brautigam now takes on Beethoven’s complete works for piano and orchestra, choosing to do so on a modern piano and with a modern instrument orchestra: the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, internationally acclaimed for its many fine recordings on BIS. Conducting the series is Andrew Parrott, and together with the soloist, he brings all his expertise in period performance practice to bear in interpretations that in many ways are as fresh and revolutionary as those of the sonata cycle. As Ronald Brautigam explains in the liner notes: ‘I truly believe that what Beethoven wanted was chamber music rather than a battle between orchestra and soloist, and this makes for a wonderfully interactive set-up, where individual players have far more contact with the pianist than in a regular concert set-up’.

“This is a recording set-up with consequences. Out the window goes the romantic 19th-century notion of the concerto as a titanic conflict between soloist and orchestra. In come intimate performances, styled almost as chamber music. In an early, Mozartean concerto like the C major, Op 15 (the first to be published, but not the first written), this scale of delivery is ideal. Brautigam’s fingering is so agile and clear that he makes you tingle in arpeggio runs; he’s equally splendid capering about, lightweight and giggly, in the rondo finale...If you want the blunt power of the old mighty Russians, Brautigam is probably not your pianist. But there’s fierce clarity here, and musical refreshment of a high order.” The Times, 18th July 2008 ****

“…the playing is refreshingly alert throughout, with tempos noticeably on the fast side.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 ****

Format:

Hybrid Multi-channel

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BIS Ronald Brautigam Beethoven - BISSACD1692

(SACD)

$16.99

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Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 1

Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

6 Bagatelles, Op. 126

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Piotr Anderszewski (piano and direction)

“Anderszewski has already given us one of the most mercurial recent accounts of the Diabelli Variations, and here he brings the same quicksilver shifts of mood to the Bagatelles...The rollicking, buffo style of the concerto’s outer movements acknowledges debts to the comic spirits of Mozart and Haydn. Sheer bliss.” Sunday Times, 20th April 2008 ****

“Piotr Anderszewski, who has already given us a fine account of the Diabielli Variations, plays the Bagatelles with power and passion.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008

Virgin - 5021112

(CD)

$16.99

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Beethoven - The Piano Concertos

Beethoven:

Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (complete)

Krystian Zimerman (piano)

Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein

Directed by Humphrey Burton

	Region: 0
	Format: NTSC
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DG Unitel - 0734269

(DVD Video - 2 discs)

$32.99

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Lang Lang - Beethoven Piano Concertos 1 & 4

Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

Lang Lang (piano)

Orchestre de Paris, Christoph Eschenbach

Lang Lang delivers his first-ever Beethoven recording, a stunning reading of the extensive Concerto no. 4 and the jubilant Concerto no. 1. Even though he has performed this repertoire extensively in concert, Lang Lang waited for the perfect moment and the perfect team to record his first pair of concertos from these milestones of piano repertoire When Lang Lang embarked on his international career, Christoph Eschenbach became one of his first and most enthusiastic proponents - and a mentor and close friend ever since, Eschenbach was the ideal collaborator for Lang Lang's first Beethoven recording. Nimbly supported by Eschenbach's superb Orchestre de Paris, with its tradition of having been the first orchestra ever in France to perform music by Beethoven, Lang Lang's performance gives further proof as to why he is one of today's most acclaimed pianists.

1CD plus bonus DVD including approximately 22 minutes of interview and performance footage.

DG - 4776719

(CD)

$17.49

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

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Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3

Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Mikhail Pletnev (piano)

Russian National Orchestra, Christian Gansch

'For me Beethoven is like a god. I worship him, and I admire his music. It always produces very deep emotions in me when I'm conducting it or playing it on the piano.' (Mikhail Pletnev)

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