Alfred Brendel - Beethoven : The 5 Piano Concertos - Japan 3 CD Limited Edition

Credits:

Alfred Brendel

＜Tower Records Shibuya 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event Brendel's fourth and last recording of the complete Beethoven cycle. One of the finest performances backed by Rattle & VPO. Includes a new preface commentary! As a memorial project for Alfred Brendel (1931-2025), who passed away in June 2025 at the age of 94, Tower Records is proud to present three of Brendel's masterpieces from the many recordings he made with the former PHILIPS label, which are also his first choice of music itself. The latest reissue is a limited edition. All of them are important albums in terms of recording history, and are filled with the essence of Brendel's music. Since these albums have not been available in the market for a while, especially after Brendel's retirement, there have been many requests to reissue them on domestic vinyl. Since it has been a long time since the last domestic release, please take note of the new commentaries, including the new preface to each recording. The price of this reissue is much lower than the price of the original Japanese edition. Please note that the 3-disc set is in a multi-case and the 10-disc box set is in a clamshell box (box). The jacket photos are the same as the original design. We hope you will enjoy Brendel's wonderful performances in this latest reissue. For Brendel, Beethoven, along with Schubert, was a special composer whom he continued to work with throughout his life. Brendel's recordings of the complete piano concertos began in the 1960s on the VOX label, followed by live recordings on the PHILIPS label in the 1970s with Haitink & the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in the 1980s with Levine & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the fourth and final recording of the complete works in 1997 and the following year. Each of the three PHILIPS recordings is a shining example, but the last with the Vienna Philharmonic is particularly special.Brendel was not a pianist who changed his interpretation from year to year, and each remains a masterful performance with Brendel's typically beautiful tone and natural approach. On the other hand, while there are differences due to the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra, the overall tone of the work as a whole is certainly different. In this sense, this last recording with the Vienna Philharmonic is close to Brendel's roots and may be said to be the tone he was looking for. The recordings of each piece were made at the same time as the performances by the Vienna Philharmonic, which is why the coupling pieces are not in the same order as the complete works. The sound at the Musikverein is exceptionally graceful, and the fact that this is an excellent recording makes it a compilation album. This complete collection is a first-class source that I recommend to all music fans. In addition to reprinting the explanatory notes for each piece as originally published, a new preface commentary by Kotaro Yamazaki has been added. The jacket design is the original design of the first set. This VINTAGE COLLECTION+plus Vol. 36 will release a total of three titles.