Spanish pianist, Alicia de Larrocha’s first recording of Beethoven’s Emperor is a grand and thrilling affair and here receives its first release on CD. The pairing is Beethoven’s own arrangement of his Violin Concerto, for piano and orchestra and it is played with tremendous elan and style by Olli Mustonen. Note the first movement cadenza, scored for piano and timpani that Beethoven especially composed for this arrangement!
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ‘Emperor’
Alicia de Larrocha, piano
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta
Concerto in D major for Piano & Orchestra
(Arranged by the composer from the Violin Concerto, Op. 61)
Olli Mustonen, piano
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Recording producers: Ray Minshull (Op. 73); Paul Myers (Op. 61)
Balance engineers: Simon Eadon, James Lock, Michael Mailes (Op. 73); Stanley Goodall (Op. 61)
Recording locations: Royce Hall, UCLA, USA (Op. 73); Radio Bremen (Op. 61)
Recording dates: March 1978 (Op. 73); June 1993 (Op. 61)