The New Releases Blog - 14 April
If you're a fan of Beethoven, you must give our CD of the Week a listen.
It's from a little Scottish company called Linn Records - a great label, with a very small number of staff, but they're all absolutely dedicated to making simply brilliant recordings.
Their disc of Mozart's late symphonies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Charles Mackerras was one of my favourite discs of last year - and now, the SCO and Mackerras are back, this time joined by the Portugese pianist Artur Pizarro.
Artur's a fine pianist - and a very friendly bloke, too. His performances of Beethoven's final three piano concertos really demonstrate how radical Beethoven was: here was a composer leaving behind the niceties of the Classical period, and pushing on into the grandeur and excitement of all things Romantic.
What I love about this disc is that it was only ever meant to contain two concertos. Apparently, though, the orchestra were so enjoying working with Mackerras and Pizarro they decided to commit a third concerto to disc - a bonus for us!
Simon Bates is going to be profiling this CD all week , just after 10am. If you're looking for a good recording to buy this month, can I implore you to go for this one? Having said that - I've just opened my post and found a set of (guess what) the Beethoven piano concertos performed by Richard Goode and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Beethoven sets are like buses - you wait for ages for one, and then two turn up at once! I'll let you know what this one's like when I've given it a listen.
Sam Jackson
Classic FM's Executive Producer, Music & Events
