Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4
Jos van Immerseel, fortepiano; Tafelmusik; Bruno Weil, conductor (Sony)
A great deal about performances on period instruments has changed since Paul Badura-Skoda made the first recording of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto on a fortepiano more than 20 years ago, and the present disc indicates most of the changes have been positive.
Van Immerseel is unusually sensitive in his choice of instrument — a restored early 19th Century grand by Johann Nepomuk Trondlin — so the piano part proves more robust and finely colored than the usual fragile, virtually monochromatic tinkling. He also is freer with expression than any of his period-instrument colleagues.
Weil’s beautifully recorded orchestra of 35 players is large enough to give weight when needed but not so large as to dull the piquant timbres. And Weil, who sometimes has been relentless in Mozart, here achieves a degree of relaxation that does not sacrifice alertness or allow sentiment to become sentimental.
