For the Russian National Orchestra, 2006 was not a Mozart year, or even a Shostakovich year, but a season full of Beethoven. In September 2006, for example, Beethoven's piano concerts were recorded during the international Beethoven festival in Bonn. Mikhail Pletnev strives for an authentic approach to get rid of these heathen classics. He is not concerned with historical instruments or performance
… practice, but with reviving Beethoven's improvisational art. "Very often Beethoven has a funeral performance ... My goal is to bring to life every phrase, every scream, every moment of joy, as if we were experiencing it ourselves," said Pletnev. This CD - the first in a series of Beethoven's piano concertos and symphonies - contains Concerts No. 1 & 3. (HJ)more
