Following closely on the heels of the seven Grammy-Award winning Mahler recording cycle, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present a hybrid SACD recording of two of Beethoven's most popular works, Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 4.
Michael Tilson Thomas’ interpretation is free of any mannerism, but it is alive in every bar, full of passion, and marvelously played and recorded.
- Michael Tanner, Classical-music.com
Following closely on the heels of the seven Grammy-Award winning Mahler recording cycle, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present a hybrid SACD recording of two of Beethoven’s most popular works, Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 4.
Emanuel Ax, a frequent collaborator with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, is the soloist on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. His performance of the slow movement was described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “dark and eloquent.”
“The musicians of this Orchestra are playing at the highest level,” said Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas recently. “I continue to be impressed by the power, richness, and sophistication of their sound whether performing repertoire by Beethoven or by American Mavericks such as Ives, Copland, or John Adams.”
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67 33:57
I. Allegro con brio 8:11
II. Andante con moto 9:38
III. Allegro 4:42
IV. Allegro 11:25
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Opus 58 34:20
I. Allegro moderato 19:30
II. Andante con moto 4:45
III. Rondo: Vivace 10:04
