Rudolf Serkin's recordings of
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major and the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, recorded in 1983 and 1982, respectively, have been reissued without any remastering in Telarc's Classics line, apparently because the label regards the original digital masters to be pure enough without further enhancements. Yet as advanced as the unprocessed reproduction was for the time, this disc still sounds like early digital in its dry ambience, lukewarm orchestral sonorities, and somewhat flattened dimensions. If one listens past these deficiencies, though, the performances will still impress and satisfy.
Serkin pursues a bold approach in these works, and
Seiji Ozawa and the
Boston Symphony Orchestra are accordingly robust and muscular in their accompaniment. This sorts well with
Beethoven's heroic style and his symphonic expansiveness, and affords
Serkin the opportunity to play with a fairly big Romantic sound. Even though the Mozartian influence is considerably minimized in the Piano Concerto No. 1,
Serkin's and
Ozawa's broad interpretation is coherent and convincing, albeit taken along a more
Haydn-esque line. But the performance of the Piano Concerto No. 3 is clearly the superior offering here, and the players are fully committed to conveying
Beethoven's sweeping grandeur and dynamic thrust.